Yeah, I realize that some of you… A few characters may be out of order, but think of this. It has been a year since her death. I haven't incorporated anything about SEELE in here yet, but don't worry, it'll happen eventually. Rei has been in purgatory and hell for about a year, and has seen things and learnt things about life and death that she had no idea of before. People change, especially around the ages of 14 and 15. Even in a month, peoples personalities can change drastically based on changes in thought process, let alone a year. It's not to say that Rei is acting way out in left field. If she was, she would be all over the place. She has an emotional buildup now, but does not know exactly how to control it. For all of the people that keep telling me that she should be passive, emotionless and vapid essentially, that makes an especially boring character. The fans love Rei for her mysterious conduct, and drearily confusing past, not for her absence of emotion. And… If you're one of those that like her for her absence of emotion, you'd have to think that makes for a pretty boring character. One more thing. Numerous people have emailed me individually saying that I should be inserting things like kun after peoples names and other things like that. I'm not a japanophile, and I'm not from Japan so I'm not going to do it. The story is written in English, and it's staying that way. I'm sorry if this sounds a little ranty… But I've kinda had a bad day today, plus I keep hearing the same old "Rei is out of character" stuff. It's not to say that I'm rejecting all criticism, for many of you have made good points and are helping me along with this story in one way or another. Character and expectation of the act of a character are two different things though, and people change. This is the concept that most stories long and short are based around, character development. And now… Enjoy the story. Sorry if I pissed you off if this is too long. I'd like to leave this on a positive note, so enjoy! ;
"Gray…" Shinji faded in and out of conciousness. From time to time he would wake for only a few seconds before passing out again. During these few seconds of awake and tangible thought all he could see was gray in intertwining shades, symbolic of an overcast sky. After what seemed like days, Shinji finally awoke once again. His head wasn't nearly as swimmy this time, and he felt that maybe he could stay awake. Again he saw the same gray mural painted above him, filling his vision completely. He lay there for a minute or two, until he felt something brush against his face. It was kind of scratchy, and cold. He turned his head, and witnessed a tall blade of crimson red grass mixed in with hundreds of other blades of grass identical to it. Sitting up he glanced about, bewildered as to where he was and how he got there. Around him for miles upon miles, as far as he could see an expanse high crimson grass flourished and completely covered the landscape. He went to stand, and heard a crunch under his feet. It was the refreshing crunch of snow under his shoes. It seemed that the first layer of the topsoil was completely composed of snow. Curious, Shinji pulled out a grass plant, but it came up fairly easily. There was no dirt surrounding the roots, only frozen crystals of water and snow. He realized that the gray mural above him earlier was indeed an overcast sky. He stood up, standing as the tallest thing for miles around save for a few hills in the distance. In the distance under darker clouds lightning flashed. A fair breeze swept through, persuading the sea of red grass to sway and dance. It came up to his waist, tickling at his bare stomach and forearms.
"W-w-where am I?" He questioned aloud. "Am I dead? Is this supposed to be heaven?"
"Oh I think not. Heavens the last place you'd wanna be, trust me on that one kid."
"Wha?" Shinji spun around to face a figure only a few inches taller than he. He was an odd looking fellow. He wore a long grayish-white trenchcoat. Underneath this he wore black. Black shirt, black gloves, and black pants tucked into knee high leather boots with a steel tips on them.
"Uh, who are you?" Shinji asked cautiously, obviously curious as to where this person came from.
"Edgar Archilaron at your service my friend." He replied. Shinji was still fixated on his odd appearance. He had jet black hair that Hung low in the back and sides in a choppy fashion, with a long spike bang that hung over his left eye. His lips were black, probably covered with some kind of lipstick or something. His skin was ghostly white, and his eyes were a deep turquoise. Black points that hung from the bottom corners of both eyes on the outermost parts of his face. One would say that Edgar looked "gothic", but the black seemed to be tattooed on, and he seemed eerie and kind of strange if anything. Looking him over Shinji noticed something. A large scythe with a blood colored blade hung from his back. This Edgar fellow must have been following his eyes the entire time because he said "Hey, don't worry. I'm not gonna kill you okay?" His face contorted into a friendly smirk and he detached the scythe and cast it a few yards to his right.
"Well, aren't you going to tell me who you are?" He asked. His tone seemed upbeat, and he seemed to look as if he were in his early twenties. His voice was light, a little less boyish than Shinji's though. Shinji thought he could detect a very small hint of an English or European sounding accent.
"Oh, uhm… I'm—"
"Don't worry I was only kidding, Shinji Ikari. I know who you are, and I knew you're friend too."
"But how do you… My friend? Who? And how do you know who I am?" Shinji probed, almost demanding an answer.
"You're friend Rei Ayanami of course. The cute quiet one with the blue hair and red eyes?" He answered. "She told me about you, and said that it would be wise of me to summon you here sometime… But it seems you came all your own." He cocked a brow at Shinji's puzzled look. "You do know who I'm talking about of course? If all went right, she should have returned from the dead directly in your presence…"
"Oh, yes… I know who you're talking about… We're quite good friends." Shinji replied meekly.
"Just good friends huh? Is that all?" Edgar questioned, probing further and further with a pushing smirk.
"Well… We're sort of… Not just—I don't know…" Shinji's expression contorted into that of inquisition. "Wait, what business is it of yours anyway? I don't even know you!"
"Whoa whoa, calm down there tiger. I saw what you did to that kid a few days ago. Came up here for a visit after going into a coma and almost dying, don't want that happening to me." He said rather sarcastically. "But God! That kid was a real douchebag! He deserved that ass kicking if I do say so myself."
'Fucker…' Shinji thought upon the subject the said student. "Well listen. Enough of the small talk. Who are you, and where the hell am I?" Shinji asked acrimoniously.
"Well… It seems the gentle boys taking charge now." Edgar's sarcastic and lighthearted demeanor was getting on Shinji's nerves, and he could tell. "Well fine, ruin all the fun I guess. Truth is kid."
"Don't call me kid."
"Fine. The truth is Shinji, that this is purgatory, limbo, or whatever else you want to call it. That place between Heaven and Hell that is neutral of chaos either negative or positive. I am Edgar as I told you before, and I was simply asked by Rei to wait for you here." Shinji's eyes took on a look of worry and grief.
"So I'm dead?"
"No Shinji, no my friend. In the real world you are simply suspended in a comatose state for the time being. You aren't dead, but nonetheless you are stuck here with me for a little while. Now, I'm going to get right down to business and show you just why you are here. You defeated that stone monstrosity of an Angel before you came here right?" Edgar inquired. He seemed very interested in these matters. Shinji's hand fidgeted slightly.
"Uh, yeah." Accustomed to some very strange things in his life, Shinji accepted his position and answered Edgar as if he were any other person in his life.
"Please, let's sit down! I have forgot my manners if I do say so myself."
"But what about the snow? We'll get wet, and the grass…"
"Nothing to worry about friend! I'll take care of it in a second. Edgar reached out to his left. From the grass into which it was thrown his scythe seemed to somehow levitate or fly back into his hand. It struck a memory in Shinji's mind, one about the way these men in cloaks would summon strange glowing swords in a movie he had seen awhile back. 'Huh… What was the name of that? Star Wars or something?' His thoughts began to wander. They were broken when he saw what Edgar was doing. He seemed to be walking around in a circle, as if looking for something in the grass. Then without warning, he let out a savage yell and spun really fast on his heel in a circle. With his arms fully extended, the scythe ripped into the red grass, cutting it away from the ground. At the same time, he became enveloped in a sort of smoke and the crimson vegetation started to burn down to the ground, as if set fire by Edgars scythe. Slowly the smoke settled, and the Snow seemed to have melted away completely. What was left in a large circle around Edgar was a clearing, and on the ground instead of dirt or snow, there was much shorter grass, one that somebody would find on their lawn. The tiny blades were charred at the end, and it was evident what they once were.
"Do, come and sit down." Shinji obeyed, stepping into the small circle and sitting down. The grass now towered a few inches over his head, and the two were enclosed in the small space. "I'm going to be frank about this, Shinji my friend. Earth is about to be hit with a war more intense than all of your own civil and continental wars combined. We've predicted that—"
"Who's predicted?" Shinji asked him, wanting to know just who he was talking about. "Rei kept talking about all of these things she came to know while she was dead, all of these they's and he's, but I don't know who any of these people are.
"In good time I'll tell you my friend, but for now may I stick to the story?" Edgar retorted, leaning back on his elbow casually. Shinji leaned back as well, deciding to relax some. After all, the place was calm, and very soothing. "Anyways, we've predicted that they'll start with a fleet of smaller ships, mostly transports to bring upon the surface of your planet hundreds upon thousands of angels."
"Thousands?" Shinji exploded, obviously flabbergasted by this statement of thousands of angels. "One angel is enough! Two is madness, and Three is just pure chaos! What the hell are we going to do against Thousands of angels? Three Eva's can't possibly stand up to that many, and the regular military task force won't pose any kind of resistance!"
"Calm down Shinji, it's not as bad as you think." It had been maybe fifteen minutes, and Shinji and Edgar were already arguing over the matter as if they had known each other for years. In a place so expansive one would figure there was no way of avoiding another person if they truly wanted to talk to them, for they could be seen even from miles away, wading through the sea of red grass. "Listen here. These angels aren't anywhere near as bad as you'll think they are. You know the generic angels you see in Christmas cards and hear about in bibles and shit? Humanoid figures with wings? Well that's what a good portion of them will be, but they'll be covered completely in full body armor and they'll be carrying swords, brimstone guns and shit like that. They aren't the saviors they're made out to be." Edgar stopped for a second, casting his gaze off into the bullet gray clouds. "You see Shinji, this is a full scale invasion on heavens part. You know what instrumentality is?"
"Yes. I know very well what it is." Shinji's eyes grew with discontent. The subject of instrumentality always brought up unpleasant thoughts.
"Well Shinji… As you've seen, the angels ultimate goal has been instrumentality, ever since day one. In order to completely describe the point of such a goal… There's something I'll have to show you…" Standing up, Edgar picked up his scythe and tapped it on the ground twice, muttering something Shinji couldn't quite make out. "Don't fret to much Shinji. All of this is just an illusion."
"What? An illusion? Hey! How are you doing all this? I want some godamned answers!"
"Sssh. Shinji, you're about to get all of the answers that you need." The ground suddenly crumbled from beneath their feet, and Shinji found himself in the sky, hundreds upon hundreds of feet above the ground.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" Instinctively he began to wave his arms and cringe, but when he realized that he wasn't falling and that it was all an illusion he stopped, standing there awkwardly. Edgar eyed him curiously.
"Somebody once told me of a theory that consisted of what people's first instincts were when high up off the ground. He said that no matter what, even if they're falling or not when they think they're going to fall, they begin to flail around like blundering idiots. This he said applied to most situations. When one is on fire, being swarmed by bee's, being shot at, and a number of other potentially frightening situations because the mind reverts to that of the pure terror complex of a five year old. I thought it a rather useless analogy, but I guess it was true in the long run." Edgar said with a light chuckle.
"You shut up." Shinji replied sheepishly, staring daggers at him. "Whoa! What is this place?" Shinji went wide-eyed when he witnessed the city below them. It was a monstrous metropolis, spreading for hundreds of miles in every direction.
"That Shinji, is Cinstra City. It is home to Twenty-Five percent of the population of Malakai."
"Malakai?"
"Yes, Malakai, before it was known to the second generation of humans as earth."
"Edgar, what are you talking about? Second Generation of Humans?" Shinji paused when Edgar stared directly into his eyes with a look of seriousness.
"I'm sorry to say this Shinji… But probably half of the things you've been told about heaven and hell, and the age of earth in your lifetime have been lies. How old do you think Earth is?"
"Uhm… About Five Billion years? That's what they say."
"Wrong, Shinji Ikari. What is now known to you as Earth is actually about Fifteen billion year old. Before it lived another civilization, another race of humans. We named the planet Malakai, and flourished for twice as long as the human race that now populates the planet… But alas, on a fateful day, beings that called themselves angels descended upon our fair planet. The angels numbered in the hundreds of thousands, many descending on ornately covered dragons with lances that could spit lightning. This day began what was known by the angels as the First Apocalypse, I'm guessing your kind would call it zero impact. Battle waged on for years upon years between the people of Malakai and these strange creatures called angels. With booming populations, Malakai could stand up to the vast amount following this power hungry deity known to them as God. Science combined with magic proved them a very deadly and formidable enemy. Two gigantic ships known as Adam and Eve were the biggest problems. Basically they were space worthy genetic engineering plants, that produced mass numbers of angels and other beings born into lives of patriotism and endless work for the powerful union known as Heaven, referred to as the promised land by angels. Finally, the war came to an end and every Malakaiin on the planet was wiped out by the first apocalypse. With a series of doomsday classed plasma bombs cleverly placed four hundred miles under the planets crust in various places, the explosions emitted substances similar to the solar systems sun, and melted Ninety-five percent of the planets surface into a thick molten magma state. Do you get all of this so far?" Edgar asked him, making sure that all he had just said didn't completely fly over Shinji's head.
"Yeah, I guess so… It's just… Hard to think about. But, how do I know you're telling me the truth?"
"What would be the point in lying to you about it? I'm actually warning you against the coming of more angels and the soon to be war that will break out between Earth, and Heaven once again." A look of sorrow filled Edgar's eyes, and he cast his glance downward. Below them the city bustled. "Even though, it may be too late for some of us." Something bright caught Shinji's eye. Casting his gaze upward he saw hundreds of dots filling the skies above.
"What is that?" He asked, shielding his eyes against the sun.
"Them…" Edgar did not so much as glance up from the city below. Shinji's eyes widened and he flinched when one of the dots flew by. In an instant it had grown from a dot in the sky, to a strange figure on the back of a dragon barreling down on them from above. Proving the proposition of an illusion, one of the dragon's wings passed through his shoulder as if he were a ghost.
"Shit!" he winced. Many more passed by, diving towards the ground in blurs. A whooshing sound greeted his ears every time one passed. Large explosions and percussion's drew his attention to the city below. The dragonback riders would disappear into the city below.
"Let's bring this a little closer… So you can see just how merciless the angels really are." With a wave of Edgar's finger the two seemed to zoom towards the ground. They descended into the City Square, landing in the middle of a criss-crossing intersection. Gravity now seemed to take effect, and Shinji planted his feet firmly on the ground. An ominous screeching sound screamed out behind Shinji. Turning on his heel, the sight was daunting. A large four-wheeled vehicle similar to a bus barreled down on him. The windows were shattered with smoke and fire pouring out of all sides. The metal all around it was charred and blacked. A roasted corpse sat there in the driver's seat fused to the steering wheel. It eyeless sockets stared deep into Shinji's, and he filled with terror. His lip quivered and he cringed, waiting to be smashed into street pizza by the flaming abomination. He was never hit, and all seemed to slow down. In his terror everything was sluggish. Once again like a ghost, he passed through the front of the bus. His body was invisible below his waist, as all he could see was the isle inside of the bus. Seats lined up one after the other on either side. All were filled what were once people. The seats on which they sat were metal. It was blackened, as were the bodies that lined the seats. Twisted and blasphemous crimes of flesh they were, gnarled and wretched creatures. They were completely black, burnt or charcoaled chunks of muscle and skin hanging from the bones. Their mouths hung open, their screams of their final moments forever immortalized by the way their jaws were locked in place in such a horrid fashion. Their mouths were opened so wide, likely the passageway that their souls took on the way out. Most were fused to the backs of the seats. Being composed of metal, they likely heated up so intensely that the victims were melted to them. The back of the bus came up and flew through Shinji. Turning around he watched as the rolling and roasting slaughterhouse collided with a storefront and exploded.
"Jesus!" He uttered in a tone of utmost terror. He crumbled to his knees, watching as the storefront went up in flames. His terror never left him, and all seemed to carry itself out in slow motion. The city would have been beautiful from where he was standing. Its towers composed of a bluish metal reigned over all, reaching for the clouds. The roads on which an assortment of wheeled, but intensely modern looking vehicles spanned not only on the ground of the city, but between towers and in and out of large terminals, escalating and dropping dramatically in places. The web of roadways above and below reminded Shinji of one of those toy car tracks that could sometimes fill an entire room, webbing off of beds and dressers and under beds. This thought crumbled quickly as entire roadways fell from above, crashing violently down on smaller buildings and the ground level roadways. The sections landed on hundreds of fleeing people at a time, trapping them for death. He watched in dread as a fleeing woman and her child were confronted by one of the angelic figures. He was a hulking figure, completely covered in metallic armor. He wore a mask, covering his entire face except for two holes that were cut out so he could see. Bloodied wings spanned out on either side, what used to be white were now a filthy crimson. Effortlessly he impaled the woman on his spear and flung her over his shoulder. She was dead before she hit the ground, the child couldn't be spoken for. Edgar turned his head to Shinji, impressing upon him a very grim look. Tears filled Shinji's eyes, they were completely red. His shoulders were heaving, and his entire body was shaking.
"There are so many of them. They're so innocent! Why the fuck is this happening?" The beautiful metropolis began to crumble around the two within minutes.
"This isn't happening Shinji, it already has. And if your people aren't prepared, this will happen to your cities, and to your loved ones. Do you now see the significance of what I'm showing you?" Shinji was still shaking, tears still staining his cheeks.
"How can you watch this, without even shedding a single tear? These were your people! Some of these might have been your loved ones!" Shinji screamed in an outburst.
"Shinji my friend… As sad as it is… I have lived through this moment far to many times to shed a tear so easily… Most of my life for all of it's worthlessness has made this so. As with the others hidden in the depths of Hell… You see Shinji… After all of this, the spirits of all my people and all Malakaiins became so embittered with rage that they broke the bounds of the balance of harmony and chaos. Now there is no perfect balance. Within a reality our bitterness and vengeful souls created themselves, what you know as Hell was fabricated. What all of the clergy have been telling you… That Vengeance is sin. That hatred is sin, pride and many other emotions are… Those sins are the product of our bitterness." Edgar cleared his throat, and resumed what he was saying. "You see, God created Lilith to spawn human life… But in the midst of all the confusion, a man by the Name of Twitch Nightingale managed to separate his own bitterness and hatred from his mind by means of learning how to manipulate the strength of what you would call an AT field, known to us as a chaos barrier, and let it be consumed by Lilith before her creation was completed. Unknowing of this sabotage, the angels finished Lilith and let her spawn the tools with which human life would evolve. Once they had finally come to knowledge of this predatorial instinct, Hell had amassed its numbers and engaged Heaven in full out war deep within the cosmos. Our biggest goal was to keep God from destroying all life on the planet once again, and we did. Thus, humans are the walking embodiment of sin and of the people that God killed billions of years ago, but in truth sin is the very most pure form of justice. Without our original bitterness humans would not have morals, nor would they have any way of knowing right from wrong… That natural instinct that you feel Shinji, when you think you must do something right? Guilt? They are all products of our bitterness towards injustice. Without these things, the human race would be a mass of zombified people without opinion or feeling. Heaven is the evil that you need to fear, not Hell, for we are here to help…" Edgar fished around in his pockets, pulling a sort of amulet on a chain from each.
"Shinji Ikari. It is time for you to leave here, but before your departure I must ask you to make a choice. Will it be Heaven, and all that you have been told to believe as a child, or Hell, and the newfound truth." From two separate chains in either hand, religious symbols hung. One was a very ornate pentagram, decorated with symbols of a language he did not know. In the other hung a simple cross. The scenery of chaos disintegrated around them and the screams faded away. Once again Shinji and Edgar were standing on the grassy plane. Shinji knew not exactly what compelled him to do it, but it felt like that invisible hand on his shoulder was pushing him once again. It was pushing him towards the pentagram. His eyes still puffy and red, he clasped the pentagram amulet.
"Geaaaah!" It burned in his hand, but he was unable to let go. "Jesus Christ! Fuck!" He squirmed and convulsed, trying to wrench his hand away from the amulet. Suddenly the burning ceased and Shinji fell crashing to the ground. The amulet had fallen out of Edgar's hand, landing on Shinji's chest. Every vein in his body felt as if it were on fire. The pain was far too much, and Shinji was on the verge of passing out. The last thing he saw was a pentagram shape burnt into his right palm as he lay there in the grass. Edgar looked down on him with a smile.
"A wise choice my friend, I'll see you soon." Shinji mumbled something incoherent, but soon blacked out. In the blink of an eye Shinji faded from Edgar's vision, and only his outline remained in the grass. "That kid's got heart… But he's gonna need all of the fucking help he can get." In another blink of an eye, Edgar was gone too, and all that accompanied the grassy plane was a slow and steady howling of wind.
"Shinji…Shinji!… SHINJI!"
"Wha?" Shinji bolted upright. A breathing tube fell out of his nose, and he coughed violently. White sheets across his lap, a mattress as stiff as a corpse and a smell of ammonia. He was in a hospital, infirmary, or something like that.
"Shinji!" Everything looked dreary under the fluorescent lights, somehow so clean that it was disgusting. In a state of stupor, he turned to face the voice. He found Misato's perky face was only inches from his.
"Ah!" Shinji yelped in surprise, almost tumbling off of his bed. An army of daggers jolted into his legs and he doubled over in pain. "Geaah! Jesus Christ!" He yelled, grabbing his legs. They were in heavy bandages and casts.
"Easy Shinji! Easy…" Her always comforting hand clamped down on his shoulder.
'Jeez, what is it with everybody and touching my shoulder?' He thought, a completely irrelevant one at that.
"Asuka! Rei! He's awake!" Misato yelled. Shinji put a hand up to one of his ears. Feeling as if he had awaken from a bad hangover, her voice pounded in his head, beating against his thoughts like a sledgehammer. Shinji shook his head back and forth a few times in an attempt to clear it a little. In that instant, two girls, one with blue hair and another with red came running into the room. Each enveloped him in a bone crushing hug at the same time. Shinji swore that he could feel his ribs buckling under the pressure, but he decided to be nice and keep his mouth shut for once.
"Uh, hey guys… It's been awhile since I've seen you two." Shinji thanked the both of them, greeting them back.
"Uh… How long have I been asleep?" Shinji asked the three, puzzled.
"Comatose is more like it you lazy ass." That one had to have come from Asuka. He directed his attention to her.
"Okay, fine. How long have I been comatose then?" He sassed her back.
"Hey! Don't you take that tone with me!"
"What are you gonna do? Hit a crippled kid?"
"Maybe!"
"Hush up you two!" Misato shouted. Shinji doubled over in pain when she did this, clasping his hands over his ears. His ears were still mighty sensitive. "He's been awake two minutes and you two are already fighting!"
"What more would you expect?" Asuka retorted.
"Nothing more really! But nonetheless, shut up Asuka." Misato snapped back. In a fashion that was classic of Asuka she made a loud "Hmph!" and crossed her arms. Misato directed her attention back to Shinji. "Well Shinji… I'd say you've been asleep for about two months now."
"Two months?" Shinji freaked, remembering all that he had just dreamed. "What about the angels?" He blurted out.
"Shinji what are you talking about? There haven't been any attacks since you took down that giant walking rock of an angel." Misato answered with a cocked brow.
"Oh…" Shinji looked down, feeling sort of sheepish. His eyes went wide when he saw a pentagram shaped design on the palm of his right hand. 'Shit!' He thought, jamming it under one of the blankets. He looked over to Rei. Under the fluorescent lights she glowed beautifully, but in her eyes was a look of worry, and mystery. He wanted to ask her what it was, but had a feeling that it should wait until he could get some time alone with her. "Well… How badly was I hurt?" He asked Misato.
"Well Shinji… You broke several bones in your legs first off… But with medical help we were able to speed up the process, and they should be removing the casts within the next few days incidentally. You broke some ribs, and got scraped up very very badly. They actually had to give you a few skin grafts and—" As Misato spoke, he noticed something odd. His vision seemed somewhat screwy, and for some reason he thought back to the incident of the car crash, and how he couldn't see out of his right eye at one point. He closed his left eye, leaving the other open. Nothing, just complete blackness as Misato spoke on and on.
"I'm blind." He interrupted her.
"What?"
"I'm blind, in the right eye. I can't see out of it." His voice lost its bounce and dived into a flat and emotionless tone.
"Shinji… Y-yes… You are… After the crash a piece of glass ended up lodged in your eye… They tried to operate on it and fix it like we did with Rei when debris pierced her eye, but it didn't work." Misato cast her eyes downward, face hidden by some of her hair that had gone astray. Her shoulders started to heave up and down, and Shinji heard something wet patter against the floor. He saw tears falling, and instantly felt bad for the way he said it.
"S-shinji… It's all my fault that you're like this… That you were comatose for two months… All my fault…" Misato upturned her face with pouty lips and red eyes, tears streaming down the side of her cheeks. "I'm… So sorry!" She latched onto Shinji, hugging him tightly.
"Misato… It's not your fault." Shinji noticed as Asuka beckoned Rei and herself out of the room, giving Shinji and Misato some space.
"Yes it is…" With her head cradled into the side of his neck, he felt her tears soak into his skin. Gently he hugged her back.
"Misato… These things happen…"
"No they don't! Not if I hadn't have been driving with a headwound like that! I completely forgot about it… I'm so stupid sometimes…"
"Don't say that Misato. This coming from the renowned Strategic Battle Major, Misato Katsuragi? Don't say that… I don't blame any of this on you, and you shouldn't either." Shinji said, trying his best to comfort her. "We all do things we regret sometimes… But they aren't worth dwelling on, not if you don't want to rob from the present. There's nothing we can do now, but get along the best we can." Misato raised her head from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. Though still puffy and red with tears, the smile on her lips and the sparkle in her eyes proved that she was happy once again.
"I'm just so glad you're alive… So glad you woke up…" All was silent for a few minutes. Rei and Asuka came back in after obviously making a journey down the hall to a vending machine.
"Catch." Asuka said, throwing a soda to Shinji. It was about eight at night when he woke up, so the three spent most of the night with Shinji, filling him in on what had been going on recently, and some of the things that he had missed. Misato sat in a rolling office chair, Rei sat by his side on the bed, and Asuka had pulled up a fold up chair herself.
"So Touji finally got the nerve to ask her out huh?" Shinji asked Asuka, referring to Touji Suzuhara and Hikari Horaki.
"Yeah, they've been going out for a week now and the two of them are already fighting, It's pretty funny actually." She said, laughing lightly.
"So Rei, how've you been adjusting?" Rei had taken a more relaxed position now, half sitting and half laying on the bed next to him with her body propped on her elbow. He gave her a warm genuine smile.
"Well… I have been good lately. Better it seems, than before… And Asuka and I are getting along better than we did last time, it's quite nice." This was indeed true. Rei and Asuka had been spending quite a bit more time around each other than the last time. Asuka felt bad for the way she had treated her before, and with new life she felt the need to redeem herself. Misato and Asuka had asked her to move in with them, in the meantime waiting for Shinji to come out of his coma. Thus the two of them got to know Rei much better than before, and had grown accustomed to her sometimes clueless and childlike curiosity.
"Well guys… We should probably get going, it's getting kind of late." Misato said. Her and Asuka began to head out, when she turned around to address Rei.
"Are you coming Rei?"
"No…" She said in a soft and innocent voice. "I'd like to stay a little longer if that's alright."
"Of course Rei… Well, see you later just incase you decide to stay here tonight."
"Okay Misato… By by." The two left through the door, turning into the hallways and exiting the building. It was a fairly small room in which Shinji was located, complete with a bathroom, bed and nightstand. When the door finally closed, Rei laid down on the bed fully, placing her head on Shinji's chest. Her face was directed towards his, and she gazed deep into his eyes.
"I missed you Shinji…" She whispered. He grew nervous for a second, but this soon passed. At first when Shinji met Rei he would feel awkward, especially after the whole incident where the simple act of giving her a new clearance card had ended up with him awkwardly placed on top of her naked body. After a while of getting to know her as an intimate friend, her presence grew comforting, and had remained since.
"I missed you too Rei…" He whispered back. Rei was much different. It wasn't quite in a bad way; for she held the same gentleness and common kindness as before… But put simply, she was more social. Rei had never called Misato by only her first name before. It had always been Major Katsuragi or Miss Misato. The way she blended with her surrounding environment now, her casual tone and body language. Only in two months, it seemed that she had learnt allot. This Shinji could see just from studying her. He went to ask her something, but she was asleep already. Trying best not to disturb her, Shinji reached over his head and flipped the lightswitch on the wall, darkening the room.
"Who are you? What are you? What is your purpose?"
"I do not know…" Rei's dreams were a series of questions and answers. She felt suspended in a universe within herself.
"Then what is this betrayal you have been committing?"
"What betrayal? I have wronged no one…" Images of Unit-00 came into mind, drifting in and out of darkness. Images of Commander Ikari, and of previous battles.
"This betrayal that is the action of wavering from your soul duty…Of concentrating on only piloting an Eva and nothing more… What is this reason?" Within infinite darkness Rei felt gravity and a firm ground. She sat there, glowing as if the sun were shining when all else was black. Knee's hugged to her chest, she rocked back and forth slowly.
"I know why you call out to me… You are insecurity, that which holds me back and haunts my past… I have committed no betrayal… That lifeless duty left me when my life left for the first time as well. With new life, I have brought new duties that supercede those before them…" She spoke of all that she knew.
"Emotions… A new thing to you…Not something, you had many of before…They are very powerful things, and you do not know how to control nor use them…They will destroy you…"
"This is nonsense. Emotions have the potential to destroy me, but Edgar taught me that pride is the prevailing factor. Though pride can be crushed, like any emotion it can be felt in full again… I may not know much of these feelings… But they are things one cannot live a bearable life without. I have seen what life can be like for oneself that is not so restricted by distance from emotion… Smaller things take a significance that could have never before been seen through my eyes, our eyes. Edgar showed me things that I needed to know not only to wage war against God, but to attain victory in the battle within my own mind."
"It is not your place to say these things, for they are not perfection. You must be perfection, you must be everything and nothing to attain utmost efficiency."
"There is no strength in efficiency, only steadfast dependability… And if such efficiency is soon to give out and repair looks impossible… Am I only to be looked at as a statistic? Character might not be as efficient, but is definitely the strongest. Words influence, and trust comforts. With trust comes a reason for strength and dependability, and if one is shot down, they have the chance to rise up again. Go away my ghosts, I shall be hating you soon, and the dead will too for your words are hateful. Leave me my foolish plan, I am not afraid of the danger. If it means death, whether it be that of life, soul or mind it will not be the worst of deaths — death without honor."
"Go then, if you feel that you must. You are unwise, but a loyal friend indeed to those who love you."
Exit the two mentalities existent as one person, to undisturbed sleep.
"Come on you wimp! Just five more steps!" Asuka shouted at Shinji. The casts had been cut off of Shinji's legs, and he clung to support rails on either side of him for dear life. The chemical treatment, an experimental drug that they injected into his legs to speed up the healing process of his bones had significantly decreased the muscle mass in his legs and left them somewhat wobbly. After being in bed asleep for two months, living off of the minimal requirements of nutrients and water to sustain life had weakened the rest of his body as well. He was to undergo physical therapy until he returned to a healthy body weight and strength. Knowing full well that Asuka would push him until his heart gave out if necessary, Misato had put the bossy redhead in charge of coaching him through it.
'Damn you Misato!' Shinji thought, struggling through the last five steps. He plopped lazily into the wheelchair he was given. He had been moved to NERV HQ for the time being, staying in one of the temporary rooms. Every morning Asuka woke him up at seven in the morning, made him wheel himself down to the infirmary wing, and put him through numerous strenuous exercises in the gym and weight room. Most of the time she was shouting, but every now and again she would congratulate him on a job well done, or an increase in efficiency. The days grew shorter and shorter and the exercises grew easier, and soon enough Shinji was on crutches rather than in a wheelchair. Eventually he could walk on his own without any help whatsoever. Rei, Misato, Ritsuko and the others would often times come to visit him, and he was grateful for the company. All he had really been doing lately consisted of studying. Being two months behind, his homeroom teacher had advised him to study before his return so that he wouldn't become lost in all of the work. Asuka provided a list of all the things they had been studying in school, and he was due back in another week or so.
"Ugh… This is so… BORING!" He tossed a philosophy book across the room. It thudded against the wall, falling to the floor. Shinji huffed and placed his head on the small desk in his room. It had been awhile since this place had been used, and a thin film of dust blanketed the desktop. Boredly he swirled his finger about on the surface, leaving trails in the dust. He decided that he was done studying for the rest of the week, feeling that he'd caught up on all that he needed to know. If now, he'd simply wing it until he understood the classroom material. It seemed that Rei wasn't back in school either it seemed. She attended school at him in Misato's apartment, using a computer based Independent Study program. She decided that she'd return once it was well known that she was back, so she wouldn't get quite as many weird looks from people in the halls, and that the other two of her comrades were back in school to. Out of the three Asuka was the only one attending currently, so she would return when Shinji did. A knock sounded at his door, and Shinji rose to answer. It was Ritsuko.
"Hey Shinji, I just thought I'd tell you something. Another Eva Unit's been built for Rei, and she'll start beginning Synch tests within fifteen minutes or so. Would you care to join us on the bridge and see how things go?" Shinji's brow furrowed, signaling that he was thinking about it.
"Sure, I guess so Dr. Akagi." He stated with a smile. Lately he had actually attained an interest in the Eva's, completely indifferent to the age old hatred that he used to have for them. With the winds of knowledge and understanding his judgement had changed and the whole matter surrounding the Eva's in general did too. The only thing bothering him, was the dream that occurred to him during his coma. He thought it just a dream, but the pentagram shape burnt into his hand stated otherwise. It was faint as of now, hardly noticeable at a glance so he'd done a good job of hiding it.
"Well Shinji, we best get going then." She beckoned him outside.
"Oh okay, just hold on a second please." He stepped back into the room and turned off all the lights, and then stepped out again, closing the door behind him. "Okay, ready."
On the escalator heading down, Ritsuko and Shinji conversed about multiple things. She told him of new weapons developments and things of the sort, and he explained the experience of defeating the angel that had attacked about two and a half months back. Finally she began to explain the new abilities of the Eva they had just constructed. A new attachment capable of aerial maneuverability was now available for the new Unit-05, and would soon be available for the remaining Unit's too Ritsuko explained.
"Built attached to a finished model of the S2 engine, a monstrous fuel cell inside of the Eva powered by the engine uses electrolysis to separate Hydrogen and Oxygen from water. The highly combustible gas being hydrogen is then released into two separate chambers. Are you following so far?"
"Yes" Shinji replied with a nod.
"The gasses are then cooled down to a liquid state. A valve opens in each chamber. The hydrogen is shot out of nozzles within the jet engine in a fine spray. Super hot heating coils within the engine cause the liquid hydrogen to warm up with the help of the outside temperature, thus turning it into a gas. Then, the hydrogen mixed with the oxygen collected earlier ignites and is forced through the electrically powered turbine fan, which is also powered by the S2 engine. The hydrogen rich mixture provides the needed thrust for liftoff after ignition. If tuned right, it can be twice as effective as jet fuel."
"Wow Dr. Akagi. Sounds like you guys have put allot of work into this." Shinji replied with a smirk.
"Indeed we have. It should provide numerous new advantages for the Eva's." Ritsuko said. "Oh look, we're here." They came to the end of the towering escalator and stepped off. They headed through a few corridors and security doors before reaching the Observation Bridge. There they met up with Misato Katsuragi, Shigeru Aoba, and commander Ikari, otherwise known as Gendo, Shinji's father.
"Heya Shinji!" Misato waved at Shinji. Aoba greeted Shinji, as well as Gendo. Being both Shinji's father and his superior in command put Gendo in an odd position, and they had a very rough history nonetheless so he usually stayed as professional as possible.
"Good day Shinji." His voice was emotionless and flat, a quality he had attained when greeting most people nowadays. Shinji shifted his gaze towards the ground.
"Hello father…" All was silent for a second or two, until Commander Ikari spoke once again.
"Well, shall we begin the tests then?" Shinji looked beyond the glass and saw Unit-05 for the first time.
"Wow…" The design of Unit-05 was almost identical to Unit-01's, but it's color was a light sapphire blue, and the head was different. The Unit had three eyes. They were designed after Unit-00's singular eye, all three the same red color. One larger one was placed in the middle, and two smaller ones to the lower left and right of it. A metal crosspiece that spanned across the mouth with dozens of holes in it looked somewhat similar to a giant gas mask, when in reality it's purpose was to define even the smallest of sounds to sharpen the pilots senses. The exoskeleton's waist section was black, as were the wings and the secondary colors of the Eva.
"After further analysis Shinji, we found that the design of your Eva was best suited for Rei. Before she was hindered by her Unit." Commander Ikari said.
"Huh… Hindered? Why?"
"Hers was the first to be built" Commander Ikari said.
"And as a result it didn't really have a mapping out of what kind of combat it was best used in. Your model on the other hand has shown exceptional performance in hand to hand combat, despite what we thought about Unit-02 being the best suited seeing as it was the finished product of the first two prototypes, and Rei has shown to be exceptionally well in this field, and long range shooting if needed because your make and model is just as easily suited for both situations." Ritsuko cut in.
"Begin the synchronization tests." Commander Ikari ordered. Ritsuko spoke into a radio connected with Unit-05's communications system.
"Are you ready Rei?" Ritsuko asked.
"Yes Dr. Akagi, I am ready." Rei stated.
"Okay, have you gone through the pre-activation checklist?"
"Yes."
"Then please, ease the Eva into full functioning power."
"Confirmed." A reverberating hum vibrated through the walls.
"Power levels at fifty percent! Synch ratio has almost been established with the A10 nerve! Full power will be established in 5…4…3…2…1…"
