One week later...
Tokyo-3
Erin and David stood and watched as the scaffolding was removed from the Third Impact Memorial. Now completed, the giant sculpture would be presented to the public in a ceremony not long from now. But as a special treat the two of them were invited to see the one-hundred-foot-tall figure as it was finished, before the public would get their chance. Both kids were suitably impressed.
"Wow," said Zummy, as he looked up at the porcelain-colored giant. The sculpture was of a gigantic nude female figure, holding a sphere in the space in front of her. The giant looked as it was made of white stone but contained long outstretched wings behind her that were composed of transparent material resembling glass. The giant had a graceful and very feminine look, with a softly graceful face and short-cropped hair.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" said Erin, standing closely to him.
"Yeah, but there's something really familiar about it. I can't quite figure out why but I've seen that face before."
Erin coughed, trying to suppress the giggle.
"What?" asked Zummy. "What is it?"
"You sure you don't recognize who that is?" asked Erin.
Zummy took another look and then made the realization. "Oh. I get it, it's Rei? Isn't it?" Erin laughed out loud, glad that he figured it out.
"She modeled for the sculpture?" he asked.
"Um, yeah. You could kind of say that."
"That's kind of cool. I guess she's immortal now."
The two of them spend another couple of minutes silently admiring the new memorial. The wind was gentle where they stood with only a slight breeze that caught up on Erin's dress. Zummy's glance went from the statue to the very real girl right next to him.
"I didn't really understand until now," he told her.
"What's that?"
"For me all this stuff about EVA was just a fun thing to chase down, more like a game. But I never really thought about what it was really like for the pilots. I never realized the sort of sacrifices all of you had to make."
Erin looked at him. "That includes you too, now."
"Oh, no. I am not even going to go there. I'm not even in the same league as you guys."
"But you're now a pilot, officially I mean."
"Yeah, for robots," said Zummy as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. "But not for this," he said as he motioned towards the statue. "I got as close as I ever want to that world."
"Well, as far as I'm concerned," said Erin as she stood up to him. "you did just fine."
He smiled a little and blushed, and then turned away in embarrassment. But Erin did more than compliment him: she gently reached out for his hand and took it. David looked up and she smiled at him as she stepped closer.
"But, if you're done with piloting giant robots," she said, "I know some pretty cool, more down to earth places around here that we could go."
Zummy's hand grasped onto Erin's and he felt the warmth from her. To him it was a good feeling, better than anything he had experienced in the last few days, or really in a very long while. "Then lead the way," he said.
In the reception lobby of NERV at the Geofront, Commander Burke led a delegation towards the main entrance. Walking along with him were Kaji, Satsuki, Aoi Mogami, assistant director Stephenson, and agent Koji Takao. All of them were dressed in business suit attire or as in Burke's case his dress uniform of a Brigadier in the Alliance Space Force. Koji's arm was in a sling, a result of his wounds suffered while providing cover for Patrick's and Rei's escape the previous week. The group was generally in good spirits and looking forward to their meeting with an important visitor.
Aoi received a phone call and spoke briefly, then informed the others. "I just got word, the Prime Minister will be here in about five minutes. His helicopter just touched down on the landing pad in front."
"Good," said the commander. "Be sure everyone gives him a warm welcome." Aoi nodded and then picked up the phone again to convey the message. "By the way," Burke asked Kaji, "did everything work out with that girl in Kumamoto? The one who gave us the location of the hideout?"
"Yes," Kaji replied. "We've since evacuated Kaori-chan and she's now living in and will soon be going to school here in Hakone. My wife saw to it that she has scholarship money from the Kensuke Aida Foundation, and she herself has taken an interest in her well-being, so she'll be fine."
"Splendid. All's well that ends well," said Burke. "Ah, here they come!"
Another group of people dressed in business suits, this group entirely Japanese, came through the front glass doors of the reception hall and walked straight towards Burke and Kaji. The leader of the group was a massive older man with an impressively stylish haircut and wide-open brown eyes. Upon spotting Burke, the Prime Minister extended his hand, making a point not to bow to the American at first in order to avoid being awkward. Burke firmly grasped it, looking him in the eyes.
"Welcome to NERV, Mister Prime Minister."
"Thank you for having us, Commander!" The two men shook for a few more seconds and then the Prime Minister turned to Kaji.
"And this is the Director of Alliance Intelligence, Mr. Kaji, no doubt?" he said. Kaji gently bowed to him. "At your service, Prime Minister." His bow was returned by the PM in an equally gentle way.
The larger Japanese man cleared his throat, then spoke to the group. "Well, we have many things to discuss but to begin I just want to show my appreciation and gratitude for all of NERV's recent efforts. Despite our own initial stubbornness we were in need of assistance and you provided that at your own initiative. Let me say that I'm both humbled and completely in your debit." The Prime Minister again bowed to the others.
"No need for any of that, sir," said Commander Burke. "It's our job. No better friend, no worse enemy."
"Well, I certainly know which side of that I need to be on," said the Prime Minister. "I think somehow we got off on the wrong foot and…" the group turned as another delegation in business suits entered the welcome lobby through the front doors. This was a group of four younger men in black suits led by a middle-aged Japanese woman with a bowl haircut and giant eyeglasses dressed in a black suit, and who sternly marched towards the others.
"…. oh no," said the Prime Minister under his breath.
Watanabe stepped right up to the Prime Minister, her entourage close behind. She pointed at Burke and Kaji and then spoke in a firm, declarative voice. "Mister Prime Minister, you need to do something about these people right now!"
The Prime Minster scowled and looked at Watanabe as if he expected to have a tooth extracted. "What is it, Watanabe-san?"
"In over twenty years of government service I have never been as rudely treated, insulted, or outright deceived as with this organization. NERV has completely violated the agreed arrangement between themselves and the Japanese government, conducting unauthorized operations outside of their designated area, lying about their conduct and deliberately entrapping government observers who were there to monitor their activities."
"Watanabe-san…"
The woman continued. "They activated an unlicensed mobile nuclear reactor and set it loose with two teenagers on board to pilot it like it was some kind of hot rod! They completely violated the rules of engagement set forth by the joint agreement, and took extreme measures to hide from me and my staff their activities. You should sanction them immediately! And also.."
"Watanabe-san!" the Prime Minister finally said loudly, hoping she would stop. She was about to continue speaking until he waved her off. "I'm well aware of the circumstances involving NERV and assure you we will be looking into all of their 'unofficial' conduct today." Watanabe was a bit surprised at the Prime Minister's answer, but then nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir!"
He smiled at her slightly as Burke, Kaji, and the others continued to look on. "Watanabe-san, I want to thank you personally for your diligence in keeping tabs on NERV. Without your tireless efforts I would not be so fully informed as to what NERV was doing and what we need to do in response."
Watanabe actually blushed a little at the perceived compliments. "Well, thank you sir! I gave this job my best effort."
"I'm sure you did, and now that these matters have fully come to my attention. I assure you I will be taking a very personal look at NERV and will handle this issue myself." Watanabe nodded in agreement.
"But," the Prime Minister spoke to her, "We have another major national crisis, and I need my best person on it."
"Best person, well, I," Watanabe blushed even more, and for a moment seemed like an embarrassed schoolgirl. "I think that might be just too complimentary, sir. I'm just doing my job."
"Then you're the person I need," the Prime Minister said as he wagged his finger towards her, "to deal with our national sewage treatment crisis. As part of our post-crisis recovery we have a real problem here, and I need my top people on this."
Behind Watanabe the four men in her entourage look at each other with deep trepidation, one of them whispering to the others, "did he say sewage?" Realizing what their future would hold, all of them made grimaces as they imagined being bravely led through the public sewers by their fearless and determined leader in pursuit of her new mission.
Watanabe however, didn't flinch for an instant but instead stood up to attention, and then deeply bowed to the Prime Minister. "Yes, sir," she told him firmly,. "I will give this matter my full effort of body and soul."
"I would expect nothing less from you. Now please go and show me what you can do." Watanabe bowed again to the Prime Minister and without even a glance at either the NERV delegation or her own staff, hurried out towards the exit doors of the reception lobby, her four minions reluctantly following her out of the building. The Prime Minister and everyone else watched as they left.
Once they were out of the building, Kaji smiled at the PM. "Well, sir, you certainly have a way with people."
"I always believe," said the Prime Minister, "that you need the right person for the right job. And you sir," he said to Kaji, "are very definitely the right person in the right job. I think we all have a lot to talk about."
Kaji and Burked looked at each other in confidence, as the Prime Minister turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise and nothing like his media reputation would convey. "Then follow us," said Burke, "and we'll be glad to show you around."
Patrick took the elevator down to the lower levels of the GeoFront. He was alone in the car as it silently sped downward towards the inner depts of the GeoFront. Looking out the elevator car's windows as he plunged downwards he saw the lower levels of NERV, most of them now gone dark but some still lit by LED lights illuminating their strange contents of red glowing LCL and other objects that he couldn't quite identify but which appeared like misshaped Evangelions or other giant-sized objects suspended in time. No matter how many times I've made this trip, doing this still creeps me out, he thought to himself. God knows what else they were doing here when it all started.
The elevator arrived and the door hissed open. Patrick walked out and into a darkened corridor lit only by soft lights as he moved towards the larger laboratory at the end. He knew the way by now. As he walked only the clicks of his shoes against the floor was heard, there were hardly any other sounds.
The Dummy Plug Plant was at the end of the hallway. There were no human guards here, but Patrick knew there was still security with AI-directed sensors and hidden weapons in the bulkheads above and below. At the door there was an entry sensor, and Patrick both showed his ID card and allowed it to take his eye retina scan. A moment after scanning both, the door entry light changed from red to green and the doorway itself slid open.
If the elevator trip was the beginning of creepy sensations, then the laboratory itself was the full manifestation of it. Patrick looked at the high ceiling and saw the gigantic brain-like device at the top as he walked forward. Directly at the center was a column that led to a tall, narrow glass cylinder filled with glowing orange LCL, and that contained the only other inhabitant of the cavernous room.
Patrick said nothing but carefully walked up to the glass cylinder, not wanting to wake up its occupant. Rei had by now become so familiar with the apparatus that it was easy for her to fall asleep inside of it, and he didn't want to wake her as he approached. He wanted to enjoy the moment, of seeing her beautifully float in the LCL, with her eyes closed and her face at peace, her hair swaying in the gentle pulsing of the liquid, and her beautifully naked body floating free.
He came close enough to the glass to touch it, and Patrick gently placed both of his hands on the surface of the chamber. He looked up at her, and saw her sway in the gently pulsation of the unit as it worked to fully restore her body. The price she pays for still remaining alive is that she has to use one of these machines frequently to keep her cells from breaking up. As long as she lives, she'll always be bound to it.
Rei's eyes flickered open as she noticed a change in the environment and she saw Patrick with his hands on the glass. She floated downward and placed her own hands on the glass opposite where his were, and gently smiled at him. They remained that way, looking at each other until a series of lights appeared on the cylinder. Rei looked up and then floated all the way downwards as Patrick stood back from the chamber, as the rejuvenation cycle had now ended.
LCL drained out, and the tube moved upwards to allow Rei to get out. Patrick quickly looked for a towel and found it draped over the control station nearby. He held it open for her as she approached him and then he wrapped her in the towel snugly.
"Hi," he said, still smiling at her. "You okay?"
"Much better, thank you," she answered. It was then that Patrick noticed a significant change with Rei.
"You cut your hair?"
"I had to," she explained. "It had become damaged." She brushed it with her hand slightly. "Are you okay with that?"
"You look more like your old self. Do you like it this way?"
"I do," she said. "I think I'll keep it short from now on."
"Then I don't mind at all."
Rei pulled the towel more tightly around her. "I'll take a shower. Can you wait here?"
"Sure."
With that Rei walked towards the small room at the other end of the laboratory, the one that was covered in hospital-style stand-up dividers. It was the same room that she had first lived in, several lifetimes ago. She drew the curtains and went behind them to clean herself up.
Patrick briefly considered whether he should "surprise" her in the shower as he did in the dream he once had, but decided that today was not that day, not yet anyway. He had other more important plans and so he patiently waited for Rei to shower, dry herself, change, and then return from the little room.
She came out dressed in a sky blue long-sleeved top and ankle-length white lace skirt complimented with blue ballet flats. Not unlike the princess that she really was, Patrick thought. Her small silver cross was also back around her neck as before. Rei walked right up to him and then without saying a word leaned into him and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes and breathing deeply as he put his arms around her.
"It feels good to be back," she said softly. Patrick just held her a little longer. "It's good to have you back."
Is now the right time? he wondered. He looked down on her and gently caressed her hair as she rested against him. Yes, I think it actually is.
Just before leaving Canada, upon his graduation from Camp X, Patrick used a large portion of his enlistment bonus and visited a jewelry story in Charlevoix City. There he picked out what he hoped would be the right ring. As he held onto Rei, his other hand went into his pants pocket to check and make sure the little box was there inside, and it still was. It had remained with him throughout the entire time he had travelled from Canada weeks before until now.
What got him about the moment was that he didn't feel scared. It wasn't his agent training or anything else that took away his fear, it was simply knowing this was what he wanted. And it was definitely what he wanted. He only hoped that this was also what she wanted as well.
He let go of Rei and as she wondered what he was now doing, Patrick lowered himself on one knee. But at that moment Rei protested.
"Forri-kun! No, please don't!"
Suddenly his heart sank. He had imaged how this moment would go but he didn't expect such immediate resistance. "Don't?!"
"No, I mean," she said as she gently helped him back onto both feet. "I don't want to be bowed down to, especially by you."
"I wasn't meaning to worship you," he told her, finally stretching again to his full height.
"I understand that, but please just don't do that."
"So 'no' doesn't mean…."
"Oh," Rei realized that she might have been misunderstood. "Oh, no. I mean yes. I mean, I think you were expecting a yes, yes?"
"I haven't even asked the question yet!" he said.
She stood there, her eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to consider what was really happening now. Then suddenly she started giggling.
Patrick wasn't as humored. "This is funny?"
"I am so sorry," she told him between giggles. "You are just trying so hard to do the right thing."
He smiled at her, understanding how awkward he must have seemed to her but also that his path was now made clear. "Okay, how should I do this?"
Rei took him by the arms and looked up to him, her eyes wide with anticipation. "Just as simply as you can, that's all I need."
"All right," he said, and now he gulped down realizing just how nervous he really was. Patrick took a breath and then let it out, and then he asked the question.
"Rei Ayanami, will you marry me?"
Rei's eyes met his and she spoke to him in a firm voice. "Yes!"
Patrick let his breath out loudly as his face broke into a smile a mile wide. He didn't say anything else, but instead bent down to kiss his future bride. Rei met him halfway, holding his face in her hands and bringing him in, and they shared a long and sensual kiss between them.
It went on until they ran out of breath, then they both broke off with their arms around each other. Happy and unafraid of the future, that's just want I want us to be.
"Are you surprised?" he asked her.
"Somewhat. I thought you might have waited a little longer, at least until we were back in America."
He shrugged his shoulders. "The timing seemed right, that's all." But he knew he was forgetting something. "Oh, shoot. Wait, I was supposed to do this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the little blue ring box. Rei looked curiously at it until he opened the box and showed her what was inside. A very small ring with a platinum band, four small diamonds at each corner of a large, deep-blue sapphire. Rei gasped as she saw it.
"Forri-kun!" she said, "Can you afford this?"
"I've got a real job now with real money, so yeah I think so," he told her. "Here, it's yours." He gently took the ring out of the box and slid it on the fourth finger on her left hand. Rei's hands were delicately tiny, but the ring was a perfect fit for her. She looked at it with curiosity as Patrick looked at her.
"it matches you well."
"Thank you," she said finally.
"Thank you," he replied. "Thank you for taking someone so imperfect as me."
"You're not imperfect," Rei told him, again reaching up on her toes to kiss him. "Quite the opposite."
The two of them gave each other a whole series of smooches in the dark silence of the laboratory, and Patrick knew there was one more hurdle he wanted to cross today.
"Um," he said, breaking off after the last kiss but still with Rei in his arms. "How are you feeling? Physically I mean."
"I'm good," she said.
Now Patrick became very nervous. "Do you think that maybe, we could, um…perhaps…" Rei looked at him inquisitively as he tried to finish his sentence.
"You know…pick up where we left off the other night?"
Rei gently smiled at him. Giving him a tight embrace first, she again pushed up on her toes to get closer to his face.
"I'd like you to surprise me..."
Patrick grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Oh, I plan to!"
Then Rei took her finger and brought it up to her own lips to kiss it, and then planted the finger directly on Patrick's lips.
"…on my wedding night."
Curtains suddenly dropped inside of Patrick's mind, as his mental preview of what he hoped would have been happening within the next few minutes was suddenly cut short. Rei snuggled out of his arms and then after reaching for her handbag that rested on one of the chairs walked towards the exit. She said nothing else, and didn't even look back at him, but Patrick knew she was smiling. He however was left very frustrated.
Was that the White Swan just now, or the Black one? I can't tell.
"Hey," he called out to her as he tried to catch up with Rei. "Wait up!"
Patrick finally caught up to Rei at the elevators, and the two of them spent the time inside the upwards car with more than a little personal affection for each other. After the long ride the two of them emerged at the operation level with their arms around each other and walked the short distance to the pilot's lounge.
Standing next to the lounge doorway was Shinji along with Misato and Akira, who tugged at Misato's hand. Upon seeing Rei approach, Akira immediately broke free from Misato and ran towards Rei.
"Rei Ane-san!" the little boy cried out with his arms spread wide.
Rei lowered herself to one knee and welcomed Akira in her own arms, lifting him up and carrying him as she and Patrick approached the others. Little Akira was certainly glad to see Rei himself. "Ane-san, Missed you!"
"I missed you too," replied Rei as she patted him on the head.
"How are you doing," Misato asked her. "All recovered?"
"I think so," Rei replied. "I certainly feel much better now."
"You look good," complimented Shinji. "You went back to your old hair!" She nodded, smiling at him.
"That's not the only difference," said Misato as she spied the engagement ring on Rei's finger. "I see that you've got some new jewelry now, too!" Rei immediately blushed bright red. Misato smirked as Shinji gasped when he saw the ring. "When did that happen?"
"Just now," said Patrick as he smiled confidently.
"Rei!" was all that Shinji could get out. He looked at her and smiled and she smiled back, still blushing.
Misato put her hands together. "Well, this calls for a celebration!"
"Any excuse is a good one for a celebration with you," Shinji said to Misato.
"Oh, like you really mind," she spat back. "I suggest we go and tell all the others." With that Misato opened up the pilot lounge door and as her and Shinji were about to enter, Shinji was struck in the face by a flying black polished heeled pump. He nearly fell to the ground.
Inside of the lounge was Asuka and she appeared furious. Dressed in a black and white minidress with polka dot patterns that was cut off at the shoulders, she stood barefoot on the floor as she tossed another of her shoes towards Shinji. She stared daggers at him, screaming "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!"
Shinji picked himself off the floor, his face red from the shoe strike. A bewildered Rei and Patrick looked on as Misato tried to get to the bottom of just what was going on.
"Asuka, what's wrong?"
"Look at me!" she shouted. "Right now I have the perfect body! My boobs are just the right shape! My figure is absolutely just right! My skin is perfect, glowing and wonderful! And now this asshole has completely ruined all of this for me!"
Misato was still not getting quite what Asuka's point was. "So what happened?"
"THIS, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED!" Asuka showed what she was holding in her hand for all to see, holding it up high. It was a white-colored plastic pregnancy test, and there were two red lines boldly displaying in the reader panel.
"Asuka!" Misato exclaimed. "You're pregnant!"
"I know, all because of this jerk!" she pointed a finger at Shinji. "Why the hell couldn't you be more careful!?"
"I was careful!," Shinji shot back. "I used it every time, no exceptions!"
"Then explain this, moron!" she tossed the pregnancy test at him and Shinji caught it in the air before it he was struck with it.
Patrick shrugged his shoulders. "Face it, dude. Maybe you've just got super sperm!"
"Well, it's seems like it's so easy to get pregnant these days," chimed in Misato. "And with Asuka being so comely I'm pretty sure they found lots of chances to increase their odds."
"Don't joke about this!" Asuka shouted at everyone else. "This is a disaster!"
Rei didn't joke however. Instead, she gently let Akira back down to the floor and then approached Asuka quietly. The redhead was still upset but as Rei got close to her Asuka noticed that her expression was as if she was holding something back.
"What's your problem?" Asuka said to Rei.
At that moment Rei threw her arms around Asuka and held onto her as tightly as she could. Asuka stood there as she heard Rei sniffle and tremble with great emotion suddenly released.
"Why…why are you crying?"
"Because," Rei said in between sobs. "Because you and Onii-chan…are going to have a baby."
Asuka then realized that Rei was crying not from sadness, but from happiness. Two of her favorite people in the world, two souls that she spent some of her most trying times with, had joined together to create life on their own and this made Rei quite happy indeed. Her own anger then subsided and Asuka gently and slowly put her own arms around Rei as she continued to embrace her.
"I…" Asuka said hesitantly in a much quieter tone, "I guess…it'll be okay."
Misato confidently put her hand on her hip. "We will make sure that it is, for the three of you!" she said.
Shinji then approached Asuka and looked at her with a broken smile. She thought to get angry again but now she could not. What had happened was somehow the way things were meant to be from them. So instead she opened up her arm and Shinji also embraced her along with Rei, and he kissed her. Asuka squeezed tightly, closing her eyes as the others watched on. Her childhood had just ended, and the rest of her life had just begun, and at that moment in the arms of those she loved and who loved her she was finally alright with it.
A short chapter, but a meaningful one. It's good to finally see resolutions to our long-standing relationships and I think readers would agree this is going to be a great way to close out the story.
We have perhaps two chapters to go until the end, and I promise it shouldn't take too long. So please stay tuned in!