Shinji's Redemption
Chapter 16
It was early morning and bleak. The sunlight was covered by gray, stormy clouds. The backstreets of Tokyo-3 were empty and soulless. Nearby construction sounds reverberated throughout the apartment complex. Rei laid flat on her bed and blankly stared at her dull, gray walls.
"What are these...feelings?" Rei asked herself. Ever since the commander died, she had this sinking feeling in her chest. What did it mean? Why was she having this reaction? Rei sat up and looked out her small window. She slowly got up from her bed and put on her school uniform. She walked out of her apartment and walked towards Tokyo-3.
Shinji looked up at the ceiling in his living room. It was dark and the streetlamps outside was the only thing emitting light into the room. It was completely silent except for the small analog clock by Shinji's bed. It read five forty-three, AM. Every second seemed to be going by quicker and quicker. If Shinji remembers correctly, he has until tomorrow afternoon until the JSDF invasion. Memories of that day came flooding back to him. He remembers Misato dragging him to the Eva cages, he remembers seeing the mangled corpse of Unit 02 being carried by one of the mass-produced Eva Units, but what he remembers most is the feeling of complete helplessness. Sitting inside Unit 01, during the third impact was the most terrifying thing Shinji had ever seen.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Shinji yelled. He desperately pushed onto the controls of Unit 01, trying anything to resist the Mass-produced Evas. after seeing it was all futile Shinji buried his head into his hands and started sobbing. Everything and everyone was gone, Misato, Asuka, Toji, Kensuke, Kaworu, Tokyo-3 was destroyed. Shinji looked up to see a large white figure to rise up from the clouds below. A fully naked woman with angel wings rose up. Her eyes were nothing more than black holes with a blood-red center oozing from the dark abyss. Her breathing was heavy and paralyzing. The giant woman rose up to Unit 01 and went to go grasp it with her hands. All Shinji could do was scream as the being slowly wrapped its hands around Unit 01. Shinji looked over at his right hand, Misato's necklace hung freely from Shinji's fingers. He gripped it tightly and held it up to his chest like it was the only thing keeping him alive. All of a sudden, everything went dark.
Shinji awoke on an empty beach. He slowly stood up and looked around. The water was light blue and felt very warm. The white sand burned with the heat of the sun. Shinji turned around to see Rei in her school uniform, but she wore her bandages and arm splint like she had when he first saw her at school. A large green rain forest stood behind her, sounds of birds and bugs buzzed throughout the cool wind.
"Rei?" Shinji asked. He walked up to her only to have her disappear. "Rei!" Shinji yelled as he tried to grab her, but just as he reached her, she completely disappeared. Shinji fell onto his knees, the hot sand burning his skin. His tears fell and dried up into the sand as he slammed his fist into the sand. "Dammit," Shinji whispered to himself.
The day soon began to get dark. The sun slowly sunk below the horizon and the deep orange sky turned black. Shinji huddled underneath some trees for protection. The cool night air stabbed at his exposed skin. All he could do was crawl up into a ball and hope that someone, anyone could save him. No matter what he did, Shinji could not fall asleep. He tossed and turned around on the ground. Frustrated, he slowly got up and dusted off his clothes. As he looked up, he saw a glint of light break through some of the jungle trees. He brushed past the trees trying to find an opening to see where the light was coming from. Shinji could barely see where he was going, his only sense of position was the silhouettes of the trees. Shinji took another step only for him to find that there was no ground. He lost his sense of balance and rolled down a steep hill. When Shinji landed he could feel the ground sink below him. He slowly stood up and realized that he wasn't standing on dirt, but rather sand. He pushed his way out of the thick brush and was blinded by a strong light. He slowly opened his eyes to find the night sky filled completely with stars. It was so bright Shinji could see his own shadow. Shinji could only stand in awe at the sight before him. The night sky was a deep blue with oceans of orange stars sprinkled along the sky. Shinji walked forward to find that he was standing in water. A perfect reflection of the night sky rippled as Shinji took steps into the ocean. The water was just as warm as it was in the daytime. Shinji kneeled know into the water and dug his hands into the sand underneath the water. When he pulled up some sand, it sparkled like diamonds. Shinji couldn't explain why, but for the first time, Shinji felt purpose. He didn't know what it was, all he knew was that he had to find it.
"So this is what you see?" A voice behind Shinji said. Shinji quickly turned back to see Rei standing and the water with Shinji. He couldn't move, whether it was out of surprise or fear that rei would disappear again. Shinji slowly breathed in and then exhaled.
"What is this place?" Shinji asked looking up into the sea of stars.
"This is you," Rei said. Shinji looked back at Rei.
"Me? What do you mean me?" Shinji asked. Rei started to walk towards Shinji.
"Your soul is made up of the things you see," Rei said.
"What do you mean-" Shinji said. Rei had come up to him and place her finger on his forehead.
Shinji still doesn't know what he saw, or if he just was dreaming. All Shinji knew was that the next thing he saw was his younger left playing in a sandbox., along with all sorts of other visions. In those visions, Shinji decided to come back and change this for the better. Shinji turned in his bed and looked out the window, a little starlight came peeking through his window and onto his hand. The scar on his hand illuminated under the light. Shinji firmly tightened his hand.
"Tomorrow and then everything will be right again," Shinji said.
There was a ring throughout the apartment. Shinji opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. He sat there for a second to make sure it wasn't his imagination, he was about to go back to sleep until he heard it again. He slowly got out of bed and walked to the entrance of the apartment. He opened the door to see rei standing there. To say he was surprised would be like saying fire is hot. She wore her usual school outfit with her light blue flats. Her expression sent shivers down Shinji's spine. Her eyes held tiredness inside of them and her bright blue hair was in a mess. She held a frown, yet still held up some of her apathetic expression. She met eyes with Shinji, her pupils slightly enlarged.
"Rei?" Shinji said, unsure how to respond.
"Can I come in?" Rei asked. Shinji couldn't answer. This was the first time he had seen her like this.
"Uh, sure," Shinji said. The two walked into the kitchen. Rei just sat at the kitchen table, null of any action. Shinji walked over to the refrigerator to see if he could cook anything up. After a while of just sitting there, Rei looked up at Shinji.
'What am I doing here? Why did I come here?' Rei thought to herself. Shinji started to cook. Knowing she didn't like meat, Shinji cooked some scrambled eggs. When he finished he walked over to the table and gave Rei the eggs. She slowly picked up her chopsticks and began to eat. Shinji looked at the clock in the kitchen, it read six-thirty.
'What's Rei doing here at this hour?' Shinji thought. Rei ate her eggs in silence as Shinji cleaned the kitchen. When Rei finished, Shinji walked over to the table and sat down. He saw that her face still had a depressed expression. Shinji audibly exhaled.
"Rei, is there something you need?" Shinji asked. He felt bad asking. Shinji wasn't good at a lot of things. He wasn't very athletic, he had a hard time talking to people, he wasn't particularly smart, but he's good at detecting when something's wrong with someone, and he understood that people don't like talking about their emotions. Rei looked up from her plate, her usual vibrant red eyes were dim.
"I don't know," Rei said. Her eyes went back down to the table. All her life, she did whatever she was ordered to do. Everything from where to go and what to eat was decided for her. This was the first time ever she had eaten something outside her usual diet. "I didn't anywhere else to go," Rei said, with a sad tone. Shinji didn't know how to respond. How do you respond to something like that? Shinji knew about Rei and her clones. In front of him was only one of hundreds. Rei's vision began to get blurry. She felt her eyes begin to moisten, a sinking feeling in her chest began to put pressure on her cheek muscles. Before she knew it tears ran down her face and landed on top of the table. Shinji noticed this and ran over to her side of the table.
"Rei are you alright?" Shinji asked. Rei just looked up at him. He was met with a face of sadness and confusion. Tears slowly rolled down her face her eyes began to swell up.
"I don't know," Rei said through tears. Shinji grabbed a dish towel and gave it to Rei. Shinji felt bad for Rei. She didn't even know how to manage her emotions, let alone express them. All her life she was conditioned what to feel, so when she had nobody to tell her what to do, she had no way of handling herself. She was confused scared, and she had nowhere to go. All she could do was cry. After a bout of crying, Rei got up to leave.
"Sorry for bothering you," Rei said. Shinji stopped her.
"Don't go, you can sleep here," Shinji said. Both were surprised by what he said. Shinji didn't know why he said it, but he knew he had to. Rei just turned and looked down. Shinji sighed and walked over the closet. He pulled out some bedding and made a makeshift bed for Rei in the living room.
"Do you need anything?" Shinji asked as he finished setting up the bed. Rei shook her head. She then started to unbutton her school uniform. Shinji immediately covered his eyes in a panic. Seeing Shinji's sudden outburst, she stopped.
"Is something wrong?" Rei asked worried that she did something to upset him. Shinji slowly uncovered his eyes to make sure Rei was still wearing clothing.
"You can't just...hold on," Shinji said. He walked over into Misato's room to see if he couldn't find one set of her PJs. He looked all around her closet to see if she had them in there but to no avail. He looked around to see her clothes drawer. Shinji slowly rolled his eyes. He slowly walked over to the drawer and opened the top drawer to find Misato's panties and bras. Shinji quickly closed the drawer. He blushed with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. He then went to the second drawer and pulled it out to reveal Misato's PJs. with a sigh of relief, he pulled out a set and walked back into the living room. He gave Rei the PJs.
"Use these. Now I'm going to walk out o the room, after your done, I'll come back," Shinji said. When Shinji walked back into the living room, Rei had put on Misato's PJs. They were definitely too big for Rei. The top part went all the way down to her stomach and the short waist was too big for Rei, resulting in it to slightly fall, revealing a small part of Rei's panties. Rei slowly got into bed.
"Rei, If you need anything, I'll be in my room," Shinji said. He started to leave until Rei spoke up.
"Wait, can you...watch me fall sleep?" Rei asked. Shinji's eye twitched a couple of times. Shinji knew that Rei could be unusual at times, but this was a new level, even for Rei.
"Uh, sure," Shinji said. He turned off the living room lights and walked over to the kitchen table. He sat down and waited for Rei to fall asleep. After what felt like hours, he saw her stomach rise and fall in rhythm, he was so tired that he couldn't even stand up. Accepting the situation, Shinji fell asleep with his head on the kitchen table.
Asuka woke up with a satisfying stretch. She looked out her window to see Tokyo-3 bathed in a blue sky. Asuka just stared at the light blue sky. The angel war was finally over, she should be happy, but there was a saddening feeling deep into her heart. Asuka's whole purpose was piloting Unit 02, so now that the angels were gone, what use is the Evas? Asuka shook her head, right now she just wanted to relax and have some of Shinji's delicious breakfast. She slowly got out of bed and saw that his door was closed. Finding that unusual, Asuka knocked on the door. When she wasn't met with response, she opened the door to find that he was nowhere to be found. His SDAT laid neatly on his nightstand, and the bedsheets were barely rustled. Asuka rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen.
"I guess I'll have to make some breakfast myself," Asuka pouted to herself. When she walked into the living room, she noticed a bed mat laying in the middle of the floor. In the mess of pillows and sheets, a young girl laid on top of the mountain of blankets. Confused, Asuka walked over to get a closer look at the person. At the sight of her blue hair, Asuka recognized the person as Rei. A spike of annoyance and confusion hit Asuka. "What the hell is wonder girl doing here?" Asuka asked. She looked into the kitchen to find a certain brown-haired boy silently sleeping in one of the kitchen chairs. Asuka walked up to him and tried to shake him awake, but he was fast asleep. Asuka smiled, knowing she got to try out her favorite way of waking up Shinji. She gently wiggled his nose until he stirred a little. Whenever he lifted his head up, that's when Asuka gently leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips. Shinji slowly opened his eyes to see Asuka smiling at him. " Morning sleepyhead," Asuka whispered. Shinji blinked a couple of times before yawning. Asuka looked back over at Rei.
"Why is wonder girl here?" Asuka asked. Shinji turned to look at Rei. He wondered if last night was all just a dream.
"She rang the doorbell at about six. After I cooked her some breakfast She went to sleep. I guess I must have fallen asleep here," Shinji explained in a sleepy slur. Asuka sighed.
"If somebody did that to me in Germany, I would probably hit them s hard, I'll would send them to the hospital," Asuka said. Rei started to stir. She gently sat up and looked out the window. Asuka walked up to Rei and was about to make a snarky comment until she saw her face. Despite a night's rest, Rei's eyes were swollen, her hair was a mess, and she looked like she had no energy. Asuka couldn't believe it, but she actually started to feel bad for Rei.
After Rei got back into her school uniform, Shinji started breakfast since all of them were hungry. Asuka had gone back into her room to get ready for her shower. She hadn't planned on having one this morning, but since Rei was here, Asuka had to go out of her way to look nice. Like last night, Rei sat at the kitchen while Shinji cooked. Today was the day before the JSDF would invade Nerv, so Shinji wanted to make something special before everything went to shit. He decided to make cinnamon rolls. He after making the dough and cinnamon paste, he put them in the oven for a while. While he was cooking Rei would look at him like she was trying to solve a puzzle. After he put the rolls in the oven, Shinji washed went to the sink and washed his hands.
"Why do you like cooking for people Shinji?" Rei asked. Shinji turned off the water and looked at Rei. Her eyes seemed less red and swollen.
"Food is the best way to cheer someone up, that's what my teacher always told me," Shinji said as he dried off his hands. Rei looked down at her hands, lost in thought.
'Food makes people happy?' Rei asked. The timer for the oven went off. Shinji put on his oven mitts and carefully took out the cinnamon rolls. He placed them on the stove. Just then, Asuka entered the kitchen with a new set of clothes.
"Hey Shinji, what are we having for breakfast?" Asuka asked. Shinji took off his mitts and opened a drawer, he rummaged through the various kitchen utensils and eventually got the spatula he was looking for.
"Cinnamon rolls," Shinji said. Asuka's eyes widened. The smell slowly filled her nostrils, bringing back a flood of memories. Tears began to well up around her eyes. Before she knew it tears were falling down her face. Shinji took notice of this and ran to her.
"Asuka, what's wrong?" Shinji asked, confused as to why she was acting like this. Asuka wiped the tears off her face.
"It's just...my mother used to make those for me," Asuka said through tears. Shinji looked down in shame.
"I'm sorry Asuka, I didn't know," Shinji apologized. He looked up and saw that Asuka had the biggest smile on her face.
"Don't be Shinji, there some of the best memories I have," Asuka said while crushing him in a hug. Rei looked at the two.
'Asuka is crying, but she's happy?' Rei thought.
The three started to eat Shinji's cinnamon rolls. Asuka had a smile the entire time she was eating them. Rei took a bite out of one and was filled with complete bliss. She didn't know something could be so delightful. Asuka looked over at Rei.
"You're getting your school uniform all dirty," Asuka said. Rei looked down to see crumbs and cinnamon paste all over her uniform. During her euphoria, she had forgotten to eat carefully so her uniform wouldn't get dirty. Asuka squinted for a second. "Now that I think about it, is that the only thing you wear?" Asuka asked. The only other thing Asuka had seen her in was her plug suit.
"I never needed anything else," Rei said. Asuka crossed her arms.
"That's no good! Shinji," Asuka shouted. Shinji, who was silently enjoying his cinnamon roll, looked up to see what Asuka was fusing about. "We're going to the mall and getting Rei some new clothes!" Asuka yelled. Shinji's shoulders sunk. On the possible last full day of humanity, Shinji would be going clothes shopping. Asuka stood up. "Okay first things first, Rei you need to take a shower, you're all filthy from eating that cinnamon roll. I'll bring you an extra set of clothes when you're done," Asuka said. Rei reluctantly stood up and walked with Asuka into the bathroom. Rei was enamored by just how sparkly and clean everything was. Her apartment bathroom had stains and mold. She would often have to scrap the rust off the drain in her shower, just to make the water go down. The bathroom was already humid and warm since Asuka took a shower before her. Asuka turned on the water for Rei and told her to put her clothes by the sink. When Rei stepped into the shower, she immediately was filled with warmth. The water soothed her skin and relaxed her stiff muscles. The water in her apartment was cold and murky. After she was done, she stepped out of the shower and put on the clothes Asuka gave her. She put on a red short skirt with gray pantyhose and a black blouse. Rei couldn't explain why, but she felt... good in these clothes. When she walked back into the kitchen, she was met with the wide eyes of Shinji and Asuka. Rei didn't like the attention she was getting and blushed.
"Is this okay?" Rei asked. Asuka went from amazed to angry.
"Damn she looks nice," Asuka grumbled to herself. She looked at Shinji who was still fawning over her. She hit him on the top of the head in which he responded with an 'Ow!'". 'Maybe this wasn't a good idea,' Asuka thought.
The three made their way into Tokyo-3's mall. It was just before noon, so the mall was pretty packed. Asuka and Rei would go into various shops, while Shinji would have the pleasure of sitting on the benches outside the outlet stores. When They came out with bags, Shinji was assigned bag duty. He didn't know that something as light as clothes could be so heavy.
"Alright Rei, we'll go to one more store," Asuka said. Rei followed beside her, with Shinji struggling to carry all of the stuff Rei and Asuka bought. Asuka had shown Rei some clothes that she would have thought Rei liked, surprisingly Rei picked out some clothes herself. Most of it was pretty basic, not flashy stuff, but it was still interesting to see Rei explore. "Let's see, you got some casual wear, some house clothes, what's left for you to get?" Asuka asked. She looked down her list that she had made. Her eyes lit up with glee. "You still need to get a formal dress!" Asuka shouted with excitement. Asuka and Rei entered the final store. Rei tried on a midnight blue dress. It went down all the way to her ankles and filled out her waist. Asuka was enamored and jealous at the same time. When Rei showed Asuka the dress, she couldn't help but feel euphoric. Asuka noticed Rei's expression. "You look like you just won a beauty pageant," Asuka said. Rei just blushed and looked down.
"I've never worn anything like this before, Rei said. Asuka frowned.
"Rei do you know anybody outside of Nerv?" Asuka asked. Rei slowly shook her head. Asuka couldn't believe it, surely she had someone. "What about your parents?" Asuka asked. Rei looked down at the floor.
"I never had any parents," Rei said. Asuka immediately felt a spike of guilt hit her. She had that familiar tugging feeling in her throat, knowing she had done something wrong. All these months, Asuka has treated Rei like garbage. Asuka hated people who would just do what they were told. People like that were weak, but after knowing Rei grew up without parents like she did, she painted her in a whole new light.
"C'mon, we shouldn't leave Shinji waiting," Asuka said.
Misato walked into her apartment completely exhausted. After the final angel was defeated, she had to log through a mountain of paperwork detailing the future of Nerv. It didn't help that she knew it was all bullshit. While she was out snooping around for more information about the third impact, Misato had come across Ritsuko wondering around Nerv's main intelligence center. Knowing that she'd know something about the third impact, Misato forced her to tell her what Seele's plan was. According to her, she didn't know much about Seele but she said she would show her Rei's room. Confused by what she meant, Misato followed her to where this "room" was. When they entered, it was nearly completely pitch black. The only light in the room was a single tank in the middle of the room. It glowed orange with a certain menace to it. Ritsuko then pressed a button revealing many clones of Rei. Ritsuko explained who, rather, what Rei was. Since then Misato had been wallowing in her office.
According to the documents, Nerv was going to be shut down and the Evas are going to be turned over to the JSDF and UN, but she knew better. The only reason she was at her apartment instead of snooping around is because she wanted to say goodbye to Penpen. Misato walked into the apartment and opened the fridge to get her beer. A plate with food wrapping over it. On the plate was a single cinnamon roll. There was a small note taped on top that said, "Misato." Misato smiled and took it out and placed it on the table alongside her beer. She unwrapped it and put it in the microwave for a few seconds to heat it up. Misato walked over to the other refrigerator and knocked on it a couple of times. The small door shifted open. Misato bent down and picked up the penguin and hugged him. The microwave annoyingly beeped a few times. Misato gently put down Penpen and walked over to the microwave. The penguin stood confused but appreciated the gesture. Misato sat back down at the table and started eating. Misato smiled when she bit into the cinnamon roll. No matter how many times she had Shinji's cooking, the first bite always surprised her with a wave of flavor.
As she enjoyed her treat, the front door to the apartment opened. Misato turned her head to see Asuka and some other girl walking besides her. Misato looked at the girl besides Asuka. She wore a red skirt with a black blouse, her hair and eyes looked just like Rei's. It took Misato a second to realize that the person she was looking at, was in fact, Rei. Misato blinked a couple of times at the sight before her. She had never seen Rei in anything but her school uniform or her plugsuit, so to see her wearing something so causal, put her off. Her eyes also looked unusual. She still had her blank, expressionless face, but her eyes seemed more alive. What was even more surprising, was the fact the she and Asuka walked in at the same time.
"Well looks who's home for a change!" Asuka said with her hands on her hips. Misato was about to respond when the sliding door opened with a mountain of bags falling down. On the floor was a certain Shinji Ikari, completely out of breath.
"Remind me to never go shopping with you two again," Shinji said through his breaths. Asuka just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
The three sat down at the kitchen table with Misato. Misato had ordered some food since everybody was tired. Asuka showed Misato the various items that she and Rei bought. Every time Asuka was busy digging through bags, Misato would look out towards the balcony. Something about the sun slowly sinking down grasped her attention. All of a sudden an idea popped into her head. She stood up and walked over to the closet. She rummaged through the various amounts of junk she's stored over the time she's lived here. Eventually, she picked out a camera and a tripod. She walked back into the kitchen and presented the camera to the teenagers.
"What's that ancient thing?" Asuka asked. Misato internally grumbled.
"It's a polaroid camera," Misato said. Shinji looked at the camera.
"Oh, it's one of those old cameras that prints out the picture right after you take it," Shinji said. Rei looked confused.
"What are we gonna do with it?" She asked. Misato smiled and pointed to the balcony.
"We're gonna take a photo," Misato said. Rei looked even more confused.
"Why would we need to take a photo?" Rei asked. Misato frowned a little.
"We take photos so we can remember a particular moment in our lives," Misato said. Rei still looked confused. Misato sighed and grabbed the tripod. "You'll see," Misato said.
The four of them and Penpen stood outside on the balcony. Misato set up the camera and tripod to make sure everything was ready to go.
"When I press the button, you have five seconds to get ready," Misato said. Everybody made sure they were positioned correctly. Misato pressed the button and hurriedly picked up Penpen and smiled for the photo. A flash of light went off and an audible click followed after. The camera then slowly printed out he phot Misato walked over and took the photo out of the camera. She looked at it for a couple of seconds, then noticed that Rei had her signature blank expression. "Rei you forgot to smile," Misato said. Rei tilted her head.
"Why do I need to smile?" She asked. Asuka just sighed in frustration.
"You want to smile so when you look at the photo in the future, you can that you are happy," Shinji said. Rei looked at the ground.
"But how can I smile if I'm not particularly happy?" Rei asked. Shinji thought for a second.
"Just think about what makes you happy," Shinji said with a smile. Rei looked towards the camera. She thought about the cinnamon rolls that she had this morning. A small, but bright smile slowly appeared on her face. Everybody got back into their positions to take the picture. Misato pressed the button of the camera and quickly got into position. Another bright flash appeared. Misato grabbed the photo and looked at it. The sun in the background was perfectly positioned and everybody had a bright smile, even Penpen.
"Well, how did it turn out?" Asuka asked. Misato showed the photo to everybody.
"It's perfect," Misato said.
The air in the lower intelligence center was cold and musky. Every time Misato breathed out, a visible cloud of air appeared. She sat down typing on a tablet hacking into the mainframe of Nerv's Databases. Thanks to Kaji, Misato had learned how to properly hack into things without leaving a trace. Wires and cables filled the floor, empty beers cans cluttered the tiny shaft Misato was sitting in.
"So that's the truth behind the second impact," Misato softly said out loud. Her voice was muffled due to the floppy disk hanging out of her mouth. Red warnings filled the screen of the tablet, it made a high pitch alarm, signaling something was wrong. Misato quickly grabbed her pistol and stood up, prepared to fire at any moment. When Misato knew she was safe, she put down her gun and picked the tablet back up. On the screen was, "Warning! Unidentified signal intercepting the MAGI. Due to safety protocols, all databases are being shut down and secured." Misato slowly breathed out. "It's happening," Misato said.
"All lines are being cut we can't contact anybody outside Nerv!" Hyuga reported. Fuyutsuki leaned down at the monitor.
"They're trying to keep us as vulnerable as possible," Fuyutsuki said quietly. "Try opening a new network, use a new satellite if necessary. Do anything that can get us a signal!" Fuyutsuki ordered. Red lights flashed throughout all of Nerv. Alarms blared through the halls and corridors of HQ. The main bridge was frantic, people ferociously typing on their computers, trying to find a way around the problem. On the big screen, multiple graphics of networks were gradually being shut down.
"Commander, The MAGI is being attacked! Multiple data points are trying to break through the firewall!" Aoba reported. Fuyutsuki squinted.
'So that's your game, Seele,' Fuyutsuki thought. "They're trying to hack into the MAGI. If they succeed, then all is lost." Fuyutsuki said.
"I'm getting at least five different MAGI types!" Aoba reported. The screen flashed up diagrams of other MAGIs and where they were coming from. Germany, the U.S., and even China was trying to hack into HQ.
"They're going all out, we'll be lucky if we can even stall them," Fuyutsuki said. "Aoba what are our options?" Fuyutsuki asked. Aoba looked back towards Fuyutsuki and had a panicked look.
"No matter what we do, they find a way around every obstacle we place," Aoba said. An idea went off inside his head. "We could reprogram the MAGI to a custom network, but that may not be possible, plus the only person who can do that is Dr. Akagi," Aoba said. Fuyutsuki gritted his teeth.
"That's better than what we're doing now, get her up here a soon as possible," Fuyutsuki ordered.
"Hyuga, talk to me," Misato said. She was making her way to the main bridge. She reached up to her hair and pulled the hairband off, letting her hair fall freely.
"Nerv is no longer under any legal protection. The Japanese government is now under full control of Nerv. Other MAGIs are trying to hack into the MAGI and thus, all of Nerv," Hyuga said. Misato tsked.
'They're trying to initiate the third impact through the MAGI, huh?' Misato thought.
The cell door opened with a quiet swish. A white light flooded the dark cell. In the middle of the doorway was a man.
"Dr. Akagi, we request your assistance," the man said. Ritsuko slowly stood up and walked towards the man. She sat at the main board of the MAGI, Casper. Ritsuko typed on her tablet decoding and recoding the MAGI to the private network she's set up. As she was typing Ritsuko couldn't help but question why she was even here. Gendo was gone and her purpose was now completely void. For all she cared, Seele couldn't initiate the third impact. Yet here she was going out of her way to help everybody. She typed the final line of code and shut off the tablet.
"Humans are so illogical," Ritsuko sighed.
"All entities are now gone, the MAGI are now fully protected," Maya reported. Fuyutsuki looked up at the large screen.
'That's only the first round, Seele isn't going to waste any time now,' Fuyutsuki thought.
For a few precious moments of quiet, the Bridge crew took a breath of relief. Only for a new crisis to come up.
"Missle fire, coming from the west side of the Goura line! Radars along the fifth segment has been lost!" Aoba reported. Misato gritted her teeth.
'They're not pulling any punches, are they?' Misato thought.
"I want all the entrances closed and guarded. This is a code red. No one is to leave or enter." Fuyutsuki ordered. He walked up next to Misato and leaned into her ear. "They're after the Evas and the pilots. We need to get the pilots here before the JSDF kills them," Fuyutsuki whispered. Misato had to hold back her tears.
"We can't contact them in any way. All we can do is hope," Misato said, her voice weak. Fuyutsuki stared at the ground.
"Seele plans on completely invading Nerv HQ. The size of the army is plenty big enough to do that. Our only hope of survival is if they can get here on time," Fuyutsuki said. Misato pulled out the photo she took yesterday. Tears slowly started to fall on the picture.
Asuka sat inside her room admiring Shinji's painting. A buzz went off in her pocket. She pulled out her phone and saw that there was a message on her phone. It wasn't a message anybody sent, it was a scheduled reminder. After she read the message she stared wide-eyed.
Shinji looked outside to the balcony of Misato's apartment. He looked up at the clock in the kitchen.
'That message I wrote should be appearing on Asuka's phone now,' Shinji thought. The sun was just above the horizon and the sky just turned a fresh blue. The apartment was quiet and peaceful. Asuka was in her room. And Rei was in Misato's room, looking over her new clothes. Shinji stepped outside onto the balcony. The wind cooled down the hot summer air. Shinji took a deep breath in and exhaled outwards. Shinji heard a rustling sound come from below into the woods by the apartment. He squinted as he saw a man come out of the bushes. A small object then flew across the sky and onto the balcony. Shinji looked at the object. He went wide-eyed and ran back inside the apartment. The explosion shook the air and shattered the glass windows. Shinji barely had enough time to dive onto the ground before the grenade went off. Before Shinji could get his bearings, Asuka had come out of her room and helped Shinji up.
"C'mon I don't have time to explain! We need to get Rei!" Asuka shouted. Shinji gathered himself and ran into Misato's room with Asuka. Shinji grabbed Rei, who was very confused as to what was going on. Shinji ran out of Misato's room only to find that Asuka wasn't coming.
"Asuka !" Shinji shouted. Asuka dug through Misato's drawers.
"Dammit, where is it?" Asuka yelled in frustration. After a few seconds, she finally found the pistol Misato kept in her drawer.
"What the hell is that?" Shinji asked. Asuka grabbed him and the three of them ran out of the apartment and into the hallways.
"Shinji, Rei, Nerv is under attack and we need to get there as soon as possible!" Asuka said as they neared the stairs. They were almost to ground level when multiple JSDF soldiers started shooting at them. Asuka was barely able to turn the corner before getting shot. "Fuck," Asuka said under her breath. She looked around and saw that there was a window. She ran over and kicked it in. The shards of glass fell onto the ground below. "Asuka, we can't jump!" Shinji yelled.
"Hav fun getting through that then," Asuka pointed at the bottom of the stairs where the JSDF soldiers were getting closer. Asuka carefully made her way onto the outside of the window where there was a small ledge to stand on. She then jumped into a nearby tree. Rei then soon followed suit. Shinji nervously climbed out onto the ledge and grabbed onto a nearby branch. He slowly made his way down the tree. Asuka wasted no time locating the nearest car. She broke the glass and unlocked the door. The alarm went off, giving away their position.
"Asuka!" Shinji yelled. Rei opened the back and sat down in the back. Asuka learned how to hotwire a car back when she was taring to become an Eva pilot, luckily she didn't forget. Shinji barely had time to jump into the vehicle before Asuka sped off. A spray of bullets hit the side of the car, shattering the back windshield. Shinji climbed up into the passenger's seat by Asuka.
"Do you even know what you're doing?" Shinji yelled. Rubbing his arm. When he jumped into the car he landed on the floorboard and jammed his arm.
"I think now is a good time to learn," Asuka said. "Here, don't shoot yourself," Asuka said. She tossed him the pistol she found in Misato's room. Shinji kept fumbling it around in his hands as he was trying to catch it.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Shinji asked, concerned. Asuka gritted her teeth.
"What do you think, Genius?" Asuka growled. Shinji just carefully held the gun in his hands.
"How did you even know Misato had this?" Shinji asked. Asuka blushed.
"I needed to get a t-shirt, so I went to go borrow one and then I found that," Asuka said. Shinji was confused.
"Why are you blushing?" Shinji asked. The car then jerked to the side, causing Shinji to fall over onto the dashboard.
"Would you shut up! Your distracting me!" Asuka yelled. The real reason Asuka was in there, was to see if Misato had any condoms. Asuka just shook her head. They arrived at one of the emergency tunnels that went into Nerv HQ. They entered the tunnel and quickly made their way down. The tunnels were dark and a misty. It was very hard to see and the layout of the place was like a plate of spaghetti. They managed to trudge through the tunnels and managed to get into Nerv HQ. Asuka slowly breathed out.
'All we need to do is get to the cages,' Asuka said. They walked down the hallways of Nerv. they quickly found that JSDF soldiers had completely taken over the Eva cages. Getting in through the main corridor wasn't an option. They decided to climb through the air vents to see if they couldn't find another way in. They ended up in another long hallway.
"I think the cages are this way," Rei said. She ran forward into one of the doors. The three of them walked through the door to find themselves at an intersection. Rei walked forward into the other intersection. A small object, with a cloud trail behind it, landed into the intersection between the two hallways. Smoke filled the halls, blinding the three of them.
"Rei!" Shinji yelled. A volley of gunfire glared off the smoke. Something hit him causing him to fall. He felt a warm sensation into his side. After he got up the two ran back into the room they were just in. Asuka shut the door and looked at Shinji. Both of them were breathing hard, but Shinji seemed like he just ran a mile. He slumped down and sat against the wall.
"You alright?" Asuka asked. Shinji grabbed his side, which had a stinging pain.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I pulled a muscle or-" Shinji said. When he removed his hand from his side, the palm of his hand was completely red. He was so surprised he didn't even feel pain. Asuka looked down at Shinji's hand and went wide-eyed.
"Shinji, you're... shot," Asuka said in disbelief. Shinji lifted his shirt and looked at the wound. There was no hole, just a bullet sized chunk of his side was missing.
"I don't see a bullet, it must have just grazed me," Shinji said as he tried to get up. He quickly found that as soon as he moved his torso, pain shot through his entire body. It felt like he was getting stabbed over and over again. Asuka leaned down and helped him up.
"C'mon let's get you somewhere safe," Asuka said. Shinji looked at her face. Her eyes were wide and her voice was shaky.
"Asuka," Shinji weakly said. The two made their way down the hall to the entrance of the Eva cages. Multiple elevators lead to each launch bay. Asuka and Shinji walked toward launch bay two. The entered the cage room to see Unit 02 encased in red bakelite.
"We're too late," Asuka said. Shinji started to get dizzy.
"Asuka, let's go Unit 01," Shinji said. Asuka looked at Shinji. His eyes were glazed over and he could barely stand, even with Asuka's help. Asuka and Shinji slowly entered Unit 01's cage. Just like Unit 02, Unit 01 was covered in Bakelite. Asuka looked at Shinji. His vision was now completely blurred, his head felt foggy and empty. He slowly reached his arm towards Unit 01.
"Major, Unit 01 is activating, and so is Unit 00!" Maya reported. Misato looked up from the photo she was holding.
"They're alive?" Misato said. Asuka opened her eyes to see the hand of Unit 01 grab the platform Her and Shinji was standing on. The bakelite surrounding Unit 01 was crumbled into dust and swept away by the LCL below the platform. Asuka looked at Shinji and then back at Unit 01. She carefully climbed onto Unit 01's hand and entered its entry plug. She carefully placed Shinji by the pilot's seat. She looked at Shinji only to find him completely unconscious. Asuka began to cry as she started up Unit 01.
"Were detecting two pilots inside Unit 01, one is severely injured!" Maya reported. Misato looked at Maya's monitor.
"Try getting a connection with them," Misato ordered. Maya typed on the keyboard.
"Major all signals are being jammed right now," Maya said. Misato pulled out her radio communicator.
"Not all of them we still have radio signals," Misato said. "The Evas have an emergency radio channel, it's primitive, but it's all we have," Misato said. Misato handed Maya the radio.
Asuka sat in the launch bay trying to get a connection to Misato.
"Fuck!" Asuka screamed. She slammed her fist onto Unit 01's controls. A loud static sound then filled the entry plug. Asuka could barely hear a voice in all the static, eventually, she could her Misato voice.
"Asuka, Shinji? Is anyone there?" Misato said through the radio. Asuka looked up.
"Misato? it's Asuka!" She yelled. Misato could hear the worry in Asuka's voice.
"Where's Shinji?" Misato asked, scarred that she might already know the answer. Asuka looked over at Shinji. He laid by the pilot's seat completely unconscious.
"He's… not responsive," Asuka said quietly. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Misato almost lost it right there. The idea that Shinji might be gone, and there was nothing she could have done about it, made her want to just...die. But she had a job to do, it's her duty to see the mission through to the end.
"Asuka, I know this is hard, but right now We need to take care of the problem at hand," Misato said, her voice shaky. She could feel her voice slowly get weaker as she talked. She hated that feeling, knowing you're not strong enough. "Asuka, I'm going to send you up to the surface. Rei is already up there, try and neutralize the enemy, ok?" Misato asked. Asuka wiped the tears from her face and quietly said "Yes."
Asuka was immediately attacked when the launch panels opened. Tanks and aircrafts fire at her. Unit 01's armor took it like it was nothing. Asuka could feel her anger quickly building up.
"You want a piece of this?" Asuka screamed. She kicked the tanks firing at her, the metal-clad vehicles flew through the air like they were pebbles on a path. She grabbed one of the aircraft and crushed it with its hands. An orange alert flashed on the screen, saying Unit 01's power cable was severe and only had five minutes before shutdown. "Fine, I'll just have to kill all of you in a timely manner!" Asuka yelled. Unit 01 kept destroying the JSDF forces.
"The radar has picked up nine aircraft carriers!" Hyuga reported. Misato looked up at the screen in the bridge room. On the screen were nine large aircrafts carrying what looked to be Evas.
"This has to be a joke," Misato said.
"Unit 00 has lost all power!" Maya reported. Misato just silently swore under her breath.
"Asuka? What's above you?" Misato asked. Asuka looked up into the sky. The bright blue ocean of air held nine black aircraft carriers. On the bottom of the carriers were white Evas. They crawled out of their positions inside the carriers and slowly glided down into the battlefield. As they rode down, their demonic wails echoing throughout the air.
"They all look the same," Asuka said.
"Those are the mass reproduced Evas," Misato said. She sighed. "Asuka, those are Seele's final attempt to initiate the third impact. You need to destroy all o them," Misato said. Asuka gritted her teeth. She looked over and saw she only has two minutes remaining before Unit 01 runs out of power. Asuka slowly breathed out. She yelled at the top of her lungs and chared one of the Evas. Before it had time to react, Unit 01 had jumped onto it and rip it's head off. Blood sprayed all over Unit 01's chest. Unit 01 wasted no time running to another Eva. but this time it was ready. It swung its sword at Unit 01, which it barely dodged. Unit 01 slide under the Eva's sword and grabbed its leg and twisted it. The Eva screeched in pain as Unit 01 slowly tore off its leg. Unit 01 lifted its foot and stomped the Eva's head into the ground. Blood shot out from the bottom of Unit 01's foot. When it lifted his foot, the Eva's brains stuck to the bottom of its foot. A beep went off inside the entry plug. Asuka looked over to see that she had less than a minute to kill seven Evas. While Asua was distracted, an Eva soared dow and grabbed Unit 01's right arm. It began to pull on Unit 01, trying to lift it up, but Asuka was not letting that happen. Unit 01 grabbed the leg of the Eva and pulled it down to the ground. Now on top of the Eva, Unit 01 ejected its progressive knife and slit the Evas throat. Unit 01 quickly jumped up and ran towards another Eva. In response, it tried to fly away, but Unit 01 drop kicked it to the ground. Unit 01 quickly got up and was about to stomp on the angle's head until suddenly, everything stopped. The inside of the entry plug went dark. Ask could only stare at the blank screen in front of her.
"Unit 01 has...run out of power," Maya said, all humanity in her voice gone. Misato buried her face into her hands. The remaining Evas slowly congregated around Unit 01, waiting for the perfect synchronized attack. Asuka sat beating on the controls to get it working, but it was pointless. The Evas then lurched forward. All of a sudden, power came back to Unit 01.
"Unit 01 has reactivated, Maya yelled. Misato looked up to see the glowing white eyes of Unit 01. One of the Evas landed on Unit 01's chest and started biting its face. Unit 01 grabbed the Eva by the neck and quickly crushed it. Its body went completely limp. Unit 01 then punched through the Eas chest, destroying the core. Asuka could only sit and watch. Unit 01 turned around and looked at the other five Evas. It went down on all fours and charged at them. Unit 01 jumped into the air and pinned an Eva down to the ground. It then bit into the Eva's neck, causing it to screech in pain. It then started tearing apart the chest of the Eva to get to the core. After it was exposed, Unit 01 grabbed the core and ripped it out of the angel. An Eva ran up to Unit 01 and swing its sword. Unit 01 dodge it and grabbed the Eva's two arms. Unit 01 then pinned it down to the ground with its foot and proceeded to rip off the Eva's arms. With its own sword, Unit 01 shoved the sword right down the chest of the Eva. Unit 01 got up and stared at the final three, its white eyes burning with rage and fury, its mouth begging for more blood. Unit 01 quickly crawled over to the next Eva, which jumped up into the air to dodge the beasts attack. Unit 01 simply grabbed its leg and pulled it down. Unit 01 raised the Eva above its head, it began to pull it apart. After a few seconds, the body of the Eva couldn't take any more stress and exploded in half. Organs and bones flew across the air, blood poured down Unit 01. The final two Evas rushed at Unit 01 at the same time. They picked it up into the hair and then let go of it midair. Unit 01 came crashing down hard onto the ground. One of the Evas swooped down and swung its sword at Unit 01, cutting off its left arm. Unit 01 roared in pain. It got up and picked up the Eva with its one arm and spun around to get momentum. After it got enough speed it let go of the Eva. It flew into a nearby building. Unit 01 grabbed its arm back and molded it back into place. It stood over the Eva and punched a hole right in the middle of the Eva's chest. Unit 01 turned around and walked towards the final Eva. The Eva backed up into the ocean, not wanting to confront Unit 01. But didn't have a choice, Unit 01 ran forwards and body checked the Eva, causing it to fall. Unit 01 got on top of the Eva and placed its hands on the Evas neck. As the Eva started to struggle, Unit 01 slowly tightened its grip around the Evas throat. Blood started to leak out of the Eva's mouth, and with a muffled screech, the final Eva was defeated.
Waves crashed against Unit 01 and the corpse of the final Eva. The Sun was slowly setting along the horizon. The wind was cold but refreshing. Asuka straddled Shinji's waist, trying to give him the proper CPR treatment. She pumped his chest, but everything she did seemed futile. She slowly came to a stop as she stared at his lifeless body. Tears started rolling down her face and onto his cheeks. She leaned down and put her head on his chest and began sobbing.
Shinji felt like he was floating in a pool of warm water. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was a pink, vibrant sky. He couldn't move a muscle, no matter what he did. He tried to sit up but there was something on his chest. He looked down to see Asuka. He lifted his arm and touched the top of her head. She did a small jump, then slowly looked up. With wide eyes, she sat up and allowed him to sit upright. He looked around and saw Unit 01.
"Why are we out here-" Shinji said. Asuka had wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, with tears running down her cheek and onto his shoulder. Shinji couldn't move, so he just stared out into the sunset. He watched as the sun slowly fell below the horizon.