Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from the fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Chapter Seventeen
Shinji groaned softly as he awoke, his whole body aching. He slowly forced his eyes open, to be faced with…nothing. He couldn't see a thing except total blackness, the same as when he'd had his eyes shut.
Am I blind? He wondered dimly for a second, still not fully awake.
Then he remembered how the last battle had ended for him, how his father had ordered him knocked out so Asuka could have a clear path to capturing Spirit.
I must be in the solitary confinement cell again, he thought. I hope that I bought Spirit enough time to escape.
He sighed as he looked into the darkness. "Never thought I'd be wishing for the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling…"
Inside a dim, virtual meeting room, twelve monoliths appeared for an emergency meeting of the SEELE council.
"All our plans are in grave jeopardy," SEELE-09 started without preamble. "Ikari is clearly losing all control of NERV, never mind the scenario!"
"The fact that the last battle had Evangelions fighting Evangelions over the anomaly is indeed very disturbing," SEELE-02 agreed in a much more controlled voice.
"Only one of the three EVA pilots obeyed Ikari's commands," SEELE-07 added quietly. "And all our information suggests that the Fourth Child will be unwilling to move against the anomaly as well."
"Was it a mistake for us to give Gendo Ikari command of NERV?" SEELE-11 wondered aloud. "How did things get this dire without our knowing about it?"
"Ikari was always a master of concealing information," SEELE-09 growled. "Even if he cannot control NERV, I am not surprised that he was able to hide his failings from us for so long."
"That matters have gotten to this point is partially our fault," SEELE-12 said. "We should have placed a bell around Ikari's neck."
"We did put a bell around his neck! The bell didn't ring," SEELE-09 replied.
"A bell that doesn't ring is useless," SEELE-01 put in. "We'll have to make sure that the bell works next time. But first we must get a better look into the situation at NERV."
"Fuyutski?" SEELE-03 asked.
"Yes," SEELE-01 answered.
"It may take time to…schedule a meeting with him," SEELE-03 replied. "He is nearly as well guarded as Ikari."
"Just make it happen," SEELE-01 replied. "We must speak with him without Ikari's interference."
"Very well," SEELE-03 said.
No one dared to interrupt the Operations Director as she stalked through the halls of NERV in search of the Second Child, her anger clear in every movement of her body and her green eyes smoldering with fury. In fact, most of the NERV personnel who had the misfortune of crossing paths with her either ducked into side corridors or, if none were available, pressed themselves against the walls to avoid attracting her attention.
Asuka, however, didn't have that option.
Oh hell, here it comes, the Second Child thought with a grimace when Misato drew near.
The chaos in the immediate aftermath of the battle had delayed the confrontation by several hours, but Asuka knew it was ultimately inevitable. That was why she'd bothered remaining in headquarters, despite the fact that she had nothing better to do while she waited than loiter around in the halls. Asuka Langley Soryu never shirked a confrontation, after all.
"What the hell were you doing out there?" Misato demanded at once.
"Following orders," Asuka responded curtly.
"You weren't ordered to attack Unit One!" Misato barked. "And you sure as hell weren't ordered to draw your progressive knife on it! You could have seriously hurt Shinji if you'd stabbed Unit One in the head!"
"He shouldn't have gotten in my way!" Asuka snapped. "He was disobeying orders!"
In truth, Asuka was, in retrospect, shocked at what she had almost done. She had been trying to rationalize it since she had gotten out of her EVA, but it didn't sit right even with her.
Not that she was about to confess as much to Misato. She'd dug herself in too deep to backpedal now.
"Maybe he shouldn't have tried to stop you, but your response was totally excessive!" Misato yelled. "Drawing your progressive knife on Unit One was inexcusable!"
"I was only trying to follow orders, damn it!" Asuka protested.
Misato's eyes narrowed. "You do realize that you're trying to use the Nuremburg defense, don't you?"
Asuka blinked. She hadn't realized that, and she found she had no good counter to Misato's point.
"Are you planning on sticking me in a holding cell, too, then?" Asuka asked instead, crossing her arms.
"No, the Commander has explicitly ordered that I'm to take no formal disciplinary actions with you," Misato growled.
Asuka remained silent as she waited for the other shoe to drop. She didn't have to wait for very long.
"However, that doesn't mean that I can't take informal disciplinary actions," Misato continued. "Commander Ikari has sentenced Shinji to two weeks of solitary confinement, which is a damn long time for anyone to endure sensory deprivation in one of those cells, never mind a fourteen-year-old boy. Guess who's going to be doing all the chores around the apartment while he's gone?"
"Fine, whatever," Asuka grumbled, realizing that she'd gotten off easy. "What's happened to Ayanami, by the way? Is she stuck in a holding cell, too?"
Before Misato could answer, Gendo Ikari emerged from around a corner, with Rei trailing just behind him. The Commander's face was stony, far more so than usual, while Rei actually looked frightened.
Misato snapped to attention as he passed. It was done out of habit and training; she no longer had any respect for the man. Gendo didn't even seem to notice her presence. Asuka looked like she wanted to say something to Rei but checked herself for fear of directing the Commander's wrath at herself.
Wordlessly, the two boarded an elevator nearby. The doors slid shut, and they were gone.
"Not in a holding cell," Misato observed. "But I wouldn't be surprised if she was more than willing to trade places with Shinji right now."
Good, Asuka thought, glaring at the elevator doors Rei had vanished behind.
Rei Ayanami had known for a long time that many people in NERV referred to Commander Ikari's office as "the lair," but she had never quite understood the nickname. While it was true that the lightning in the room was unusually low most of the time, the fear and anxiety that most people expressed having felt when they entered the room had always mystified her.
Now, however, as she followed him inside the massive, nearly empty room, she understood it perfectly. Every instinct she possessed told her to run, to flee from this terrifying place and her angered creator, but she forced herself to stand before his desk.
"Rei," Gendo began.
"Commander," Rei replied in a small voice.
Rather than continue, Gendo got up from his desk and began to pace around it. Rei swallowed. She had never seen the Commander this visibly agitated before.
He is going to replace me, she thought with utter certainty. I have deliberately and knowingly acted against his will, and he will replace me for it. I am going to die.
While this wouldn't have distressed her in the least several months ago, the thought now left her feeling cold. She had come to enjoy life, she had friends now, people whom she cared about and who cared about her. She did not wish to die.
At least my second incarnation will have died for a better reason than my first, Rei thought.
"Why did you do it, Rei?" Gendo asked at last.
Rei hesitated a moment, wondering what to say, wondering if what she said would make any difference. After a few seconds, she opted for the answer that she judged would have the highest possibly of saving her, while still being part of the truth.
"Spirit has been a useful ally in NERV's engagements with the Angels," she said.
Gendo's eyes narrowed behind his orange tinted glasses. "You did not pull down Unit Two for NERV's sake," he said flatly. "Tell me your real reason for doing it."
Because Spirit is my friend Hikari, Rei thought, but knew she couldn't say. But what could she tell the Commander? It had to be something he would believe, but at the same time, it couldn't be false. Even now, Rei could not bring herself to outright lie to him.
"Well?" Gendo asked impatiently. "Why did you do it?"
"Because Pilot Ikari would be saddened if Pilot Soryu had succeeded," Rei answered.
The Commander's eyes widened slightly. "What?"
"Pilot Ikari obviously did not wish for Pilot Soryu to capture or kill Spirit," Rei elaborated. "He has grown to see Spirit as an ally whom he owes his life. I…did not wish for him to fail to save her."
Gendo sat back down at his desk, folding his hands in front of his face as he regarded her with his awesome and terrible gaze for a long, long moment. Rei nearly quailed in terror, unused to having him look at her in this manner.
Unable to hold his eyes with her own any long, her gaze flicked down to his desk, but this wasn't as helpful as she would have hoped; she knew he kept a gun locked in one of the drawers of his desk. It wouldn't have surprised her a bit if he opened that drawer right now.
"I'm disappointed in you, Rei," Gendo said.
"What?" Rei asked, blinking at this unexpected reaction.
"I said that I am disappointed in you," Gendo replied. "Now get out."
"You are not going to replace me?" Rei asked.
"Do you wish to be replaced?" Gendo replied.
"No," Rei said quickly.
"Then get out of here, and do not act against my wishes again," Gendo said flatly.
"Sir," Rei said with a respectful bow, then quickly turned and made her escape.
Something is not right here, Rei thought as she retreated to the relative safety of the hallway.
Much as she would like to believe that she had been pardoned, she strongly suspected that she had just been granted a reprieve for some reason.
After all, she had stood at Gendo Ikari's side for years, and such a show of mercy simply wasn't consistent with his behavioral patterns, not for anyone. There had to be some reason for his refraining to replace her on the spot; he would never suffer a disobedient subordinate, much less one that was utterly crucial to his scenario.
What are you planning, Commander? And where does my replacement come in? Rei wondered as she fled the halls of NERV headquarters.
It was with no small amount of trepidation that Hikari walked with Nozomi to school the next morning, fearing what she would discover had happened in NERV after Spirit had departed the Geofront.
I still can't believe Asuka actually attacked Unit One! She thought. I knew she hated Spirit, but that was crazy!
Parting ways with Nozomi, Hikari trudged to the classroom. She was early, as usual, and she didn't expect to find anyone else there.
So she was doubly surprised to find Rei sitting at her desk as usual.
"Rei!" Hikari exclaimed, rushing up to her. "I thought that you would have been in a cell next to Shinji's after what happened yesterday."
"Ohayo, Hikari," Rei greeted, and Hikari suddenly noticed that the First Child looked tired and worn in a way she'd never seen her before. "As you can see, I have not been placed in confinement like Shinji. I have not been disciplined at all, in fact. I must admit that I find this fact…confusing."
Rei's words made Hikari recall an incident a year or two ago when Nozomi had done some minor mischief and Hikari had caught her at it. Hikari had been in a very good mood at the time for some reason or another, and she had actually decided to let Nozomi off the hook with just a warning.
However, the action apparently had been so out of character for her that Nozomi had been completely certain that Hikari was just waiting for the right moment to spring some truly terrible punishment on her. So Nozomi had gone to her older sister and practically begged to be punished only a few days later.
Unfortunately, in this situation, it was perfectly possible that Commander Ikari was just waiting to surprise Rei was some kind of terrible punishment, so there was little Hikari could do to reassure her friend.
"I'm sure it'll be okay," Hikari said, which sounded very much like an empty platitude even to her ears. "Please, Rei, could you explain everything that happened to me? Why did Asuka go ballistic like that? I knew she doesn't like Spirit upstaging her, but that was too much."
Rei spent the next several minutes explaining the battle from NERV's perspective, and Hikari felt her face twisting into a grimace as she did so.
I didn't realize Asuka was just a second or two from killing the Angel, she thought. From where she'd been hovering, EVA Unit Two had been standing there doing nothing for seemingly forever. She'd thought that there was a problem with that huge gun Unit Two had been holding or something.
Not that this excused what Asuka had done to Shinji, of course, but it did make Hikari feel rather guilty. After all, if she had trained her entire life to do something and some random person kept popping in and doing it first, well, Hikari probably wouldn't be too pleased, either.
Just then, the door to the classroom opened up and Asuka strode in.
"Speak of the devil…" Hikari muttered softly, earning a perplexed frown from Rei.
"Ohayo, Hikari," Asuka greeted the class rep, pointedly ignoring Rei.
Hikari knew that she should respond as though nothing had happened, as though she had little to no idea what exactly had happened down in the Geofront yesterday.
But she just couldn't. Whenever she looked at Asuka, she saw Unit Two's fist slamming mercilessly into Unit One's head with enough force to crumple part of the helmet and send parts of the armor flying.
Wordlessly, Hikari turned, showing her back to the Second Child.
Asuka blinked in confusion for a second before her face hardened. She looked from Hikari to Rei and back again. "Fine, I see how it is," she said.
No, you really don't, Asuka, Hikari thought with a mental sigh. If you did, you'd probably be trying to attack me.
Asuka went and sat down at her own desk. "Let them be mad at me," she grumbled to herself. "I don't care. I don't need them. I don't need anyone."
"Hello, is Ryoji Kaji available? I need to talk to him," Asuka said.
The bored secretary on the other end of the phone line sighed theatrically, getting an annoyed scowl from Asuka. "Inspector Kaji is on a special assignment and cannot be contacted at this time."
"Do you have any idea when I will be able to contact him?" Asuka asked.
"Not at this time," the secretary asked.
"Fine," Asuka growled, hanging up without so much as a good-bye. "I swear, all office workers were born idiots."
It had been a week since the battle against the Fourteenth Angel, and Asuka was starting to feel like she was at the end of her rope. Misato had been giving her the cold shoulder the entire time, in addition to forcing her to do all the various menial tasks around the apartment to keep their living area more or less presentable. She and Hikari still weren't speaking, and Rei was (wisely) avoiding her.
I still can't believe she betrayed me like that, Asuka thought, feeling a fresh surge of anger at the thought of the blue haired girl. And after everything I've done for her.
Asuka shook her head, letting her rage at the First Child go for the moment.
She felt like it had become her against the world since the last battle. Oh sure, Gendo Ikari was obviously on her side, but Commander Iceblock wasn't exactly a wellspring of moral support.
Which was why she wanted Kaji so badly right then. Kaji would understand her, she was sure. He might not agree with her actions, but he wouldn't treat her like she was some kind of demon. He never had, and he never would. In this, and in him, Asuka's faith was absolute.
"Unfortunately, that doesn't do me a lot of good if I can't get a hold of the guy," Asuka grumbled to herself.
Rei usually wasn't jolted unpleasantly into wakefulness, but this morning, she heard what she thought was someone stepping on a creaky part of her floor. She quickly sat bolt upright, and for a terrifying second, she thought that there was someone inside her apartment.
Then the second passed and she realized that what had inspired such fear was nothing more than a vaguely man-shaped shadow that her mind had turned into a Section Two agent come to deal out death.
The First Child sat in bed for several minutes, panting heavily as her heartbeat slowly decelerated. Ever since the Commander had inexplicably spared her life, Rei had felt as though she had a Sword of Damocles suspended above her head at all times of the day and night.
She looked about her dim room. The Hello Kitty figurine was gone, and the Gundam alarm clock had once been replaced with a much plainer, more utilitarian timepiece. The picture of Mount Fuji remained, however, because Rei had decided, upon reflection, that looking at it made her feel serene and that she liked it.
It didn't create any serenity within her at the moment, though. Which was a pity, because Rei could really use some at the moment. This was not the first such incident of jumping at shadows.
"Is this…paranoia?" Rei wondered aloud.
Then she recalled something she had once heard Commander Ikari say to Fuyutski. Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean that nobody's out to get me.
Having come to another new understanding of human emotion that she could have done without, Rei shivered.
The door opened slowly, its thick hinges squeaking unpleasantly as it swung. Shinji groaned and held his hands up to shield his eyes from the light. "Who's there?" he asked.
"It's me," Misato replied.
"Misato? Are you here to take me home?" Shinji asked.
The desperation was so crystal clear in his voice that Misato was actually glad that Commander Ikari had forbidden anyone from visiting him. It would have broken her heart to tell him no.
"I am," she replied. "So let's blow this popsicle stand, Shinji-kun. You've been spending way too much time here, anyway. It almost makes me think you prefer this place to my apartment."
He chuckled weakly. "Maybe it needs a sign. 'Shin-chan's not so lovely suite.'"
"I don't think that'll be necessary," Misato said, forcing a smile.
At least, I hope it won't be, she added silently.
"Finally," Ritsuko said with relief. "It's taken us over a month, but the decontamination of Unit Three is finished at last."
"It's a pity that the S2 engine the Angel created when it possessed the EVA began to decompose the moment we started the decontamination process, though," Maya commented.
"It couldn't be helped, I suppose," Makoto said. "Really, we're just fortunate that both Unit Three and the Fourth Child managed to come out of this experience unscathed. Now that we've got four active EVA Units here, I'm not so worried about the Angels anymore, that's for sure."
"I don't know about that," Aoba spoke up, ever the wet blanket of the group. "You've seen what's been happening to Asuka's harmonics test results, right? At this rate, we may be down to three active Evangelions again soon."
"Don't be a pessimist," Maya scolded. "Hopefully, she'll bounce back."
Aoba responded with a noncommittal noise that didn't exactly express confidence in the Second Child's ability to rebound from her slump.
"Well, I have to go make my report to Commander Ikari and let him know that Unit Three's ready for duty again," Ritsuko said, picking up a tan folder. "Play nice while I'm away."
Receiving three statements of agreement with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Ritsuko headed from the command center to Commander Ikari's office. Gendo was seated at his desk as usual, going over some of the paperwork that an organization the size of NERV inevitably generated by the truckload. His shadow was absent for once, and Ritsuko guessed that Fuyutski was meeting with the city council or had been saddled with some equally boring task.
"Dr. Akagi," Gendo greeted her.
"Sir," Ritsuko replied. "The decontamination of Unit Three has been completed. I am officially declaring it battle ready. Here's the full report."
"Very well, Dr. Akagi," Gendo said, accepting the folder but not opening it. "That's good to hear."
Ritsuko knew Gendo well enough to realize that he had something to tell her, so she didn't bother to try and leave. "Sir?"
"I understand that you requested more funding for the refinement of the Dummy System," Gendo said.
Ritsuko blinked. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Given a little more work, the control over EVA afforded to NERV by the system could be increased substantially, to the point that the Dummy Plugs would rival the real pilots."
"That will not be necessary," Gendo said. "Only three Angels still remain, according to the scrolls. It is doubtful that you'll complete the development of the system prior to the end of the war, and with the way things have been proceeding, we may never have use for the Dummy System at all."
"B-But, sir—!" Ritsuko protested, aghast.
"Your request for further funding has been denied, Doctor," Gendo said. "Now, you are dismissed."
"Yes, sir," Ritsuko said, turning and walking out, not caring if he saw how her hands tightened into fists as she left.
How could he? She wondered.
The Dummy Plug was to be her greatest work, the crown jewel of her scientific career. It was supposed to be her…her…
My MAGI, she thought. The project that would finally get me out of mother's shadow. And that bastard won't even turn it on!
"It's been a very long time, Chairman Keel," Fuyutski spoke as he looked up into the darkness surrounding the little island of light where he sat, tied to a chair. "I have to say, I've had better welcomes in my day."
The SEELE-01 monolith materialized before him. "We needed to have a long discussion with you, and only you. This was the best way."
"You never change, do you?" Fuyutski asked with an amused smirk. "You never take all the variables into account."
"On the contrary," SEELE-07 replied, his monolith appearing. "We try to take everything into account, which is why Ikari's loss of control at NERV concerns us so."
"Please understand our motivations," SEELE-03 added.
"Well, well, well," Fuyutski said as the great monoliths all finished appearing. "Not the Committee, but the SEELE council itself has finally made an appearance."
"We have no intention of losing control of the scenario at this point," SEELE-09 said.
"I'm sure we can work together somehow, Professor Fuyutski," SEELE-02 said, sounding oily even in spite of the voice distortion.
Fuyutski sighed heavily.
There was, Shinji decided, something innately more relaxing about hanging out with other guys than hanging out with girls. Maybe it was just because the lingering fear that he might be accused of being a pervert wasn't present when he spent time with Toji and Kensuke, but whatever the reason, he found a trip to the arcade with the two was perhaps the best way for him to unwind.
Not that he didn't still consider Hikari his best friend, of course.
"Man, I still can't believe that you let the devil off the hook for slugging your EVA," Toji commented for what had to be the millionth time since Shinji had been released.
Shinji just shrugged as he put his money into a machine and got a handful of tokens back. "I didn't see the point in pursuing the issue," he replied.
Really, he didn't regret taking the tactic of pretending the incident had never happened at all. Things had returned to a reasonable imitation of normalcy, with most everyone unable or unwilling to maintain their anger at Asuka when he clearly wasn't going to hold a grudge. Oh, to be sure, things were much more awkward than they had been, and Asuka and Rei's friendship was effectively dead, with the two avoiding one another as much as possible, but things were certainly bearable.
And in any case, Asuka was clearly having a rough time of things, anyway, with her sync score dropping, and he didn't feel any need to add to her misery.
"You are way too much of a doormat, Shin-man," Toji declared.
"Careful. What'll you do next time you need to borrow money from him if he takes your words to heart?" Kensuke quipped.
"Ha, ha," Toji grumbled.
"Look, can we just drop this and do what we came here to do?" Shinji asked, gesturing to the arcade machines.
Toji and Kensuke couldn't argue with that sentiment, and the three boys headed inside, where they had a grand time losing money for the next hour. However, both Shinji and Kensuke couldn't help but notice that Toji was doing far more poorly than usual. And while they didn't say anything at the time (with Toji off his game, they both had had a chance at winning for once), Kensuke brought it up as they were leaving.
"Something bothering you, Toji? I haven't seen you do so bad at ski-ball in forever," the bespectacled boy asked.
"I just…have something on my mind," Toji replied haltingly. "Did you know that Hikari asked me out a while ago?"
Kensuke looked shocked. "The class rep? No way, I never would have guessed that she had a thing for you!"
Unnoticed by both his friends, Shinji rolled his eyes.
"So, what did you say to her?" Kensuke asked.
"I said no," Toji answered. "After all, I told you what happened between me and Spirit. This was the day after that."
"Told" was actually far too mild a word to describe how Toji had relayed the incident to his friends. He had bragged about the rendezvous between himself and the winged girl over and over again, until Shinji and Kensuke had finally made him stop.
"Okay, so?" Kensuke asked, clearly not seeing what Toji's problem was.
"I dunno, I've been thinking that it might've been a bad move. I may ask Hikari out…" Toji confessed.
"What?!" Kensuke screeched. "You're going to dump Spirit for Hikari?!"
"Hikari's a nice girl," Shinji said, frowning crossly.
"I never said that she wasn't," Kensuke quickly replied, sweating as he realized how deeply he'd put his foot into his mouth. "But, Toji…have you forgotten what Spirit looks like? The girl's one notch below Misato on the hotness scale, maybe less! And she's a super hero! Come on, how cool is that?"
"It's extremely cool, and trust me, I remember perfectly what she looks like," Toji replied. "But I haven't even seen her once since the Thirteenth Angel. It's almost like she's…not real or something. I dunno how to describe it better. It's confusing, I don't know what to do."
Kensuke held up his right hand and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
Toji frowned. "What are you doing?"
"I'm playing the world's smallest violin!" Kensuke exclaimed. "You're complaining because you have too many women after you!"
Toji scowled. "Be serious for a second, Ken."
"Fine," Kensuke said with a sigh. "Let me ask you a question, Toji, but first, let me remind you of the fact that Spirit can kill Angels with her bare hands, something that Shinji here needs a 70 meter tall death machine to do. Now, keeping this in mind, do you really think it's a good idea to start seeing another girl, despite the fact that Spirit's rarely around?"
Even Shinji had to admit that Kensuke had a pretty solid point there.
Having rescued the Vice Commander from SEELE's clutches and completing his final assignment, Ryoji Kaji waited patiently in an air circulatory station in the Geofront.
It didn't take too long for the sound of footsteps to echo through the room. But Kaji wanted to die as irreverently as he had lived, so he looked up, smirked slightly, and said, "You're late."
Then the room filled with the sound of gunfire.
Misato had rushed home at speeds that were insane even by her standards, though if asked she couldn't have told anyone exactly why. It wasn't as though she expected Kaji to be waiting in her apartment for her. Section Two had taken her ID card and gun and had locked her up while they searched for Kaji, and even they wouldn't have released her if he was still at large.
Yet this logic didn't cause her to ease up on the gas pedal, nor did it stop her from looking around with a wild expectation when she burst into her apartment. Sometimes, emotions just get the better of people, and Misato Katsuragi was no exception to this rule.
She didn't see Kaji standing in her kitchen when she got home, but she did quickly notice the blinking light on her answering machine. With a shaking hand, she reached out and pressed the button.
"You have—one—new message," the machine said in its overly perky tone before switching to Kaji's recording. "Katsuragi, it's me. I'm sure by the time you're listening to this message I've caused you a lot of trouble. I'm sorry. Please tell Rit-chan I'm sorry too. And there's one more thing to trouble you with. I've been growing…flowers. I'd appreciate it if you could water them for me. Shinji knows where they are. One more thing: I just recently stumbled upon the answer to that question you asked me. If you want to figure it out, remember the details of our date at the Blue Crystal restaurant. Katsuragi, the truth is with you. Don't hesitate! Move forward! If I see you again, I'll say the words that I couldn't say eight years ago. Sayonara."
"No!" Misato sobbed. "No! Damn it, you idiot! Why did you have to go and get yourself killed! I told you to stop digging into NERV's secrets! I told you…"
She trailed off, unable to keep speaking as tears poured down her face and she was racked with sobs.
My god, Kaji-san is dead? Shinji thought, standing just outside the door to the apartment.
He had heard the entire message, and now he found himself listening to Misato's anguished crying. His heart went out to his guardian, and he reached for the door, ready to go in and do…something.
Shinji hesitated, realizing he had no idea how to comfort a person that had lost a loved one. What am I supposed to do? He wondered, pulling his hand back from the doorknob. I'm just a child. I can't fix this.
He was just about to leave, maybe find a ramen stand or some other place where he could kill an hour or two, but then he stopped again. Shinji remembered how wretched he'd felt, back on the Over the Rainbow, when he'd thought that Hikari was dead. And Hikari wasn't his lover, she was just his friend. How much worse must Misato be feeling, he wondered.
He also remembered Asuka's words of sympathy and the way she'd put a hand on his shoulder after the battle. He remembered marveling at how much comfort he'd gotten from that simple gesture.
I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away! I mustn't run away!
Taking a deep breath, Shinji opened the door and walked inside, finding Misato leaning on the kitchen table as she sobbed freely.
"Misato," he said softly, placing a nervous hand on her shoulder.
He was more than a little surprised when Misato whirled around and threw her arms around him in a crushing embrace, burying her face in his shoulder as she cried. The boy stiffened, then forced himself to relax and gingerly put his own arms around her.
"He's dead, Shinji-kun! He's dead!" Misato choked out.
"I know," Shinji said softly. "I'm sorry."
Several days later…
"Asuka's sync ratio is worse than ever," Ritsuko observed as she looked over Maya's shoulder at the technician's display. "She's barely above the absolute borderline."
"She is down a whole twelve points from yesterday," Maya agreed sadly.
"This is bad, we don't have a replacement for her," Ritsuko said, straightening.
"Asuka's having her period right now," Misato said quietly. "I'm sure that when it's finished her score will bounce back."
Part of the Operations Director wondered why she was defending the Second Child. Not so much because she was still angry at Asuka for attacking Unit One, but because leaving her in the plug could seriously compromise their defense against the Angels. She had responsibilities to NERV and to defending the world in addition to her responsibilities to her charges, after all.
But she couldn't bring herself to start requesting they find a new pilot for Unit Two, fearing it would break the Second Child if she did so. Misato wasn't an idiot; she could see how miserable Asuka had been lately, and she wanted to help her, despite all the arguments they'd had lately.
Unfortunately, the only one she'd ever let help her was Kaji, Misato thought. Damn you, you tramp, why did you have to die and leave us both?
Since listening to his final message, Misato had been consumed by two things. She wanted to know what the hell was really going on inside of NERV, and she wanted to know what that date she'd gone on with Kaji to the Blue Crystal had to do with Spirit. She felt sure that she could decipher the hidden message…if only she could remember the details of that date. At the moment, all she had managed to make herself recall was that it was a rather fancy place that they'd had trouble getting into and hadn't really been able to afford.
Ritsuko sighed. "Physical conditions like that don't influence harmonics. The problem's in her head," she said, before leaning toward a microphone on a nearby control panel and pressing a button. "All right, Asuka, you're done."
"Roger," Asuka replied with a sigh.
The Second Child emerged from her test plug silently and went to the locker room, changing back into her clothes. She was planning to return to the apartment, but then she ran into Rei in the elevator.
Asuka almost started shouting the moment she saw the blue haired girl, but she checked herself when she saw just how haggard Rei looked. The First Child's pale skin, usually almost luminescent, looked nearly gray and there were bags under her eyes. Wondering if Rei was actually feeling guilty or if something completely different was the cause of her appearance, Asuka silently entered the elevator.
The doors slid shut after her and the car began to descend. Rei and Asuka were quiet for a long, long time.
"If you do not open your heart to it, the EVA will not move," Rei said softly, finally breaking the silence.
"What?" Asuka demanded.
"Your EVA," Rei replied. "It has a mind. If you treat it like a doll, it will not move."
"Oh, so now you're trying to help me after betraying me during the last battle? Is that it?" Asuka spat.
Rei was silent.
"Not like it matters, anyway," Asuka grumbled. "They don't need us! The next time an Angel shows up, the little winged wonder will just swoop in and save the day again! We may as well stay home!"
"There have been several Angels that Spirit was incapable of defeating," Rei pointed out quietly.
Asuka responded to this with a derisive snort. "Why did you do it, Rei?" she asked. "Why did you stop me from catching her? I thought you were my friend!"
Because she is my friend as well, Rei thought, but knew she couldn't say. In her current state, the Second Child might well expose Hikari if Rei told her the class rep's secret.
"Well?" Asuka demanded. "Why did you do it? Tell me!"
"I cannot."
With a wordless cry of rage, Asuka slapped Rei across the face, the sound echoing in the confines of the elevator. Much like when she'd struck Unit One, she didn't even realize she was going to do it until she had done it.
The elevator doors opened with a ping and Asuka stomped out. "In case you're wondering, we're not friends anymore."
"I had guessed as much," Rei replied as the doors slid shut.
Asuka was about to stalk off to the massive escalators that would take her to the surface, but then she paused. Knowing she'd be unable to let the idea go and hating herself for it, Asuka headed down to the EVA cages to have a "talk" with Unit Two.
Alarms blared in the command center, as NERV once again geared up to fight the Angels. The Fifteenth Angel had been detected in orbit mere minutes ago, and already the pilots were headed toward their EVA Units.
"We've got a visual of the target," Aoba said.
A pair of blazing wings appeared on the main screen, looking incredibly bright against the blackness of outer space. If not for her hatred of the Angels, Misato might have been tempted to think it was beautiful.
"It's keeping a constant distance from us," Makoto said. "It hasn't moved relative to our position yet."
Is it waiting for an opportunity to come down and attack, or is it going to attack from orbit? Misato wondered.
"All the EVA Units are ready for launch," Aoba reported.
Misato nodded. "Unit One will take point and attempt to destroy the target with the positron rifle," she ordered. "The other Evangelions will provide support."
"What?! You expect me to be backup for the baka?" Asuka snapped. "No way! EVA Unit Two! Launch!"
The electromagnetic catapult obediently sent the crimson titan rocketing upwards toward the surface.
"Asuka—!" Akagi began, before Misato stopped her.
"Let her go, and provide her with the type twenty positron rifle," she said. "This is her last chance."
"So you'll remove her from combat if she can't do this?" Akagi asked.
Misato didn't answer.
Spirit had sensed the approach of the newest Angel in more than enough time to suit up and head out before the Evangelions made it to the battlefield, thanks to her newly enhanced ability to detect them. However, she received a rather rude surprise when she got out and actually started searching for it more closely.
"The damn thing's in outer space and I can still sense it," Spirit muttered to herself as she looked up at the overcast sky.
She suddenly saw Unit Two emerge from one of the various EVA lifts in the city and flew higher in response, well out of its reach. A massive gun, the very same one that Asuka had tried to use against the Fourteenth Angel, was brought up from another large trap door in front of Unit Two. The EVA hefted the huge weapon and pointed it skywards.
A moment later, the other three Evangelions appeared in other parts of the city. Unit One quickly began setting up an even bigger gun than Unit Two had, while Units Zero and Three just stood about, looking as wary as giant weapons of death whose heads were concealed by helmets could.
Maybe I should just leave, Spirit thought. NERV seems to have things well in hand for once, and I sure can't do anything about the Angel unless it comes down. Staying might just be an invitation to have Asuka try and capture me again.
Still, she hesitated, because for all she knew, the Angel could come down at any moment, and then her friends might need her help.
So she waited, and as she hovered in midair, a massive shaft of light came down, effortlessly breaking through the gray, overcast sky. Much like the Angel itself, it would have looked beautiful to someone who didn't realize how potentially sinister it was.
Before either could do anything about it, both Spirit and Unit Two were caught inside the beam.
Spirit screamed, feeling something that was both totally alien and completely familiar effortlessly penetrating into the sanctity of her mind, and she—
—couldn't believe that this was happening. It just seemed too surreal and impossible. Mom couldn't be dead. Mom couldn't die. It was impossible. Unthinkable.
"D-Dad? Where's Mom?" Hikari asked again, even as tears of fright began to form in her eyes.
Her father took a deep, shuddering breath, and Hikari realized with shock that he was on the verge of crying, which seemed almost as impossible as Mom being dead. Dad didn't cry.
But he would if Mom really had died, Hikari realized, feeling cold inside.
"She's in heaven, Hikari-chan," Dad replied.
Seeing the tears welling up in his eyes, Hikari finally believed. All of a sudden, she felt dizzy, like she could barely keep her feet. The world had suddenly become a much sadder and more frightening place than it had been a moment ago.
Seven-year-old Nozomi burst out into tears, and Hikari absently drew her younger sister close to her, allowing her to bury her face in her dress and soak it. For her own self, Hikari still felt too numb with shock to cry yet. Kodama apparently felt the same; the eldest Horaki girl's face was drawn and pinched, but no tears yet spilled from her brown eyes.
"Girls," Dad said, "I know that—"
—Spirit suddenly fell out of the beam of light. She had stopped flying the moment it had touched her, and since it didn't go straight down, she had fallen out of it. Somehow managing to recover before hitting the ground, she spread her wings again and started hovering once more.
"My god," she breathed, realizing she was panting.
It had been so real, so much more than just a hallucination. For those few seconds that she'd been caught in the Angel's terrible light, she'd been right back there, right back in the middle of that horrible day.
The sound of the Second Child's screaming suddenly echoed across Tokyo-3, and Asuka pulled the trigger on her massive gun several times, sending several balls of blue light flying upwards. Her aim was apparently off, because the Angel's attack didn't cease.
Asuka's gun then clicked empty.
Oh god, Asuka's going through what I did, or something like it anyway! Spirit thought. I have to get her out of there, but how?
Obviously, she couldn't go and pull her out of her EVA the same way that she'd rescued Toji. The mere thought of reentering that awful light sent a shudder through her. But how could she get her out without touching her?
The answer hit her a moment later with all the force of the unavoidable, and Spirit winced. "I'm sorry, Asuka…"
Asuka screamed as Unit Two was thrown backwards nearly a kilometer by the force of Spirit's cross blast, getting her out of Angel's light. The Second Child groaned loudly as Unit Two slumped down to the ground, laying in a heap upon the street.
Then the light began to move, slowly headed for Unit Two's new position. Spirit's eyes widened in terror. With Unit Two on its back, she couldn't even try and get to the entry plug.
Should I knock it out of the way again? Spirit wondered, biting her lip. But I could seriously hurt Asuka if I keep blasting Unit Two!
Unit One suddenly grabbed hold of Unit Two and began to drag it away from the slow moving beam of light, tearing the hell out of the street as it went. Blinking, Spirit turned to the massive gun that Unit One had been manning, to see that Unit Three had taken Shinji's place. She hadn't even realized that Unit One had moved until it was pulling Asuka to safety.
"Good going, Shinji," Spirit breathed.
Toji pulled the trigger on the massive gun, and a blast of impossibly bright light lanced upward through the clouds.
And still, the Angel lived.
Feeling supremely useless and wondering if this was how she'd made Asuka feel, Spirit looked desperately at the four EVA Units…only to realize that there were just three present. Unit Zero had seemingly disappeared.
"What the…? Where did Rei go?" Spirit wondered aloud.
Her question was answered a minute later, when Unit Zero reappeared on the surface, this time carrying a massive red weapon longer than itself.
Spirit shivered at the sight of it, feeling fear borne of pure instinct, and non-human instinct at that. The thing didn't actually look all that scary. In fact, its appearance was almost comical, given the close resemblance it had to a massive tuning fork. But despite this, something about the weapon radiated danger to her. She didn't know how or why it was dangerous, but she had no doubt in her mind that it was.
Unit Zero got into throwing position and then paused for a long moment, probably lining up the shot exactly, Spirit guessed. Then, with a deafening roar, the blue giant hurled the weapon, which cut effortlessly through the clouds as it sailed upwards, somehow obliterating the storm that was drizzling on the city.
Spirit waited with bated breath for several seconds, and for a moment she believed that this effort had failed as well.
Then the column of light that was still lazily pursuing Units One and Two suddenly winked out, and Spirit could no longer sense the presence of the Angel.
With a sigh of relief, Spirit flew off, suddenly wanting more than anything to be away and be Hikari again. She waved absently at Unit Three as she passed the ebony Evangelion, and then was away from the battle ground.
Asuka sat on the hard ground, curled up in a near fetal position, surrounded by yellow caution tape. She couldn't believe what had transpired.
They saved me, she thought. Everyone that opposed me last time…Shinji, Rei, that winged bitch…they all saved me.
Her face twisted into a dark scowl as a wave of self-loathing hit her. She couldn't believe that she'd needed them to save her.
"I would rather have died," she whispered. "I would rather have died than be saved by her. I'd rather have let the Angel into my mind."
But would she really have preferred that? The Angel hadn't quite managed to get into her brain before Unit Two had been flung from the Angel's beam, but it had still been the most frightening experience of her life. And why not? Rape was supposed to be terrifying after all, and she had come very close to having her mind raped.
The bottom line was that she didn't know if she'd rather have been left where she was, didn't know if she was…grateful to Spirit. If she owed her.
And she hated herself for that, hated herself more than she hated Spirit even.
"Asuka, are you all right?" Shinji asked from behind her.
The redhead sighed heavily. Part of her wanted to hate Shinji, too. Wanted to loathe the boy who was so pathetic and yet could still beat her. But she just couldn't. Maybe it was because she just felt so tired, or maybe it was because he had never held the way she'd attacked him and his EVA against her, but she couldn't summons any rage against Shinji Ikari.
"No," Asuka answered, standing up and turning to face him. "But…I think I'll live."
Author's Notes: Wow, this chapter was a massive pain to write, largely because of the episodes which cover this part of the Eva timeline. Episode 20 is all about getting Shinji out of Unit One, which I didn't have to do, and episodes 21 and 22 are more flashbacks than anything else. There's not that much actually happening at the time, though what is happening in the present is important.
But enough of my whining. As I'm sure many of you have noticed, this chapter was light on Hikari. I actually tried to throw in another Hikari scene, but while editing this chapter I realized it would be much more appropriate in the next chapter. So it ultimately couldn't be helped. But fear not, she'll have more face time next chapter and the next Angel battle will be more exciting.
Invincible Shinji, I have no plans to do anything with the other superwomen aside from the occasional nods to the other fics, so no, Shinji won't be finding out their identities in this one.
Zoro50, I can totally understand your feelings about Asuka. However, whenever I try and figure out what having a superhero around killing the Angels would do to her, I can never think of a way that it would have a positive effect.
Animefan29, I have seen that story. However, I'm not familiar with the Darkness so its appeal to me so far is pretty limited.
The 17th Immortal, I actually did make reference to the nephilim thing at one point. In one chapter it's mentioned that Rei is the product of Gendo's "Nephilim Creation Project."
DarklightZERO, I understand your point, but as you yourself pointed out, it's been too late for Gendo to try and recruit Spirit for a while now. Besides, in the anime, I don't think we ever really saw Gendo's scenario start to come off the tracks until Rei III rejected him in EoE. I think it's possible Gendo would freak and do something foolish if things started majorly deviating from the plan he'd been making for the last decade.
Kenzie, always good to hear from you. As you can see here, Hikari had her reasons for "stealing" the kill from Asuka from last chapter.
As always (except last chapter, because I somehow forgot), thanks to all my readers and reviewers.
Omakes
Shouldn't Have Left That Laying Around…
Shinji and Asuka were used to walking into their home and finding their guardian in somewhat…compromising positions. Seeing as how said guardian liked beer too much and tended to prance around scantily clad at home, it was unavoidable, and for the most part it no longer phased them.
This time, however…
"I am the Great Asuka Langley Soryu!" an obviously tipsy Misato exclaimed, doing her best to sound lofty in spite of her slurred words and failing miserably. "The pilot of Evanpelamon…er, Epacelion…uh, Unit Two! Worship my greatness or I'll smack you!"
Shinji, noticing that a vein in Asuka's forehead was starting to pulse, wisely decided to back away from her by a few steps.
"Okay, where in the hell did she get that?" Asuka demanded, pointing a finger at the thing that had obviously inspired Misato's cosplaying, namely, the bright red wig she was wearing.
"Uh, my room," Shinji confessed.
"Oh! Mein Gott! You have wigs to make you look like a girl!? You perverted deviant!" Asuka exclaimed, revulsion written all over her face.
"No!" Shinji exclaimed. "It's not like that! I went cosplaying as Kenshin Himura once! It was before you came to Japan! Ask Hikari, she'll tell you about it!"
"Yeah!" Misato exclaimed. "Do what he said. The—hic!—great and wonderful Second Babe commands it!"
"Give me that!" Asuka barked, snatching the wig off Misato's head. "Why would you pretend to be me, anyway? You're nothing like me!"
"Yeah," Shinji agreed thoughtfully. "Asuka's really not a good person for you to cosplay as, Misato. Really, I think you should be Tifa Lockhart if you're going to cosplay at all."
"You've actually thought about this?" Asuka demanded.
"…no," Shinji lied, not at all convincingly.
"Ack! Baka hentai!"
Possession
"Man, if I never see another Angel, it'll be too soon," Toji commented to himself as he stretched out on his futon.
What about hearing one? A sinister voice came from nowhere.
"Blah!" Toji exclaimed, jumping up. "Who said that?!"
It is I, the Thirteenth Angel! The voice replied, laughing manically. I have transferred myself to you! Now, nephilim, release your wings! We fly to the All-Father tonight!
"Wings?! What the hell are you talking about? I don't have wings!" Toji replied.
…you're not the half-Angel girl, are you?
"Nope."
Crap! I'll never live this down! The Angel exclaimed. There was a pause, then, But you are an EVA pilot! Next time you're in EVA, we fight our way to Adam!
"Oh hell no!" Toji exclaimed. "I'm calling Dr. Akagi. She'll get you out of me!"
No! I forbid it!
Human and Angel fought for control of Toji's body for several minutes, and though it was a very close thing, Toji managed to call Akagi and tell her what was going on.
"There!" he said triumphantly as he hung up the phone. "NERV will be along soon to get me, and then you're history!"
You're a jerk, the Angel proclaimed petulantly. And why are you hitting yourself?
"Why am I—?"
The Angel suddenly brought Toji's hand up and made him slap himself in the face.
"Ow! Hey, quit that!" Toji exclaimed, finding himself unable to resist the commands for the quick, jerky movements.
There are worse ways to spend one's final hours, the Angel decided smugly.