The World Shatters and Resonates in My Ears
At this moment, Eva Unit-01 was running at a tremendous speed toward the center of a phenomenon known as a Kute-class coralian. Around the giant mechanized machine swarmed thousands of strange monsters, not to mention a dozen flying, humanoid machines, both of which threatened death at any moment.
An hour previous, the members of Seele met to discuss, what they considered to be, a number of related, 'too-well-timed' incidents. After much deliberation, and a tedious reading and rereading of reports, the chairman addressed the members.
"We are all in agreement then?" The old man surveyed the darkly lit room through his vizor.
"All indications are that the natural occurrence of a Kute-class, even when prompted by man's own hands, should not manifest more than one 'eye', and that it should last exactly 1246 seconds."
"The information gathered over the past 100 years indicates that the Scub Coral has not changed, an–"
"That information was gathered by Gehirn and Nerv."
The chairman broke across the several men who seemed as if they were about to speak. "The intelligence gathered by Nerv is not suspect. It is what Ikari has given us that cannot be trusted."
"Indeed, Yui Ikari was loyal to both us and our aims. She was not only a talented scientist, but the only one capable of controlling, and effectively using, the power of that man."
"Certainly, the reach of Gendo Ikari exceeds his grasp, but it will not stay that way."
"His son. . .is it certain that he is the heir?"
"Ikari seems to think so. But his greatest weapon is as fragile and fake as a mirror."
"In any case," the chairman broke in once again, "immediate action needs to be taken. Though it is not a guarantee that the Code 4-X will be completed in the allotted time set forth in the Ageha Project Myth, I think the most prudent course of action is to incapacitate Unit-01 and its pilots."
"Run" is a simple thought. Nevertheless, the control deck of Nerv watched in amazement as Unit-01 broke through its projected limiters, running to reach the eye of the storm. Dr. Akagi explained in response to Captain Katsuragi's stunned silence that the synchronization of the two pilots was nearing 80%, and that each pilots individual synch with the Eva was crossing over 100%.
"He's a natural," Dr. Akagi said matter-of-factly, but Misato did not smile. 'A natural tool, you mean? He's letting Rei do all the work.' The Captain didn't know much about the technical data displayed on the screen, but she knew enough to realize that the mental contamination was much farther along on Rei's synch-o-graph than Shinji's.
In fact, the Doctor and technical staff knew this– in particular, Lieutenant Maya Ibuki was aware that contamination was reaching dangerous levels. However, the Lieutenants' command was to not bring this fact to attention: the Doctor would supervise the pilot's condition, and issue a direct order in case of a real emergency.
Unit-01 made it to the center of the Kute-class, and Misato's voice was heard in both entry plugs. "Alright, extend your AT field and the Eva should do the rest. Remember, once you enter the zone the most important thing is to stay in sych with the Eva and with one another."
"Roger," said the two pilots in unison.
"AT Field is expanding," announced Lt. Hyuga to the control deck.
"Pilot Ayanami's contamination level is–"
"Lt. Ibuki!" Dr. Akagi said furiously. But the Doctor had no time to elaborate.
Lt. Aoba's voice raised over the alarm's sounding, "LFOs and anti-body coralians closing in! The Zone remains closed."
"What is Pilot Ikari's synch ratio?" questioned Misato.
"Synch with the Eva is at 60%, but the two pilot's synchronization is plummeting!"
Anti-body coralians encircled Unit-01, trying to break through its AT field with a constant barrage of tackles. Commands were shouted in the control room to adjust the Eva's specs, and Captain Katsuragi continued to order Shinji and Rei to focus their thoughts and concentrate on expanding the AT field, but Shinji was hardly listening.
"Pilot Ikari's synch with both the Eva and Pilot Ayanami is at minimum levels!"
Dr. Akagi looked intently at the contamination levels displayed on Lt. Ibuki's screen. She looked back at the Commander, whose face was devoid of worry. He gave the slightest of nods, and said, "Operations Director Katsuragi," Misato looked back at his words, "I will now take control of this mission. Dr. Akagi, give the order."
"Lt. Hyuga, shut down the Eva completely: cut all nero-connections with the pilots–"
"Delay that!" Captain Katsuragi ordered.
"You have no authority to issue that command, Captain!" the Doctor yelled fiercely, but Lt. Hyuga ceased the order. "Continue, Lieutenant!"
"The Coralians will recognize the Eva's presence even if we cut the AT field and power! This order effectively kills our pilots! Commander!" Misato looked pleadingly toward the Commander and Vice Com., but neither gave a sign of recognition.
The Doctor spoke in a voice that demanded the whole deck's attention. "Eva's armor will not be pierced by the Coralians for some time, Captain! The LFOs, however, carry progressive knives that will cut through fairly easily." While the Doctor explained, Hyuga was already imputing the code sequence for shut-down. "This way, the swarm will attack both us and them indiscriminately– it may give us time to regroup and try again."
"Eva is shutting down," declared Lt. Hyuga.
As the Doctor predicted, the anti-body coralians began to attack indiscriminately. However, much to the pilot's favor, the threat of the LFOs attack almost immediately drew their attention away from the lifeless Eva. Inside the entry plugs, the pilots lost sight of one another, and Shinji found himself staring at the metal container.
"I. . ." Shinji's voice was hoarse, "I lost my focus," he explained to whoever was listening.
"It will take approximately 72 seconds to restore communication with Nerv HQ, pilot Ikari." Rei's voice was indifferent, but Shinji thought there was an awkward strain in it. As if. . .
"Are you hurt, Ayanami?" Shinji said. But he thought, 'It's my fault.'
"I am fit to pilot," she responded, and Shinji thought now that there must have been a strain in her voice before, because now it sounded as if she was shifting her body and voice in order to mask it. "You do not have to worry. I will pilot Unit-01."
"Wait, what? No, I didn't mean for you to–" but Shinji was cut off by the re-activation of the Eva's functions, including communication with the bridge.
"Shinji, Rei, do you hear me?" Misato's voice cam through the internal speakers.
"Roger," the two said again.
"Alright, the mission is still on: this time, Rei will take the lead. Shinji, we're lowering the demands of the synchronization down to the minimum on your side. It will be a new experience. You'll feel little to no mental feedback, but your thoughts will still effect Rei. You got all this?"
"Yes," Shinji said, more confidently than he felt.
"Alright," said Misato, exasperated. "Just stay calm, and think about your AT field expanding, like a breathing brick wall."
"Starting primary systems," interjected Lt. Aoba.
"Here we go!" Captain Katsuragi exclaimed.
"Rei," the Commander's calm voice issued powerfully throughout the two entry plugs, and Shinji found it hard to keep calm.
"Yes," Rei responded.
"The LFOs have retreated," the Commander began, "It is likely they will fire Cosmic Trigger: Orange." At these words, some of the bridge looked shocked, like Misato and Ritsuko, but the rest looked puzzled.
"Yes," Rei said simply.
"Commander," the Captain's voice was oddly calm and obliging. The Commander acknowledged that she had spoken. "The Eva isn't able to handle that kind of energy offensive. Recognizing that you have taken command of the situation, I suggest are immediate course of action be to retreat and fortify the Geosphere."
"It is noted," the Commander said succinctly.
"Sir!" Misato put as much emphasis and strength in her voice as possible. "With all due respect, I must insist on the Eva and pilot's safety being our top priority, sir! Last time Orange hit this area–"
"That is quite enough, Operations Director Katsuragi!" interrupted V.C. Fuyutsuki forcibly.
The Commander ignored both of them and addressed the pilots. "Unit-01 will remain underneath the Kute-class. The bridge will monitor Orange, though it is unlikely to hit anywhere other than the eye of the Kute-class coralian. Assuming that the massive amount of trapar, and Zone interference, do not completely dissolve the Cosmic Trigger's energy, than Unit-01 will concentrate its AT field and intercept before it makes contact with the Geofront's protective layers. Is this understood?"
"Roger," said Rei's singular voice.
"Pilot Ikari Shinji," resounded the Commander's voice. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," Shinji's voice was shaking. Of course, he didn't understand!
"Very well," the Commander said silkily. "Given my orders, I will hand immediate control over to you Operational Commander Katsuragi."
"Yes, sir," The Captain said dejectedly.
In a span of time that seemed to Shinji as immeasurable as a dream, Unit-01 found itself underneath the massive Kute-class. The anti-body coralians, though clearly aware of the Eva's presence. were not attacking. On the contrary, they were swarming above the Kute-class in no discernible pattern– apparently knowing that their death was oncoming, but at a complete loss on how to cope with it: Shinji felt similarly.
"Countdown till Cosmic Trigger: Orange makes contact with Eva Unit-01. Approximately 2.245 seconds after initial fire, commencing in: 18. . .17. . .16. . ."
All of Ciudades del Cielo waited with bated breath, and inside the Eva the world seemed something that was far away: the silence around Shinji was so thick.
"15. . .14. . .13. . ."
"Shinji. . ."
'Was that a voice?' Shinji thought. "Shinji. . ."
'It's Ayanami's voice,' Shinji added to himself. 'But I'm sure I'm not hearing it. . .it's in my head.'
"12. . .11. . .10. . ."
"Yes, Rei?" Shinji tried to respond in a similar form of communication: something more powerful than a thought, but not as definite as a whisper.
"Shinji. . ."
"9. . .8. . .7. . ."
It seemed like the delicate voice wasn't going to say anything else, then suddenly Shinji strained his mind to "hear" it–
"I want to believe in you too."
"6. . .5. . .4. . ."
"Rei?" Shinji couldn't believe this. 'She believed in me because of my father– because they Eva chose me to pilot it with her. But now. . .I'm not a trust worthy person. Don't put your trust in me. . .I can't be trusted. . .I can't believe. . .in anything.'
"3. . .2. . .1. . ." For the briefest second, Dr. Akagi caught the synch-graph: the pilot's synchronization was feeding from Shinji to Rei in intervals that shouldn't have been possible, meaning that Rei was taking all of the mental contamination and their overall synchronization was sky-rocketing.
"You can call me Rei. . .Goodbye, Shinji Ikari."
"CONTACT! ! !" The instruments in Nerv HQ went blank. The massive amount of trapar had overloaded even the Magi system. The Commander, Vice Com., Dr. Akagi, and Operations Director Katsuragi were all screaming orders to get their visual and monitoring equipment back online ASAP.
Within the Eva, Shinji saw the Kute-class and anti-body coralians dissolve in an instant, and then it felt as if a violent wave had crashed over his body– but he felt no pain, only pressure. He noticed quickly that the Eva was not responding to any of his movements. He chanced to look to his side, and, as if all of his senses had began working anew, he saw Rei's body breaking– like a grape being slowly and painfully squeezed– he heard her screams of pain and smelled blood in the LCL.
"REI ! ! !" Shinji yelled in absolute terror. "REI, STOP IT! ! ! DAMMIT, MOVE ! ! !" Shinji was addressing Unit-01 as he tugged and pulled on the controls, but his synch. with the machine, and Rei, was too low to make any difference. "Rei . . .Rei. . .Rei. . .you can't do this." Even submerged in LCL, Shinji thought he could feel the tears streaming from his eyes. "You Can't Do This, Rei! Trust Me! Trust Me! You Can: I Won't Let Anyone Hurt You!" Shinji started to feel an intense pain bearing down on his body. "I Won't Let Anyone Harm Unit-01" He felt his skin burn and his eyes bulge in anticipation. "I'll Protect EVERYONE!" He saw out of the corner of his eye that Rei was now in relief, and Shinji knew that the situation had been reversed. "I'M SORRY, REI ! ! !"
"All Systems back onli– What the hell is that!" Lt. Aoba pointed to the main screen. Nerv HQ gained its eyes and ears back just in time to see rainbow light issue forth from somewhere beneath the massive beam of white. In a flash, the white light rebounded off a single point and shot upwards into the atmosphere, while the rainbow light created a sort of broken cylinder.
"The old men won't stay quiet about this," said Vice Com. Fuyutsuki to his stoic companion, who gave no reply. "They must know what we have been engineering."
"It is irrelevant," said Gendo Ikari with such finality that Fuyutsuki was taken aback– he then added in a whisper, completely unaware of anyone else in the room, "Soon, Yui."
Outside, the phenomena lasted for another 1246 seconds, and the next thing Nerv HQ saw– already having sent out rescue teams for both the Eva and its pilots– was two entry plugs ejected several 100 yards from Unit-01. "Give me closer visual," commanded Misato. The main monitor zoomed in, and the entire bridge saw a straggling, bloody figure running away from one entry plug and toward the other. "Shinji, you idiot! Stay still, we'll be there soon!" Misato shouted these orders through the Eva's external microphones, but Shinji gave no sign of hearing them.
Instead, he laid his hands upon the Entry plug. For a few moments, it seemed like he was leaning for support, but then, as if he found what he had been searching for, he seized two handles.
Shinji felt his hands burning, but his body was in state of shock– he couldn't register an ounce of pain. With a great effort, the manual hatch opened, and Shinji rocketed through it. "Rei!" He saw what looked like the lifeless body of the blue-haired pilot. "Rei, No! Be alright– You HAVE to be alright. . ." Shinji's voice trailed away in sobs.
A few moments passed, and he heard something stir. He looked up hopefully, and saw Rei staring feebly up at him. "Commander. . .Ikari Shinji. . .?"
Shinji's sobs broke into a smile, but it disappeared suddenly into a shout of anger. "Don't say 'goodbye'! Don't say that– before you do something reckless– just don't! It's. . .too sad, Rei." Shinji looked down and away, half-exhausted and half-embarrassed.
"You're crying again. . .Why are you so sad?"
Shinji gave a weak chuckles. "Dummy. . .I'm crying because I'm happy. Happy you're alive."
"So. . .you cry when you're happy too." Rei's tone was one of a student repeating an important date or event of a lesson in school. I'm sorry," and it was clear that she had meant it. Rei mused for a moment that this was the first time she had ever used these words. The other pilot was crying, and smiling, and bleeding like her. She wanted to comfort him, but she had no idea how. She wanted to make sure he knew everything was going to be alright, though she felt that no one could guarantee something like that. So she said, "I don't know how to act in these situation. . .Even though I should be happy."
Shinji looked back up and saw the faintest blush upon her pale skin. "If you're happy: you can start by smiling," Shinji suggested, extending his hand to help her out.
Rei was shocked at his expression and gesture– as if she had never seen anything like them before. Then, slowly, she took his hand and smiled back.