Don't own anything as usual, well I do own stuff just nothing to do with EVA. Strangely this update didn't come out funny, I'm sorry, I think I'm being strongly influenced by the 5th Volume of Fafner I was watching when I wrote this. -Scans fic- Yeah, I was. Well, poke me with a stick and flame my bad writing as usual.
Chapter One: Obligations.
Shinji Ikari, was a afraid, not because he had to fight Angels, not because his soul instrument was a bio mechanical monstrosity who's eyes had seemingly starred into his soul after his first battle. No those things were to fantastic to be worried about on this primal level, Shinji Ikari was afraid, because he had been summoned to the dark lit office of his father. Misato had rushed from the apartment late the last night, or early in the morning, Shinji wasn't sure which.
"Shinji." The boy snapped his head around catching sight site of Sub Commander Fuyutsuki.
"Uhm, g-good afternoon Sir." He stammered politely.
Kozou chuckled softly, "No need to be so formal Shinji, please, come and sit down." The Sub Commander gestured to a pair of large well padded chairs that had been carried in on short notice and set down before his father's desk. Shinji accepted a seat nervously but also thankfully, they wouldn't put him in a comfortable chair if his father was going to chew him out. Would they?
To his surprise the Sub Commander stood before him, directly in front of the desk just as the door was opened once more and another person entered. Shinji's eyes widened as they locked with the crimson red of Rei Ayanami's own pupils. She walked without a word towards them before stopping precisely twelve meters from the desk.
"Sir, why was a I summoned?" Rei asked getting directly down to business without a single wasted word.
"Please, sit first Rei, there is much to be said, and not very much time for it to be said in." Kozou urged the girl into her seat and then paused, letting out a deep sigh as he gathered his thoughts.
"Yesterday evening at approximately 1730 hours an accident occurred." Both children blinked simultaneously. "Involving Commander Ikari." He clarified.
Rei began to fidget with the bow of her uniform nervously as an impulse to ask what had happened to the her Commander, and her own deeply ingrained quiet nature battled for dominance in the matter. This battle had not yet been resolved when Fuyutsuki continued.
"Commander Ikari, was in an accident involving a drunk driver on his way back to the GeoFront after a meeting with a foreign affiliate, he, did not survive."
Shinji and Kozou both looked to Rei in surprise as she sucked in a breath. Her tiny frame shuddered as the implications struck home.
Shinji looked at her concerned, "Ayanami?", he reached at to place and hand on her shoulder, and jerked back as she slapped it away, violently.
Shinji put the hand back in his lap palm up as he studied it dejectedly between quick glances at Rei.
I was afraid of this. Fuyutsuki thought to himself, for Rei's entire life Gendo had been her light, the only thing giving her the will to live, and unless a new attachment could be made very soon it was quite possible they would lose her. Kozou had seen people who had lost the will to live, it was a terrible thing, to watch them waste away.
"What of my purpose, Sir?" Rei asked suddenly.
"Purpose?" Shinji asked.
"It will be up to the new Commander to decide that."
"Sir?"
Rei followed the Sub Commander's gaze to Shinji, who was currently busy starring up at the system sephirotica inscribed on the ceiling of the office. He felt the stares and glanced back down, "Mmm, wha?"
"Shinji, you were your fathers sole inheritor for all but a few of his earthly assets."
"So, I guess I'll have some books and stuff to sort through." Shinji said frowning, his father always had seemed to be the type to read a lot, Shinji could vaguely remember that much from his early childhood, he had always connected his father to books, big tombs of them actually.
"Not quite . . ." Fuyutsuki said awkwardly.
"What do you mean?" Shinji asked, feeling his inbuilt danger sense starting to tingle, or more precisely, his scrotum crawling back up inside his body, the telltale sign that something bad was about to happen to or in the presence of his person.
"Shinji, your father, was an extremely rich man . . . He was wealthy in liquid assets surely, but his holdings were even greater." Fuyutsuki said thoughtfully. "He held legal ownership of the GeoFront, and both of the Japan branch EVA's, as such, he legally owned the NERV Japan branch, and as the sole inheritor of this legacy, command, devolves, on you."
There was total silence as Shinji simply zoned out.
"Shinji?" Fuyutsuki asked.
"Y-yes, Sir, did you say something?" He asked.
"Shinji, your father left you as his successor as Commander of NERV. This facility, the personnel here, the EVA's, they are at your disposal."
The response that Fuyutsuki got, was, typical.
Shinji shot up from his seat. "You mean, I command NERV!"
"Yes, though you will be subordinate now to the new supreme Commander as the least experience branch officer, you are not, however, obligated to fulfill any of his requests." Fuyutsuki explained quickly, he was going to have a hard time getting all of this through and it was best to start quickly.
"No, I can't, why would he, I mean, no, I can't do this, you can't expect my to do this! There must be someone better qualified!"
"If you attempt to hand over authority there are forces that will rest the power from anyone you may choose, we will all suffer if you do not accept command."Fuyutsuki urged.
"But, I can't no, this isn't fair, I shouldn't have to . . ." Shinji panted looking at the Sub Commander, this was a hundred times worse then just having to pilot, somebody was asking him to take the lives of every human being on his shoulders. "I . . . can't, I'm sorry, I can't, I just . . ."
This time Fuyutsuki didn't give him a chance to continue. He stood before Shinji and forced both hands firmly down on the young boys shoulders. "Ikari, YOU HAVE COMMAND, YOU CANNOT RELINQUISH IT OR THE PEOPLE HERE WILL SUFFER!" Fuyutsuki roared.
Shinji starred at his new Subordinate in shock as he straitened back up and went into quiet listening mode. "I apologize for that, Sir, but you were becoming hysterical." Fuyutsuki said, coughing into his hand lightly. "Shinji, you must understand some very important facts. Firstly, I believe it is important for you to understand the true severity of the situation. Do you know the reason for second impact?"
True severity? You mean its worse? Shinji thought in disbelief, but did not utter these words for fear of being shouted at again. "Uh, giant asteroid, hitting the south pole." He answered instead. "That's what they teach in school."
Fuyutsuki nodded his head, "So it is, it is also a lie, that has been spread as the greatest government coverup in history."
"Sir?"
"You must understand Shinji, there are some very selfish, very power hungry people in this world. At the turn of the millennium in Antarctica mankind found God, and rejoiced. But when man tried to capture God and bend him to his will, God retaliated. God, was the First Angel, Adam, and his retaliation was Second Impact."
"What happened exactly to cause the Angel to retaliate?" Shinji asked curiously, he also wanted to ask why the Angel was even there to begin with.
"It retaliated due to a penetration of its body and soul by an artifact known as the Lance of Longinus." Shinji's head snapped around as Rei spoke this time.
"Lance of . . . Longinus?"
"It is an artifact that was recovered at another dig site, the efforts of the expedition were centered around attempting to reverse engineer the S2 theory used by Angel's to generate a 100 percent matter to energy conversion. The Lance was intended to be used to penetrate the Angel's AT field in order to retrieve a sampling of the core. The Angel reacted violently to this intrusion." Rei explained.
"How do you know all of this Ayanami?"
Rei's head turned slowly to face him, "Because, Commander Gendo Ikari, and Doctor Yui Ikari were both on the advisory board that suggested the use of the Lance." There was also the fact that said lance was currently sticking out of the body of her 'mother' deep within Terminal Dogma.
Shinji paled. "Mother . . . Father . . . They, caused all of this?" He whispered, shaking his head, no, it wasn't possible. Surely they wouldn't, surely, not even father would . . .
"So what your saying, is that the Angel's were dormant and harmless until my mother and father decided to poke one with a stick and see what would happen?" Shinji said in a dry voice. "But how did they know to use this Lance thing?"
"It was prophesied in an ancient manuscript known as the Dead Sea Scrolls." Fuyutsuki explained. Now Shinji really was lost, mankind starting Second Impact, prophecies, ancient manuscripts, weapons that could penetrate and AT field. It was too much to believe on such short notice.
"You see, Shinji, the Dead Sea scrolls are a prophecy."
"Like Nostradamus's predictions?"
"Yes, but they are much older, and theorized to be self fulfilling, they are open to interpretation, but, a very great deal of inertia has already been built towards their grimmest conclusion."
"You mean, a Third Impact?" Shinji asked, starting to catch on.
"Yes, that would be the best way to interpret it."
"So, it . . . can't be stopped." Shinji said, sounding depressed as he lowered his head into his hands, if it was a prophecy then what could he do?
"That depends Shinji, do you want to stop it?" Fuyutsuki asked.
Shinji's head snapped up, "Of course!"
"Then that is what NERV will do, but there are those who would stop us. We will need to be wary."
"I just don't get it, why would anyone want to start third impact?" Shinji said frustrated, he now felt like a small, none too bright child, trying to wrap his brain around a very complex mathematical equation.
"Because, they believe that they can control the mother and father." Rei said mysteriously before standing. "Sub Commander, I have . . . other duties . . . to attend to." She headed for the door her gate a little shaky. Shinji watched concerned until Rei opened the door. "Co . . . Commander . . . Ikari, your sole intention is to use NERV to stop third impact correct?"
"Y-yeah, I guess." Shinji said, well maybe he'd have NERV make him a nice cappuccino, but that was for later.
"Then . . . I will assist you." Rei said, her voice had something in it this time, something that Shinji had never heard before. It sounded . . . lost.
With that Rei was gone, leaving Fuyutsuki and Shinji to themselves.
"Uhm, Sir?" Shinji asked.
"You have no need to call me that Shinji, you may call me by my name, my rank, or just call me Professor." Fuyutsuki assured the boy as he took up Rei's vacated seat.
"Thank you, then, I have one question I would like to ask before you finish telling me all of this."
"Oh? and what is that?"
"How much . . . do you know about well . . . Ayanami."
"Rei?" Fuyutsuki asked and then sighed, "If you must know, I know a great deal about her, but I would like to ask that you don't delve any further for now."
"Uhm, may I ask why?" Shinji said sitting up in his seat, he had been curious about the quiet girl since the first moment he had seen her. And now he was in a position to find out more about her.
"Rei . . . Is . . . different . . . from other girls, her past is very disturbing and I would worry revealing it to you now might affect how you view her. I'm certain it affected your father." The older man sighed, it had affected him to a degree too, he wouldn't deny that he held a certain affection for the girl crafted in the form of Yui Ikari, but he at least had the decency to recognize her as a separate and unique being. He wasn't at all sure Gendo had been capable of that.
"I understand, I guess . . . Will you tell me . . . when you think I'm ready?"
"Of course Shinji."
Shinji closed his eyes, "Commander of NERV . . . wow . . . But, what if I mess up, a lot of people will be depending on me."
"They already have been depending on you, every time you have fought the Angel's thus far, the people here had depended upon you." Fuyutsuki explained. "Your stronger then you think Shinji."
"But if I make a bad decision . . ."
"That is what you have me for, you have me, Misato, Ritsuko, and the rest of the bridge staff, we're all here to advise you Shinji. You need not bare the weight alone."
I'm not alone in this . . . right . . . I can do this . . . I mustn't run away . . . I must do this . . . I can do this . . . I will do this. "Alright then . . . Sub Commander . . . uhm . . . continue with your, erm briefing . . . please." He said awkwardly, if he was going to do this he might as well get used to the way he was going to have to address people on the job.
"Very well, lets start from the beginning then, with a man named Kiel Lorenze, the founder of an organization known as SEELE, and his plans for instrumentality . . ."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Rei stood before the entrance to the cage for several long minutes. She was dressed in her white plugsuit with the A10 connectors prepared. Most would find this strange considering Unit-00 was not scheduled for a synchronization test. Unknown to Shinji, he had started Rei's systematic and extremely task driven mind on a very dangerous path. It was not without a great deal of care that Gendo had moved through his relationship with Rei, with so much control of her thought processes any significant deviance could greatly affect the scenario. My purpose was to initiate instrumentality, I was to die in the process . . . I want to die . . . Now my purpose is to stop instrumentality, I choose still to die in the process. "Do not worry Ikari . . . I will help you." She whispered to herself before proceeding into the cage to fulfill her purpose.
The technicians working on replacing Unit-00's brutalized armor saw Rei the moment she approached. "Miss Ayanami, what are you doing here?" One of them asked as he dropped down from the EVA's shoulder and onto the catwalk, blocking her path.
"Please get out of my way."
"I'm sorry Ma'am, Unit-00 is currently undergoing a maintenance cycle, we're not ready for a synch test." The man ran his hand through his hair as he gazed up at the empty testing station. "I don't remember a test being scheduled."
"Is Unit-00 able to synchronize?" Rei asked.
"Well . . . yeah, the plug system is functioning, though everything accept the ejection batteries have been removed, the power train is offline."
"I see . . . that won't be a problem." Rei moved towards the EVA but the technician continued to block her path, the rest of the crew was watching now.
"Ma'am I cannot allow you near the EVA at this time." He said politely.
Rei bowed her head slightly, "I see . . . please forgive me then."
"For wha . . ." The man didn't finish as a hexagon of light slammed him back against the catwalk railing, knocking him unconscious instantly. Sirens began to sound distantly as the MAGI detected the blue light phenomena.
The other techs backed away from Rei nervously, save one, a Section Two Operative assigned to the shift. "Angel . . ." He hissed, yanking a 9mm from a side holster and firing the entire 16 round magazine into Rei's center of mass in a little under five seconds. Her AT field flickered as each one hit. The bullets dropped harmlessly to the ground as Rei spoke again.
"Please, sound the alarm to evacuate the GeoFront." Rei said softly. "I do not wish to end your lives, only my own."
The Section Two Agent and other technicians gave Rei a wide birth as she walked up to Unit-00 and proceeded to work her way to the partially inserted entry plug.
"What do you intend to do." The Agent shouted, causing Rei to pause for a moment.
"I am . . . going home." She disappeared into the entry plug. And then to the horror of the entire technical crew Unit-00 began to shift, coming fully to life.
"How is this even possible, the power supply was disconnected, she shouldn't even be able to power up the displays." One tech shouted as he shouldered the man who had stood in Rei's way.
"Shit, doesn't matter, get off the catwalk!"
Rei gave the small technical contingent ample time to clear away from Unit-00 before she began to move, she felt slightly ill putting so much strain on her S2 core to power the EVA, but it would be necessary, there were only a few umbilical lines between the Cage and Terminal Dogma and with Unit-00's battery system disabled she would need enough power to complete her task when she arrived.
Despite her nausea, Rei had never felt more at piece with herself then as she walked towards her death, finally, finally, it could all end.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The sirens blared as Shinji came sprinting into Central Dogma. "What's going on?" He shouted.
"Sir!" Hyuga shouted, eliciting odd looks from both Maya and Aoba who had not been present at the private announcement of NERV's new commanding officer, they mentally shrugged and decided to follow Makoto's lead. "We detected a blue pattern originating from the cage, reports indicate a person tentatively identified as Pilot Ayanami mobilizing Unit-00, reports suggest she intends to destroy the GeoFront, all non essential personnel are now evacuating."
Ayanami is going to attack the GeoFront! Why? Shinji pushed the thought aside he had to keep a level head, he was the Commander now, that was what he was supposed to do, right? Deep within Shinji's mind, long unused gears began to turn. "Why can't you just shut her EVA down?" Shinji asked, he knew that the bridge crew could override and deactivate any or all of an EVA's systems, he'd at least picked up a few things from the instruction manual he was supposed to study whenever he was at NERV. It made a lot of sense actually, if a pilot snapped in the plug the command staff could bring them down without hurting them or damaging the EVA.
"We're trying to but Casper has launched a hack attack on Melchior and Balthasar, it does not appear to be interfering with normal operations, but its overriding any attempt to tamper with Unit-00 or the emergency doors." Maya explained.
Something else that had been said worked its way through Shinji's confused mind. "Wait, you said a blue pattern, you mean an AT field was detected? Where is it?" Shinji asked, the last thing he needed was this happening on his first day as commander . . .
"The field is centered on Unit-00, a Section Two Agent reported that pilot Ayanami is apparently the source." Aoba said.
"Are you saying . . . Ayanami . . . is the Angel?" Shinji asked as he paled. The small militant section of Shinji's brain overflowed with hate as instincts that had been hammered into him by his last three battles with the Angels tried to assert control, and were brutally crushed by his conscious will. No she can't be.
"Its very strange," Maya said ignoring that Shinji was the only one to report to, after all he was a pilot, he would need to know all of this just as much as Misato, or Fuyutsuki.
"What's strange?" Shinji asked.
"The MAGI have not designated the Angel with a number, they have only identified its presence. We are currently running a level three diagnostic of the MAGI system but no errors have been detected." Maya clarified, she wished Ritsuko was there, she wasn't nearly as good with the Magi as her Sempai.
"Commander, what is your decision." Fuyutsuki asked from the bridge entrance as he finally caught up, the sprint from the Commander's office had winded him, but he had taken the time to catch his breath before speaking.
Commander? Aoba and Maya thought simultaneously.
"My . . . decision . . . no this is too soon." Shinji said shaking his head, "I'm sorry . . . I just can't do this yet." He said shaking his head violently.
"I would suggest . . . taking Unit-01 and heading down to stop her." Fuyutsuki said gently.
"But . . . Rei is . . . I can't, Rei's not an Angel, she can't be . . . I . . . don't want to hurt her!"
"And why should you have to do that?" Fuyutsuki asked, entering his Socrates introspection mode.
"Sir?" Shinji asked, startled into reverting to his normal mode of address.
"You're right Shinji, Rei is not an Angel." Fuyutsuki said calmly, trying to diffuse the situation. "You know she is a person, and because of that you can talk to her. Please Shinji, Rei is honest at heart, give her a chance to change her mind."
Shinji nodded, "Right, I'll do that. Uhm, Fuyustuki you have command here. Hyuga, get Unit-01 prepared for launch, I'm heading out." Shinji shouted down to the second tier of the bridge as he rushed back towards the exit.
God speed Ikari. Fuyutsuki thought before turning back to matter at hand. "Activate the bakelite suppression system, slow Unit-00 down by any means necessary!"
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Rei paused before the upper level elevator to terminal Dogma. Her progress had been slowed somewhat due to the constraints of her core, fortunately the back doors the Commander had told her about, had worked perfectly. Casper was on her side and was relentlessly waging a guerilla war in cyberspace, preventing the other two MAGI from stopping her.
I'm coming home mother, soon I can return to your embrace . . . soon I can return to the water and light. Rei thought, a soft smile crossed her face. She would fulfill her orders by closing off one avenue for third impact, without Lilith or the Lance of Longinus almost eighty seven percent of the scenarios for initiating third Impact would become unviable. With that done Rei would no long have a reason to exist. I wish you would tell me that I am doing the right thing Sir. Rei thought, she was certain Commander Ikari, Commander Gendo Ikari, would approve of her following the orders of her Commander, of fulfilling her duty.
And then . . . I can return to nothingness. Rei stepped Unit-00 onto the elevator and began her descent. The lift system of the elevator was designed with a mechanical based resistance system that would lower it when sufficient weight was placed on top, such as an EVA. Though this was at a much slower rate then the electrical based primary system, it could not be deactivated from Central Dogma and would get her to her target in good time.
Time was one thing she had plenty of, even at this slow pace. It would take Melchior and Balthasar quite some time to crack the fire walls protecting Unit-00 from a remote override.
The lift shuddered to a stop and Unit-00 stepped off, trudging slowly forward with the bare minimum of power needed to stand. Heavens gate barred her way, but that was irrelevant, she activated the progressive knife that she had taken from one of the arming stations and began to cut through, it would take some time, but again, she had plenty.
The metal resisted at first, and then slowly gave as she continued to cut, the soft melting edges of high tensile steel glowed a dull red, outlining the path the superheated blade was taking. In less then a minute and a half she had finished, and with a single solid push she sent the entire door, a whole twelve inches thick and fit to take an N2 mine at half a kilometer, toppling inward, revealing Terminal Dogma to her.
Unit-00 staggered forward and proceeded directly to Lilith. Rei stopped thirty meters from the pale bulk of the crucified Angel, its body was a bloated disfigured caricature of the female body, hundreds of human sized legs hung like welts around the stumps of its own amputated lower appendages.
Rei stood there for what felt like a life time before summoning her S2 cores full ability to generate sufficient energy. Rei's AT field reached out and negated Lilith's own. Ten minutes . . . That should be enough time. Rei decided as she reset the rate of reaction.
She opened a small panel above and behind her seat flipping a trio of switches before snapping open a final control on the induction rod her right hand rested on. She held down the switch for five seconds. Pressing it again would deactivate the reaction. She did not intend to press it again.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"Shinji . . . Commander Ikari." Maya said over the com line, voice urgent. Apparently Fuyutsuki had explained things as Shinji proceeded towards terminal dogma. "Unit-00 has breached Heaven's Gate and activated its D-drive."
Shinji's eyes widened, "Rei's going to self destruct her EVA." Shinji whispered to himself. "How much time do I have?" He asked to Maya.
"She's reset the self destruct from the standard sixty seconds to ten minutes. We think whatever the Pilot is using to power Unit-00 can't generate enough energy to initiate the reaction any faster then that."
Shinji nodded, "Please Miss Ibuki, evacuate everyone. I don't want you people to die if I can't stop her."
Another face flashed onto the monitor, Misato looked furious. "No way Shinji, we're in this with you to the bitter end . . . hey where's Aoba?" She asked speaking to someone out of the camera's view.
"Well . . . Okay, almost all of us are with you to the bitter end." Misato said smiling weakly, "Can you stop Rei in ten minutes?"
"I think so, I'm not far from Terminal Dogma now." Shinji said, now feeling very fortunate that Fuyutsuki had explained the existence of the place before hand, it really saved on time, at least he knew what to expect.
"And thanks for shutting down the GeoFront's self destruct Hyuga."
Hyuga's face flashed up in a third window, "Don't mention it Sir, Unit-00 will do it for us if you don't stop it so one way or another the job will get done." The frail looking Lieutenant chuckled nervously.
Misato closed her line and turned to the Sub Commander making certain that Shinji wouldn't here anything on Maya or Hyuga's open lines. "Sir, why are you letting him do this? Unit-00 is obviously being controlled by an Angel, if Rei is piloting it then she isn't Rei anymore. You even authorized the deactivation of the self destruct. That thing is trying to start Third Impact!"
"Major . . . How much do you know about Rei?"
Misato looked confused, "What does that have to do with all of this?"
Kozou sighed, "It won't hurt to tell you now, Rei is a hybrid we created using human and angel Genetic material . . . so all of her actions thus far are well within her own estimated abilities."
Misato's face paled before suddenly turning red with rage. Both Hyuga and Maya looked up as Misato shouted. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME NERV MADE AN ANGEL!"
The Sub Commander frowned, "The appropriate term would be Nephilim, and yes . . . but because of her nature . . . Rei . . . unlike any other Angel . . . can be reasoned with, she has her own thoughts and feelings, which are distinctly human if admittedly flawed . . . And . . ." Fuyutsuki continued darkly. "If Shinji is forced to kill her now, who do you think he will place all of the blame for her death upon?"
Misato understood, "He would blame himself, Sir."
Fuyutsuki nodded. "What is worse, he would be absolutely right to do so, because any actions taken by this branch are now direct extensions of Shinji's will. He, must bring her back alive, for his own sake."
Misato turned back to observe the main monitor, "So you think Shinji can talk her out of this?" She asked softly.
"If anyone can it is Shinji."
"They're not exactly that close."
"Oh." Kozou said smiling faintly, "I think Shinji is the closest thing to a friend Rei has."
"Yeah? And why would you say that?"
"Because . . . she smiled for him."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Rei turned as she heard a crashing sound coming from the direction of Heaven's Gate. A moment later Unit-01 emerged from the darkness it stepped forward until it was standing only fifty meters from Unit-00's blistered orange body. Rei regarded the machine for a moment, she had eight minutes until the self destruct was completed, it would take that much time to gather enough energy within the EVA's core. Unit-01 would protect Shinji, even a self destruct capable of destroying the GeoFront would be unable to stop it from protecting it's child.
"Ayanami." She paused for a moment as she noted another blocked attempt to transmit a message to her EVA. Then after another moment Unit-01's external speakers activated. "Ayanami?"
Rei paused, she had to answer. "Yes Sir?"
8:00
"I just wanted to ask you . . ." Shinji thought furiously, "why are you doing this?"
"Because you wish for NERV to avert Third Impact, I am helping you by destroying two of the possible catalysts."
7:40
"But why?"
"Because it is my purpose?"
"What? Ayanami, what do you mean its your purpose . . ."
"My purpose was to be your Father's instrument, I was never intended to survive."
7:20
"What do you mean? Ayanami please stop this, you don't need to kill yourself, we can get rid of the Angel another way, self destructing your EVA isn't the answer."
Rei closed her eyes, and a very slight smile crept across her face, "No . . . Ikari . . . This is the way it must be."
"Buy why?"
7:00
"Ikari . . . I am what humans call a Nephilim."
"A Nephilim?" Shinji asked, he wasn't particularly familiar with the term, he thought it stemmed from Jewish or Christian mythology but that was from playing to many of Kensuke's RPGs.
"Yes . . . I was created to initiate Third Impact and bend it to your Father's will."
"Then . . . you really are an Angel . . . you always have been." Shinji asked feeling deeply ill. He forced the thoughts aside, so what she was a half Angel, that didn't change a thing. The Sub Commander knew Rei's secret, he knew, but he still thinks she can be reasoned with. Shinji already had taught himself an important lesson, without even knowing it, he had learned to put faith in his subordinates.
"A half Angel," Rei corrected, voice unwavering. "This was done to assure that I could not initiate and Impact on my own, another component is needed."
6:20
Shinji shook his head, "But that doesn't explain a thing, if your half angel, then your half human too! Please Rei . . . Deactivate the self destruct and get out of Unit-00 it doesn't need to end this way."
6:05
"No, you are wrong. It must end this way, man and Angel cannot coexist, and my nature would be to listen to Adam's call, as long as my core functions I will be drawn to initiating Third Impact."
"Damn it Ayanami, I order you to deactivate Unit-00 and eject your entry plug."
"I must refuse that order sir."
"What! Damn it, I'm your Commander aren't I?"
5:40
"I believe you have not been fully informed, therefore I must act on my own to fulfill my purpose."
"Just answer the question Ayanami, why do you want to die."
"Because I do not wish to live." Rei said simply.
"But why?" Shinji asked. There was a silence that ate up precious seconds.
"Because . . ." The next words nearly didn't sound like Rei. "Have you ever felt . . . you are missing something . . . so important . . . that everyone else has . . . and so you search for it . . . but you do not even know what it is?" Even distorted by Unit-00's speakers Rei's voice sounded sad. "I feel this, every moment, I wish to end it, to return to the nothingness I was made from."
4:40
"And what about me?" Shinji asked, "What will happen to me, and Misato, and the others when Unit-00 self destructs inside the GeoFront."
"It was their own choice to stay, I know the evacuation has been called, and . . . Unit-01 will protect you from the blast." Rei paused as she sensed something. "Ikari, what are you doing?
"I've lowered my AT field Rei, if you become nothing, I will too."
4:00
"Ayanami . . ." Wait!
"Ayanami, Rei, what does your name mean, what does Rei mean?" Shinji asked quickly.
"My name . . ." Rei asked, she felt a slight tightening within her chest. "Rei means . . . zero."
"But it also means spirit, doesn't it."
"Yes . . . at least . . . that is what your Father told me . . ." Rei's eyes began to sting. "What are you doing, why are you doing this Ikari?"
3:20
"Because I don't want you to die." He said gently eyeing the timer as he spoke. "What else is there to know about you Ayanami."
"What do you mean?" She asked, hesitation began to fill her being.
"What do you like, what do you do, how do you feel?"
Rei felt her hands beginning to tremble, "I . . . I like the color blue." She said hesitantly."
"Yes, and?" Shinji asked, he could feel it, she was starting down the right path.
"I like water . . . and I dislike the color red, I do not eat meat, I eat instant noodles for most of my meals, but sometimes I have a salad instead." She whispered, her vision was blurring and she could no longer see the timer counting down. "I enjoy swimming . . . And I find history interesting."
"But what about people, how do you feel towards people?" Shinji asked.
"I . . . I do not know."
Shinji grit his teeth, he didn't want to bring this subject up, but he had no choice, "My father, what about my father?"
"I . . . The former Commander, was most agreeable, I . . . miss him . . ."
"Did you feel better when you were with him?" Shinji asked softly.
"Yes." Rei's voice had become miserable, and yet Shinji could not even see her face.
"And did it hurt when he was talking to others, and not you."
"Y-yes." Even someone as dense as Shinji to the troubles of other's could tell he was pushing Rei towards an emotional collapse. Forgive me Ayanami . . . but I think you need this.
1:30
"You loved him didn't you, he was like a father to you wasn't he?"
There was a long pause. "Yes." Rei said again.
"I hate you for that Ayanami . . . I hate you for receiving his love instead of me, but I also care for you because I thought we were friends, and if you stop this I promise I'll help you find what everyone else has . . ."
"I cannot . . . I am . . ." She said, her resolve disintegrating.
"AYANAMI DON'T YOU GET IT!" He shouted, tears coming to his own eyes. "YOUR NOT AN ANGEL AYANAMI, ANGELS DON'T HAVE THINGS THEY LIKE OR DISLIKE, THEY DON'T HAVE LOVED ONES, AND THEY DON'T HAVE NAMES. YOU ARE NOT AN ANGEL YOU ARE YOU, YOU ARE REI AYANAMI!"
0:40
Rei's eyes widened, "But this is the only choice Shinji, I must either die or initiate Impact, it is the nature of all the Angel's . . ."
"You said it yourself Ayanami your half angel, and half human, who says you can't be human instead."
"Be . . . human?" Rei whispered.
0:20
"Ayanami, PLEASE, STOP THIS."
Rei's eyes snapped between the Unit-01, the timer and then the flashing message signal. She opened the video feed and her entire body froze as she saw Shinji crying."
Her attention continued to run between all three of them. Unit-01, the timer, Shinji, Unit-01, the timer, Shinji . . . "Ayanami, Please, Stop this." Be an Angel . . . Be human . . . Angel . . . Human . . . Angel . . . Human. Rei let out an anguished cry.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"Ma'am the AT field has spiked!" Maya shouted as the timer hit 0:15.
"What's happening?" Misato shouted, she didn't have a clue what was happening with Shinji, whatever was going on they weren't talking on the com lines.
"The Angel's AT field is fluctuating!"
"Is it going to blow up!" Misato watched as the timer read 0:03. You gave it a good try Shinji. She closed her eyes tight and waited for her consciousness to cease . . . It never came. The Major opened her eyes again and starred at the timer, it had stopped at 0:02 seconds. Well, 0:02.24 seconds, but that was hardly relevant, it had stopped.
"Ma'am, Unit-00 has lost power . . . the Angel has gone silent." Hyuga reported.
Misato looked at the monitor which displayed terminal dogma through a camera at Heaven's Gate. Unit-00 had collapsed on the ground, Unit-01, its extension cord running back over the destroyed blast door, was busily prying the armor away from the entry plug. "Does this mean . . . Rei is gone?"
"Unknown ma'am." Hyuga said, "But an AT field has never gone silent before without the total destruction of the projecting Angel."
"MAGI Casper has been deactivated, triumvirate system switching to standby, Melchior has control, GeoFront operations switching to standby mode." A neutral female voice reported as the MAGI finally succeeded in overriding their rebellious companion.
"Good." Fuyutsuki said to himself before turning to Maya. "Get me a camera feed from Unit-00's plug." The Camera's had their own power supply so they would work even if the plug was removed from the EVA. Everyone waited.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Shinji pulled on the emergency hatch release, grunting in exertion, at least it wasn't like putting his hand on a frying pan like last time, but when he opened it this time, what would he see? Unit-00 had just stopped dead after Rei had crying out.
Finally the hatch gave and he force his head inside. The first thing he heard . . . was a very strange noise . . . short and shot full of misery . . . he gazed into the darkness until he finally saw Rei's form, curled up, half submerged in the LCL near the front of the plug.
"Ayanami?"
The sniffling grew louder, she was crying. He slid into the plug and started working his way towards her. "Ayanami?"
Her reply, somehow managed to retain some of her normal calm, but it could not hide her misery. "Ikari . . . I feel . . . so cold, it hurts . . ." There was a short pause and Shinji could just make out Rei wiping her eyes and looking at the fingers of plug suit. "Water? No, tears . . . I am crying . . . why I am crying?"
Shinji smiled sadly at her, she seemed to notice him for the first time. "Ikari . . . why are you smiling . . . that is something you do when you are happy correct?"
Shinji nodded, "Yeah, it is." He agreed gently.
"But . . . I do not feel like smiling." She replied.
"That's okay Ayanami . . . do you . . . want to cry instead."
There was a long pause, then the sniffling grew in volume and turned to outright sobs. Shinji slid all the way down and wrapped both arms around Rei, pulling her up so that her head rested on his chest, he was still in his street clothes, not having a chance to change into a plugsuit, he wore only the A10 emitters which went unnoticed as he rested his chin atop the LCL soaked stringy clump of azure that made up Rei's hair.
"Shhhhhhh . . . Shhhhhhh . . . Its okay Ayanami, you can cry as long as you need to." He didn't know why he spoke, or why he spoke of what he did, Shinji wasn't even sure how he had spoken to Rei only minutes ago in the way he had. He just did what felt right, and for once, just this once, didn't worry about the consequences.
She kept crying for what seemed like hours before Shinji spoke again. "I'm going to keep my promise Ayanami . . . I'll help you find that piece that's missing."
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"Major . . . stand down the alert." Fuyutsuki said softly, "And send a retrieval team for Pilot Ayanami and Commander Ikari, tell them to be gentle with both of them." Fuyutsuki said.
"But sir!" Misato protested, Rei had still demonstrated that she was an Angel, how could the sub commander take this so lightly?
"I gave you a direct order Major . . . and regardless, Rei is not a threat."
"What do you mean Sir?" Misato asked.
The Sub Commander's only explanation was to nod towards a monitor. "We just connected with the plug Camera. I don't know about you Major . . . But I for one don't believe Angel's can cry."
Misato sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled. "Yeah, I guess your right . . . wow . . . he really did it."
"With some help." Fuyutsuki agreed. "Oh and Major . . . please find Doctor Akagi, we will need her to check over Rei."
"Yes Sir . . . But I want an explanation for all of this when we're done." Misato said before heading off the bridge and towards Terminal Dogma, she wanted to be there when the rescue team arrived so she could chew Shinji out. Her pace faltered suddenly when she realized that she was about to go chew out her boss. Maybe I should go find Ritsuko first. She thought suddenly, yeah the rescue teams could take care of Shinji and Rei, she would go find Ritsuko.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
"So . . . are you saying you're going to keep her on the active pilots roster?" Misato asked angrily.
"Yes, I don't see any problem with it." Shinji said as he sat behind his desk. Misato slammed her hand down hard on the desk top rattling pencils and pens about.
"You know what she is don't you!"
"Yes, I do." Shinji said.
"And?"
"It doesn't change who she is, you've worked with her for two years and never once have you had a complaint before now."
"That's not the point, I didn't know she was a threat then, would you keep a spy in NERV, just because they've done there job well while they've been here. What makes you think you can trust her."
"Actually Major, the Commander has a very good reason." Ritsuko said as she came rushing towards the Commander's desk holding a clipboard covered in notes. "I was right, the AT field spiking was it folding in on itself as a coherent beam."
Misato blinked, "What are you talking about Ritsuko."
She handed the papers to Shinji who looked them over and then sighed, "Ritsuko . .. You know I can't read this stuff."
"Oh, of course, I apologize." The bottle blond doctor said as she picked the papers back up. "We did a full rundown, if Rei had been a normal Angel she wouldn't have survived it, its . . . quite simply incredible, and this ability for her basic assumed values to shift so radically, well its simply amazing . . ."
"Ritz, slow down your going to hurt yourself." Misato said, it was very rare to see Ritsuko excited about anything, then again, she was normally under too much stress and being constrained by too tight a schedule to get very excited.
"Let me explain." Ritsuko said, turning over a piece of paper. "Ok, in a normal Angel . . ." Ritsuko pulled a marker from her pocket and drew the diamond form of the 5th Angel. "In a normal Angel there is only one Organ, and perhaps two or three different kinds of cells, Nerve Cells, Muscle Cells, and what we call projector Cells, which are the Cells the Angel's use to generate their high energy beams, their whips and such. The only supporting organ is their core . . . which acts like a sort of . . . super mitochondria, generating energy, and all of the necessary proteins, carbohydrates, enzymes, etc. It also generates tremendous amounts of electrical energy." Ritsuko drew a circle as the center of the 5th Angel and little lightning bolts in all directions.
"Now in nephilim . . ."
"Like Rei?" Misato asked.
"Yes like Rei . . ." Ritsuko drew a pretty good approximation of Rei's figure in silhouette.
"I didn't know you were so good at this." Misato commented.
"What? Oh yes, old habit from my child hood, I used to draw Manga characters, never lost the knack for it. Now then, like I was saying, In nephilims the S2 core serves the same basic role, accelerating healing, generating lots of power, AT field projection, but the Nephilim also have their human physiology to fall back on. The ratio of materials used in our bodies and in Angels is approximately the same, and the basic pattern of our DNA is very similar, but that tiny fraction of difference packs a wallop."
"Most of the supporting characteristics that we associate with the Angels, are at least partially integrate into the individual cells of the nephilim, unlike normal angel cells which with the exception of nerve cells, totally lack in both a nucleus and most of the membrane bound organelles we associate with normal cell physiology.'
"So the angels are just bunches of prokaryotic cells?" Shinji asked, he knew enough biology to find that very strange.
"Sort of . . . though there do seem to be some organelles particularly in the emitter cells, most of the angel's body seems to be just a physical manifestation for its core to manipulate."
"This is all very interesting but what does it have to do with Rei?" Misato asked, getting fed up.
"Oh yes, like I was saying Rei as a nephilim has the back up of her human organs if her core fails. That is why she is alive at all right now."
"The AT field spike you told me about?" Shinji said.
"Yes." Ritsuko agreed smiling very slightly. "To think, that an Angel would consciously choose to destroy her own core. It goes against everything we ever assumed about them."
Misato looked back and forth between Shinji and Ritsuko. "You mean, Rei got rid of her Angel half?" She asked confused.
"Not quite." Ritsuko said, "She still retains many of the supporting characteristics of her angel genetics. It would be more accurate to say she crippled her Angel half. That AT field spike we detected was Rei turning her AT field back in upon its source. We took a cell sample from her lower abdomen where her core resided, the organ was completely pulverized, it will probably continue to disintegrate over the next few weeks, but if there are any complications we'll surgically remove the remains."
"That's why I trust her Misato . . . she listened to me and gave up her AT field, nearly limitless energy, immortality, that's what the S2 core is to the Angels and Nephilim." Shinji said quietly. "She gave that all up because she believes that I will help her, and I'm going to do just that . . . But that means I have to trust her too."
Misato stared at Shinji in aw, he was not being harsh . . . but he was being very firm. He really seems like a Commander right now. She nodded slowly, "I'm still filing a complaint over this." She said lamely.
"I would expect you to Misato . . . and thank you . . . for understanding." Shinji stood up from behind his desk and scanned his office. "You know, I'm not sure I want to keep this place . . . could we turn it into a lunger or something?"
Ritsuko and Misato blinked stupidly. "Yeah maybe." Misato finally said.
"Good, I'd kinda like a smaller office . . . you know maybe about the size of Ritsuko's." Shinji continued as he walked towards the door. "Oh and maybe we can see about getting some nice pictures for the walls, and some vending machines."
Misato and Ritsuko followed their new boss and employer towards the door to the office that would soon be the most often visited lounge in the GeoFront. What they didn't know, what nobody save Shinji knew, was that he had not made a promise just to Rei . . . He had promised . . . That he would help them all.