DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor have I ever owned Evangelion, it is the property of the legitimate and lawful copyright holders. This story is for my own personal enjoyment and entertainment.
If somehow you are yet unaware this story is rated M for Lemon which means copious, absurd amounts of adult content. You have been warned.
Standard:
"This" is speech.
'This' is thoughts.
Aftermath
Shinji Ikari, Third Child, and pilot of Eva Unit-01 woke with a start in the NERV Geofront hospital. Staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. As his eyes came into focus he noticed a head in his field of vision, watching over him like a mother bird would watch over her chicks. 'Asuka?' His mind hoped. 'No this hair is too short and the wrong color.' He thought as his brain finally managed to process the information his senses were giving him.
"Ah you're awake. You can rest. We'll take care of everything." The blue haired Rei Ayanami said from a chair next to his hospital bed.
"I feel just fine." Shinji replied as he became more aware of his surroundings and regained the ability to use his mouth to form words.
"Well, that's good for you." Rei said in a neutral voice as she closed her book and Shinji felt a very odd sense of deja'vu before remembering his prime concern.
"Where is Asuka?" Shinji asked as he leaned up in the bed and tried to keep his voice from betraying too much concern.
Just as the words left his mouth, both he and Rei heard a commotion in the hallway outside his hospital room. Muffled crashes and exceedingly creative and personal German swears could be heard from beyond.
"That's likely her now." Rei said getting up from her chair and opening the door to the corridor just in time for Shinji to see a medical orderly flying face first down the hall, while another impacted the wall across from their now open door. His face bloodied and bruised as a pissed off German redhead repeated her question for the umpteenth time:
"WHERE IS HE!"
The orderly wordlessly pointed toward the now open door as Shinji wondered why NERV hadn't invested in martial arts training for their medical, or honestly all personnel tasked with taking care of the pilots that are masters in hand-to-hand combat.
"YOU BAKA!" This thought was interrupted as an extremely angry Asuka Langley Sohryu dressed in nothing but a rather revealing hospital gown barged in through the open door. Completely missing Rei, and grabbing the closest metal object she could, an unused bed pan, and raising it menacingly at Shinji "What were you thinking rushing in headlong like that!?" She asked before feeling someone was behind her and turning on her heels to face the First Child "And you Wondergirl!" She said pointing an accusatory finger at Rei and simultaneously giving Shinji an excellent view of her backside through her revealing hospital gown. "What are you doing here?!"
"Watching, Pilot Ikari." Rei responded seemingly giving no heed to the venom or anger in Asuka's words. "I will take my leave now that he has regained consciousness" she said as she stepped into the room's threshold "Goodbye Ikari, Pilot Sohryu." Ayanami spoke in her usual hushed and deadpan tone as she closed the door and left the two of them alone.
"ARRGHHH!" Asuka screamed as she threw the bed pan wildly, 'accidentally' hitting the camera in the corner of the room. With the camera disabled and moving faster than he had ever seen her move before she locked the door and jumped onto the bed on top of him. Though rather than be excited as he usually was Shinji was terrified as he saw the rage in her eyes.
"You bastard!" Asuka said as she beat her fists down on his chest, one, two, three times, Shinji wincing in pain. "I was so worried about you!" Asuka said as the corners of her eyes began to water and a tear fell along with the fourth punch on Shinji's sternum.
Shinji grabbed Asuka's fist on his chest and reached his other hand behind her back pulling her into a tight embrace. She tried to move, tried to strike him again but he held her firm. Her breaths, heavy and deep, were muffled by Shinji's hospital gown covered chest as she fought back tears. He could her a few sobs and barely audible swears before she lifted up her face to look at him. Shinji released her from his hold as she brought her hands up to wipe at her eyes rather than hit him again.
"I'm sorry Asuka." Shinji said, falling back on his habitual line, though injecting it with as much sincerity as he could before continuing: "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Baka." Asuka said in a quiet almost empty voice, seemingly having calmed down from her earlier rampage.
"I won't leave you alone in this world Asuka." Shinji said placing a soft kiss on Asuka's forehead as he brought up his hand and his right thumb cleared away the last remnant of tears from her eyes.
"You better not." Asuka said grabbing his hand that rested on her cheek. Her confidence and fire returning to her voice. They stayed like that for a moment, taking in the feeling of holding the other in their arms. Feeling the warmth of each other's skin, the light from the Geofront's reflective panels glinting off their eyes.
"Kiss me and I might just forgive you for chatting with wondergirl rather than coming to find me." Asuka said giving a not-so-playful pinch to his side and bringing them both back to reality after the cascade of emotions had subsided.
"I'd just woken up myself when I heard the commotion you were causing in the hall." Shinji said defensively before asking his next question that he already knew the answer to in his heart but wanted to hear the words: "Why'd you do that?"
"I just wanted to see you again." Asuka answered as she moved her hands to the side of his head, puckered her lips and closed her eyes. Shinji reciprocated and they shared a long, soft kiss as their lips met. After the shadow it was cathartic, both now knew without a doubt they were back in the real world that the other was real and not some facsimile. These thoughts came to Shinji's mind and as the kiss ended he voiced them to Asuka:
"I had the strangest dream in there." Shinji's words made Asuka's heart stop before she responded:
"We were on a train and relived our relationship." Asuka said as she recalled the strange out-of-body experience she had had in the shadow.
"How did y-" Shinji asked somewhat befuddled, his brain not putting the pieces together as quickly as Asuka's had.
"I had the same one baka." Asuka said, though as the gears in her mind turned she wasn't sure it was entirely a dream, she and Shinji would need to compare notes more thoroughly later. But for now she had a more important question on her mind. A much more important one. "Did you see your mother?" Shinji began to nod in response but before he could vocalize a positive response the hospital door was nearly banged off its hinges by an irate Major Katsuragi.
"Asuka! WHAT THE HELL! Open up this door RIGHT NOW!" Misato screamed through the door, it barely muffling the anger in her voice.
"Say nothing" Asuka mimed wordlessly with her lips as she leapt off Shinji to the side of the bed. "I love you" She whispered into his ear as she slapped him hard across the cheek before strutting over to the door and unlocking it for Misato who entered just as Asuka went into full tirade mode: "If you ever do something so stupid agai-!" She began before Major Katsuragi cut her off.
"What are you doing Asuka!" The clearly worse-for-wear NERV Operations Director said as she entered the room in her usual red jacket and miniskirt combo and stood directly in front of the erring redhead giving her her best commander stare.
"I had to give this baka a chewing out for rushing out and getting me sucked into that Angel!" Asuka said not backing down and trying to sell the ruse as she stared straight into the purple-haired woman's eyes.
'Did she have to be so violent?' Shinji wondered during the whole thing as he rubbed at the painful red handprint on his face as the women bickered. He understood the necessity of keeping up the charade but still…
"Hello Misato, Kaji, it's good to see you both." Shinji said quietly as he noticed the unshaven man leaning in the doorway behind Misato and found his voice.
"Hey Shinji, Asuka." The nonchalant spy said as he entered the room.
"Kaji! You came to see me!" Asuka said in her most schoolgirl voice as he entered her field of vision before remembering she was supposed to be mad and turned back to Misato: "If you ask me he ought to be grounded!" The angry German redhead said as she pointed a finger full of blame at Shinji.
"Both of you are grounded!" Misato barked in her Major's voice.
"What!? but WH-?!" Asuka began in her most furious tone. She had been about to pounce on Kaji's arm before Misato's words halted her in her tracks.
"It's not because of what you did during sortie, or what you did to poor Ishikawa and Sato" Misato said, her right hand held up to prevent any objections as she interrupted Asuka's rage and gave names to the two orderlies she had battered in her rampage to see Shinji before continuing: "It's not my decision, both your Evas are on a freeze order straight from the UN Committee that oversees NERV."
"Why Misato?" Shinji asked. His voice much calmer than the two women in the room.
"What do you two remember from when you were in the Angel's shadow?" Misato responded to his question by asking her own question. Both Shinji and Asuka gave a rather furtive glance to each other. They remembered quite a bit of the ordeal but considering it was all about their personal life that they did NOT want to talk about they both kind of shrugged.
"To be honest I can't remember much. Considering the oxygen-deprivation at the end I can't say for sure whether anything was a memory or a hallucination." Asuka said much more thoughtfully and quietly as the weight of not being able to pilot for the time-being, came down on her with all its weight. Or that's what she wanted Misato to think at least. While Asuka may have been pissed about losing her pilot status, even if just for the moment, she wasn't about to find a bathtub and some razor blades. She had her baka still.
"Shinji?"
"Sorry Misato. It's all just kind of a blur. I remember being in the entry plug and maybe sleeping a bit but beyond that I can't say." Shinji said doing his best to seem clueless, which wasn't hard since that was pretty much standard in his life and relationships with people. Well most people anyways.
"Okay. The committee wanted to interview the both of you about your experience but I can see that it wouldn't amount to much." Misato said finally dropping her Major Katsuragi persona, before adding: "And I'm so glad your both alright." Her head drooping and her dark hair obscuring her face. The momentary silence was ended however as an auburn flash crossed the room.
"Kaji!" Asuka said as she carried out her earlier plan of pouncing on the helpless UN 'Inspector' "What am I going to do now! You still like me right!" She said exasperated, really trying to sell the whole act. But before Kaji could answer, or Misato could pry the redhead off her man 'Oh no you don't you little…' were the words going through her mind at the time I believe. Shinji spoke up:
"Umm Asuka, you know your gown doesn't have a back right?"
"Pervert!" Asuka screamed, her face red as she let go of Kaji and grabbed the sheet of Shinji's bed and wrapped it around herself. Of course she had known it didn't have a back. Just because they were secret lovers and each other's confidantes didn't mean she had stopped enjoying teasing him. It just took on a different flavor.
"Get dressed." Misato said with a small smile in her face at her adopted kids antics, as she turned around and headed toward the door. "I'll record some affidavits for the UN and then Kaji will take you home."
Grumbling and cursing under her breath, Asuka went back to her own room with Misato and got changed into a yellow sundress. Later they both were summoned in one at a time into a conference room with Misato where she recorded their experiences. Combined there was maybe eight minutes of audio as both the pilots were deliberately vague about the ordeal. Afterwards they were released from the hospital and Kaji drove them home. Asuka riding shotgun of course, marveling at how good a driver Kaji was while Shinji rolled his eyes in the backseat of the nondescript car at the sham of it all.
As they arrived in the apartment they all agreed a good meal would do them good. But as they looked through the kitchen and the pantry they discovered a distinct lack of edible food. With Kaji even remarking under his breath:
"A Japanese kitchen that doesn't even have rice? Katsuragi you haven't changed a bit." Shinji had been meaning to go the store before the previous battle with the 12th Angel but hadn't had the chance, and since it had just been Misato in the apartment since then…well… Ordering take-out would only delay the problem. So Kaji offered: "I'll go to the store, why don't you two get some rest." Before turning to face Shinji. "There's a store across the street right?"
"No go to the Kaguya Market, the only thing fresh in that convenience store is the ramen." Asuka said. Sending him a further block and a half away from the apartment.
"Alright Asuka, I guess a proper home-cooked meal would be best." Kaji said in agreement. "What does the resident chef think we should have?" He continued turning his attention back to Shinji.
"Well if you're going there, get the basics, miso, rice, noodles, and some chicken and I'll make us chicken katsu." Shinji offered knowing it was Asuka's favorite Japanese dish. Though calling chicken katsu Japanese is like calling a California roll authentic sushi. Eh, cultural blending and exchange I guess.
"Mhm." Kaji said as he thought about homemade katsu. "Any preference with the basics?" He asked as he walked towards the front door.
"If you're getting noodles then try and get the buckwheat ones." Asuka said as her mind blanked on the proper Japanese name for soba noodles. Languages are hard sometimes even for a genius.
"Alright, I'll be back kids." Kaji said as he made his way across the threshold and into the outside world.
"We've got twenty, maybe thirty minutes max." Shinji said as the door closed behind Kaji.
"Plenty of time." The German redhead said grabbing his hand and dragging him down the hallway by the bathroom. She couldn't wait to get him to one of their beds so once they were out of sight of the front door. She spun around, furiously undid the belt of his pants and dropped to her knees.
Shinji was, or rather had been wearing a pair of blue pants and a grey shirt Misato had brought to the hospital from the apartment. The pants and boxers made a loose pile around his ankles as Asuka grabbed his flaccid member with her nimble fingers. She used her left hand to stroke at his balls, her fingers each gliding across his wrinkly sack as she cupped it in her hand while her other gave his member several strokes before she took the stiffening though still soft member in her mouth. There was no time for foreplay, she needed him hard now.
Shinji hadn't seen being in the backseat and Kaji had had his eyes on the road but during the entire car ride to the Katsuragi apartment Asuka had kept her knees together and rocked her hips back and forth, grinding her pussy into the car seat to try and control herself.
She wanted him. Bad. If Misato hadn't come when she did she probably would have taken him right in the hospital.
Shinji's entire groin area felt like it was the center of an electrical storm as the nerves shot lightning between themselves and his brain at the stimulation Asuka was giving him. His balls quickly retreated from their hanging position and tightened at the base of his rapidly hardening cock. Asuka was going all-out. Her lips and tongue were swirling around his cockhead while her right hand was stroking at his shaft, her wrist twisting in a circular motion. Her hand squeezing just enough to excite his cock but not so hard as to be painful, something you only learn how to do after being with someone for a long time.
After some minutes of her head bobbing up and down Shinji was hard enough. In one motion she stood up from her kneeling position, reached her hands under her dress and pulled down her plain white panties. Lifting her feet up one at a time to get them off Asuka was suddenly pushed up against the wall. She looked up just as Shinji's hands pinned hers high on the wall, her panties now scrunched up in a ball in her right hand. She looked into his cobalt eyes and the burning lust on his not-quite-scowling brow. 'Maybe I overdid it with all the teasing.' She thought as she puckered her lips, pushed her head away from the wall and closed her eyes. She was rewarded by his soft lips on hers, his tongue pushing his way into her mouth before it softened its quest for dominance and merely twirled around hers, her own tongue reciprocating the action. Eventually the kiss ended and they pulled away and looked at one another. He still had that look of lust, resolve and will power but it had softened a bit, while to Shinji, Asuka had a look just like she had had the night before their battle with the 7th Angel, just a girl wanting to feel loved holding on to those precious few memories she had lest they fall into the abyss. Though this time she was awake of course. Or were they?
They both needed this. Especially after that ordeal with the last angel. Sure they had kissed each other, felt each other's touch, and heard each other's voice, but they had to do this, to know absolutely that it was actually the other here, in this place and not just another duplicate, another memory, another scenario.
He let go of her left hand so he could bring his right hand down to guide his throbbing member into her, as he waddled forward to her with his feet confined as they were. Asuka's left hand meanwhile hiked up her dress as she parted her legs and maneuvered her hips to give Shinji the access he needed. As the tip of his cock pushed past her moist labia with the help of leftover spit from her blowjob Shinji grabbed her leg, holding it up while Asuka wrapped her left arm around the back of Shinji's neck to help brace herself.
Shinji didn't exactly thrust his cock into her pussy, but he wasn't as careful as he usually was either. The result was the same however.
Fullness.
Completeness.
Reassurance.
They were really back. This wasn't a mirage like the fever dream before.
With his legs restricted by his pants around his ankles all Shinji could do was thrust his hips back and forth, but that was enough. His length slid in and out of her. His strokes exciting the nerves on the walls of her vagina. The thrusting of his hips causing her back to scrape against the wall. His cock plunging in deeper each time. Her hitched breathing adding to the symphony of fabric rubbing against a wall and the smacking of soft, supple flesh.
The fingers of her right hand bit ever harder into the fabric of the panties it was holding, the force leaving likely permanent marks on the plain material. They had had quickies before, but never as intense as this. Asuka moved her head from the wall and put her mouth next to Shinji's ear, nibbling the earlobe and giving him goosebumps up and down his body even as he kept up the rhythm of his thrusts.
"Mein Leibling" Asuka whispered into his ear, "sei eins mit mir". She could feel him getting close, but she already knew she would reach her peak first, 'just…a few…more…strokes…'
'Oh fuck.' Shinji thought. But it was not in pleasure as he felt her walls squeeze around his shaft as her body shuddered against his. It was in terror. Shinji quickly pulled his dick out of Asuka's pussy, he had barely been able to hold back when he felt her come and now he released his load on her thigh. Four spurts of sticky cum shot out from his tip onto her leg former two splotches that if left alone would eventually mold into a "V" shape.
"Why…?" Asuka began sounding almost heartbroken as she looked at the viscous white substance on her left leg. 'That was supposed to be for me.' She thought in her bittersweet afterglow before Shinji's voice brought her back to the world.
"Asuka we were in the Angel for nearly a day and in the hospital for who knows how long." Shinji began, Asuka still not seeing the point. "You missed taking your pill."
Shinji's words brought sudden clarity to Asuka's mind and her eyes got wide at the ramifications if Shinji hadn't remembered.
"Fuck, and I call you the baka." Asuka said as she leaned her head back against the wall and hit it against the hard surface a few times for good measure.
"We've got to be more caref-" Shinji began as they both heard the apartment door open.
"I'm back!" Kaji said from the doorway.
'Oh fuck, oh shit, oh fuck.' Both their minds raced. But Asuka being a genius was quick on her feet. She took the panties in her hand and wiped Shinji's cum off her leg with them before shoving them into his hands and pushing him through the semi-open door of the nearby bathroom. With his pants still around his ankles it was a miracle the uncoordinated boy didn't fall over. Asuka gathered what composure she could and tried to straighten out her dress as much as possibly before going out to meet Kaji.
"Food!" Asuka yelped in excitement as she came out of the hallway and into the kitchen area.
"Hi Asuka. What happened to your hair?" Kaji asked as he turned around and saw Asuka's usually pristine hair matted and staticky like someone had rubbed balloons on the back of it. Thinking quickly Asuka responded:
"Oh Kaji I was just so tired I lied down on my bed without thinking, now my hair is ruined, don't look at it!" She wailed trying her best to be the overly-dramatic crush she had been back in Germany.
"Okay Asuka." The perpetually unshaven and grinning man said after a light chuckle.
"If I'd have known it would do this to my hair with you here I never would have lied down." Asuka said lying through her teeth as she continued the act, hoping that Kaji despite his experience as an intelligence operative would believe the more plausible lie than dig deeper. Now that Asuka thought about it she and Shinji had up until now been stupidly successful at bullshitting their appointed authority figures and peers. Misato, Ritsuko, Section 2, all the kids at school, NERV and basically everyone in the world sans Hikari, had bought their act. Whether that was because they were good at hiding it or no one cared enough was an open question.
"Where's Shinji?" Kaji said, seemingly satisfied with Asuka's answer, as he placed the bags of groceries on the kitchen table and began unpacking and sorting them.
"What am I? The baka's keeper!" Asuka almost screamed, trying her best to inject her old fire into her voice. Just then they heard a flush come from the bathroom.
"Were you doing perverted things in there baka!" Asuka asked accusatorily while pointing her finger at Shinji as he came down the hall to where they were standing in the kitchen. Shinji stood there with a dumbfounded bewildered look on his face as he stammered out a response:
"No… Asuka, I was… just…going to the bathroom." He finished before directing his gaze to Kaji desperately trying to change the subject. "Welcome back Kaji. Did you find everything alright?" Shinji asked regaining a bit of composure.
"Everything except the Soba noodles, so I got some Udon instead." Kaji said as he placed the packet of noodles on the kitchen table.
"Great I'll get dinner started then." Shinji said as Asuka pouted that she didn't get her favorite noodles.
In less than an hour a spread of rice, miso, and chicken katsu beckoned for the three of them while Misato's sat in the oven. During that time Asuka had managed to get a new pair of panties on and retrieved the balled up and lightly washed panties that Shinji had stuffed in his pocket while Kaji was distracted by Pen Pen's antics.
'Glad there are no gusts of wind indoors. Otherwise that would have been embarrassing.' Asuka thought back to when she'd first seen Shinji all those months ago on the Over the Rainbow, the kind of person she had been, the kind of person he had been. Her thoughts, and though she didn't know it at the time, Shinji's as well drifted back to their experience inside. 'It almost seemed like it wanted to know who we are. But why?'
Now both Asuka and Shinji are at their core good people. Shinji possesses immense empathy and a strong sense of right, though his depression was on the verge of making him jaded and cynical, overriding his innate empathy. Asuka had buried her true and caring self behind abrasive walls thinking it would stop her from being the best. Since if even her own parents didn't care, why should anyone else unless she was the best. And the only way to be best was to be strong. And if she needed help from others it would mean she was weak, and nobody loved weak people, they were cast aside, only the best deserved love.
Genuine affection and care is something that is given regardless, while empty praise lasts only as long as you are useful to someone. For most of her life Asuka believed the praise she got piloting was genuine affection, validating her own self and her worth. While Shinji also wanted genuine affection he never changed himself or how he lived and instead waited for the world to change instead, becoming apathetic and depressed at the world's lack of change believing it meant no one cared about him enough to change and be kind to him.
All that changed after Mt. Asama, when Asuka discovered someone could care about her because she was Asuka and not the Second Child and Shinji discovered his actions could change how others treated him. They both took a chance then, they both met each other halfway and never looked back.
Long after the sun had set a tired Misato Katsuragi stumbled into the apartment with a weak:
"I'm home."
Asuka was the quickest and got to Misato just as the door to the outside world closed behind the purple haired major.
"How'd it go Misato? When can I get my Eva back?" Asuka asked in a voice of not entirely fake desperation. Though piloting was not her entire life anymore she still thoroughly enjoyed it, and besides there was something she needed to find out, something she needed to talk about with Shinji later…
"I don't know. Maybe never." Misato said unable to look the redhead in the eye.
"But why Misato?! You never explained why are we both grounded. Or how did NERV kill the Angel? If they sent us home we obviously don't have mental contamination." Asuka asked exasperatedly trying to get some answers as Misato quietly took off her shoes and made her way toward the kitchen.
"Both your Evas went berserk and ripped themselves out of the Angel. In doing so they both consumed the Angels S2 organs." Misato said in her quiet no-nonsense voice as she stood in the middle of the kitchen.
"What are those?" Shinji asked genuinely puzzled. As he joined the conversation while he got Misato's dinner out of the oven and onto the kitchen table.
"The Super Solenoid organ is what gives an angel its power, it's essentially a giant reactor with unlimited power located in the Angel's core. Damn it baka why did you think destroying an Angel's core killed it? Because that was where the S2 organ was!" Asuka said, her finger and nose pointed up as she lectured Shinji on what she thought should be basic information given their line of work.
"Sorry, biology was never my strong suit." Shinji said sheepishly. His hand rubbing the back of his head.
"None of the subjects at school are your strong suit." Asuka remarked snidely.
"But then shouldn't that be a good thing? Now that our Evas have unlimited power and don't need their umbilical cords." Shinji asked perplexedly before Misato shook her head and responded:
"Even activating your Evangelions now might cause a world ending event, we're not really sure at all, there's still so much we don't understand about the Angels or the Evas for that matter." Misato remarked in a bitter and tired voice as she finally managed to sit down and get a beer in her hand courtesy of Kaji "So until further notice both Units-01 and 02 are frozen." Misato said as she cracked open her can of Yebisu.
"But that means Rei is going to be alone." Shinji said worriedly while Misato downed her beer.
"I brought this up with the committee. Assholes." Misato said as she angrily crushed the now empty can. "They said the Americans were close to finishing Units-03 and 04 and they would soon be operational. Now all we have to do is hope the next Angel politely waits until they are finished and in Japan, before deciding to attack."
Later
Central Dogma is in chaos. Alarms are blaring, voices are raised, data is checked, and all while an ominous red dot on the North American continent, expanding and consuming NERV's Second Branch is played over and over on the large monitors.
The Bowels of NERV
"I had wanted to put the dummy plug's data in Units-01 and 02 but now that is no longer possible." Gendo said accepting the fact that putting an untested control mechanism in machines with a history of going berserk that now possessed an unlimited power supply is an unbelievably bad idea. Putting the dummy plug data in Unit-00 instead was redundant on so many levels as to not even be worth considering.
"The system still possesses an incredible amount of errors and needs a large amount of work to be truly effective." Dr Ritsuko Akagi said giving a rundown on the dummy plug's status.
"Can it be used for Unit-03's initial activation?"
"Normally I would say no, that it is still too risky with all the errors but…" Ritsuko thought at the time and resources poured into the dummy plug system. It had to work. The pilots were too unreliable and psychologically damaged. They needed a more consistent way to control the Evas, not just against the Angels, but especially for Gendo's scenario they needed a system that followed orders without question.
Only Rei would do that. Rei's lack of character and personality was not simply a means of controlling her but also necessary. Even with the most advanced hardware on the planet they couldn't fully digitize a "normal" person and their full range of memories and foibles. Hence Rei, and her bland existence, memories so unvaried that they blurred together into one mass, and an almost doll-like persona that didn't take up too much space in her mind so that all the things that made up Rei's essence, her soul, could actually fit on the limited memory they possessed in both the dummy plugs and the backup drives in the cloning bay. "…it is the only remaining option that exists to see if what we envision is possible." Ritsuko said emphasizing, again, that she was on board with Gendo's scenario, hoping he would reward her with his affection. Keep the darkness and angst at bay for just a moment longer with his warmth.
"Make the preparations." Risk is all relative anyways.
"Understood. I still want to recruit a pilot so we can have a baseline to compare the dummy plug's performance to." Since after all if the dummy plug was only a fraction combat effective as a pilot they needed to know. "There is a candidate for whom a core can be readied immediately."
"Very well."
A/N: This chapter really fought me. I'm not entirely happy with all of it but I want to keep to my self-imposed deadlines or this fic will never be finished. I think it's mostly because I never thought this story would get this far, or be more than a loose collection of lemons, so I didn't outline and think through all the changes and how to portray them in the story. But thanks to you guys and all your positive feedback and support I feel committed to seeing this thing through. This is definitely more plot focused but it's necessary to lay out the direction this fic is going to take. But I promise every chapter should have some lemon in it. So if you want that just skip ahead. As always let me know what you think. More story, more lemon, or both.