Standard Disclaimer
Work has been super busy lately! Converting from Struts to SpringMVC is not an easy process. But Halloween is right around the corner, got some time off, and just trying to plow through some writing!
X-X
With Nothing Else
Chapter – 20
She tried her best to keep track of time, but Ritsuko was finding that little skill diminishing in the small confines of her cell. They light never went off, leaving her in the small grey metal cell with nothing but her mind to keep her company. She should have expected this, but some part of the scientist thought Gendo would just have killed her. But here she sat on the floor in the corner, wobbling her head back and forth and reliving the last double date night she had again. Would she see them again, or would they just toy with her in the cell until they were bored of it?
"It was good while it lasted, life really was good with them," Ritsuko smiled. Drawing her legs up to her chest, she hugged them and buried her head into the crook. It shielded her eyes from the light, maybe she could get some sleep after all. Her body ached, the small confines didn't give her a chance to spread out, just odd angles and bad smells. Toilet didn't work to good, likely by design, and she just wanted this to end. "But we did get one nice night before they got me, wonder what they heard about me?" she was glad they had each other now at least. Poor Shinji…loosing another girlfriend. Maya would be there for him.
It had only taken the Commander two days to make the connection between the incident in Terminal Dogma and her. In that interim she had a lovely day with Maya and Shinji alone and together. Maya made Ritsuko feel like a genius and appreciated, and Shinji…well that little man made her feel loved through and through. They'll do good together if she never got out, they'd recover together. After her day of work, she planned to go to Misato's to talk about what to do next but she found guards outside her office. Immediately she knew what they were there for, what she didn't know was if Misato had found herself in a similar situation. After that time did lose meaning. She did fall asleep about a half dozen times, maybe more or less, thoughts were blurry and strange. Sensory deprivation was hell.
"Just have to wait for them to come for me, if they ever do," Ritsuko hugged her legs harder. They at least fed her, if the bread and water constituted food. "Miss my little man's special supers and lunches now more than ever," she'd burrow through Gendo's chest to get to one of the meals right now. Was this torture really necessary before they killed her, or did they have a reason for it? She'd know sooner or later, Gendo wasn't the type to just let somebody off without posturing.
A slight rapping on the door jarred Ritsuko from her almost daze, the panel that covered the window slid to the side and the aged face of one Kozo Fuyutski gazed in. Guess it was time to get the farce started. A loud metallic clang, a hiss, and the door opened revealing the man and two armed guards. He stepped into the room, nodded at the men, and the door shut behind him and window resealed. This was private time for Kozo and the betrayer. "You don't look to good Akagi, not good at all," he leaned against the wall and just towered over her.
"So he sent you here alone to talk to me? To cowardly to see a sleep deprived woman who is slowly being starved?" Ritsuko didn't bother to keep looking at the man. What good would it do, if he was going to give her a nice metal surprise, let it be a secret. Yawning loudly, she rolled her head over to the wall, it was cold and lovely, "So what do you want?"
Shuffling his arms about, putting his hands up by his armpits and crossing them, Kozo let out a low growl of anger. "I came here myself before Gendo to hope to talk some sense into you. He'll be here and when he does come, you better play along or you're going to see things get worse for you," he stamped his foot down hard. The man's shoes made a loud gong, rocked the funk out of Ritsuko's eardrums and she looked balefully at him. Bending at the knee, he face an expressionless mask, "Why did you do it Akagi? Why did you destroy the tank? If something happens to Ayanami, we don't have a replacement now! Losing a pilot is going to make surviving the angels a lot harder."
The tension lines around her eyes eased away, the headache she had was dwindling as the sound died away. "How could things get worse than this? He's not that imaginative and you know it. As for why I did it? I owe it to the previous Ayanami to let her rest in peace. And you and I both know…you're really more upset about what happens after the angels are gone. Or did you think I didn't know the real goal you two had?" she actually smiled at the old bastard. Did he think she was oblivious to Gendo's plans, how they went beyond saving humanity.
"I suspected," Kozo's hand lashed out far faster than anybody would think the aged man possible. He didn't strike Ritsuko, he hand just caressed her cheek almost delicately. This thumb and forefinger firmly gripped her jaw and he waggled it lightly. "You've always been smart, even when your mother was in charge, I suspected great things from you. Then Gendo got his fingers into you, earlier than I would have liked. Now you know too much, you killed all the clones, and now we have to know what to do with you. What would you do if you were in our position, Ritsuko-chan?" his thumb went over her lips and trailed south as he let go.
Revolted, she felt totally repulsed at the intimate touch, but she refused to let him see it. "What would I do? Give me a medal and a promotion. Get me a nicer place to live in with Shinji and Maya. Recognize the fact that I might have saved humanity, and stopped an abomination. Or haven't you seen or heard what the new Ayanami is doing? She's a monster, and if I get the chance I will finish what I started," Ritsuko still felt cold. It was a bluff, she was terrified, but years of emotional suppression still worked wonders. Was that little touch a signal of what was to come?
Lightly tapping her neck with two extended fingers, Kozo bounced them tenderly before standing up. "Yeah I've noticed the latest clone has a few issues. Was going to ask if you wanted a better cell in exchange for continuing working on our projects concerning her. But after what you just said, doubting you're willing to play ball. So we just leave you here to rot I guess, until we have a use for you. Magi are your baby now after you mother's untimely resignation," Kozo rapped his aged knuckles against the door. "It's a shame, Ritsuko-chan. You were a lovely young woman, tragedy what you became. Cradle robbing, back stabbing, bitch that bounced from man to man until you snapped and 'took her own life'. Nobody will know you're here, or hear from you again," the door opened and he stepped through it.
"Oh are you jealous Fuyutski? Sorry I never went looking to you for any affection? Neither Shinji or Maya will believe that story," Ritsuko flipped off the door. He paused, but didn't look back at her, oh-ho did she strike a nerve? Did the old man have a little thing for the daughter of a co-worker? Trying to get up to her feet, she saw the men aim at her, two strong men afraid of the haggard woman in the cell. Just what was being said about her? It was petty and mean, but Ritsuko forgave herself, "They're all I needed, a teenage boy and young woman are better people than you'll ever be!"
Looking over his shoulder at her, he finally had something other than that bored expression on his face, rage. "Have fun talking with Gendo when he comes to visit. And know I tried to help you, Akagi. I did try to help," with a nod the door closed.
Back with her solitude, Ritsuko did her best to keep her mind focused and keen. So the word about her was she snapped and offed herself? Nobody that actually knew her would believe that! And they were hoping to get her to keep working for them? HAH! Things must be worse for them than she thought it would have been! Good, maybe if she took enough of their dragons away, humanity might survive the tumble towards the abyss. "Wonder how they can do their little genocide without their conduit for it," she snickered. Even if this was her death, if it let those two wonderful people live it would be worth it. Swallowing hard as her mind started to wander again, all the bad things she did came back washing over her in waves.
"I've done so many stupid things. Done so much to hurt others, maybe this is my punishment," Ritsuko tried to keep her calm but it was failing. Betraying Misato, lying to Maya, crimes against humanity, and not telling Shinji the truth about so many things. Ghosts from the past assailed her. How long she sat on that cold floor thinking off all the terrible things she did, she countered with the good…but before long the negative outweighed the positive and she just drew on herself. "I don't want to die here…I don't want to die alone…" her mask finally broke and she fell over sobbing.
Drifting in and out of consciousness as the hours again piled up, she just lay there cold and alone. Was it hours, days, or only minutes she didn't know, but the sound of the door opening again rocked her out of her funk. Was it time for more stale bread? Rubbing at her face, the tears had dried ages ago, but she still felt for them. Not food, not Kozo again, it was far worse. "So you've finally come to say hello Gendo? What kept you?" she quickly scooted to the corner and waited.
"I have duties that outweigh tending to broken and useless husks," Gendo stepped into the room and shut it himself. Pulling his gloves on harder, he stood over Ritsuko and just bore down on her. "Explain yourself. Why did you purge the tank?" calm and emotionless.
Don't look afraid, keep it together, Gendo couldn't do anything else to her anyway! "Because it was the right thing to do. Ayanami has become an abomination, and I'm wanting to save humanity not damn it," Ritsuko shit back. Hadn't Kozo told Gendo any of this, or did the old bastards not talk to one another?
"Will you remake the tank?" he asked plainly. Walking back and forth in the small room, the man stuffed his hands into his pocket and bend his neck back to look up at the noisy florescent light. "I have a use for you, if you play along. If not there really isn't anything left to talk about," none of the man she fell for ages ago seemed to be present in the current shell.
Shaking her head, it accidentally bounced off the wall and her jaw hurt. "I wouldn't know where to start without Yui's DNA. Happen to have any on hand?" Ritsuko snidely quipped. Ages ago when she first learned of Rei's origin, she did wonder how she'd go about making clones like that. A few ideas, she hadn't written off the possibility. When she wanted to please the man, she had ran scenario after scenario of things she could do for him. "So, what else could I do to make myself have use? Making love to your son has a lot of uses. Makes him happy, makes me happy, gives him a reason to pilot. I could keep the Magi up and running, though Maya-chan is good at that too now. Gave her a lot of hands on training in between sessions," she jabbed at his pride.
"There is none. So you stay here then," he took his hands out and headed back to the door. His hand was about to knock on the door when Ritsuko stumbled and got up. Clearing his throat, "Did you have something else to add?"
That was it? He was just going to leave her here? No greater punishment? "So what happens now then? What are you going to do to me now?" Ritsuko shuffled just a little closer to the door and the man. Was he going to beat her, send those men in to rape her? Something else had to be happening here, Gendo wasn't the type of person to just…just leave her like this!
"I'm going to leave you in here. Can't trust you outside of this cell unless you're life is on the line. If I find a use, I'll get you," he turned around and tugged down his uniform, it had been riding high. Fixing his glasses, she hated that nervous tick of his, "Or were you expecting something else, Akagi? I am not some movie villain or monster. What we had…it is over. Things end, all things." Without another word, he knocked on the door, and he left her again in solitude.
She just stood there staring at the door in disbelief. He just left her there, no additional punishment, not even harsh words! Scoffing in utter confusion, "So I just sit here and rot until I die or get free." And what was with that last bit…did he even still think about her in a positive light? Did he ever? Oddly an image of Shinji popped into her mind, and for the first and only time she thought maybe Shinji and his father had more in common that people thought. A few minutes later the light over her room went out, the ringing gone, and the abrasive light gone. "Just have to last until I get out of here," she took off her lab coat, made a pillow out of it, and quickly fell asleep.
It was a fitful sleep, nightmare filled but better than the few minutes of sleep she used to get in that room. The food was still terrible, she vowed she'd beg Shinji for food when she got out. "I'll tease it out of him though," she smiled. He never really asked for anything, but she'd be all about offering….get Maya to join in on the fun. For a good meal it was worth it, not like it wasn't out of affection anyway. Just have to wait and see what happened. She'd live through this, she'd see them both again. She had to.
X-X
Sitting at the coffee table, staring at his open text book, Shinji erased his answer for the fourth time. Stupid history question, why did it have to be so vague and…and…he just didn't care. None of his previous homework in the last two weeks had been graded or returned anyway. Everybody knew it was just a matter of time before the school shut down and everybody left. Their class only had about ten students left in it anyway. Kensuke and Chidori were gone, Hikari was hinting her dad was setting up something, and others he saw in passing were just gone. School just didn't matter right now, in more ways than one.
"I wonder where she is, hope she's fine," Shinji muttered as he shut his book. He wasn't going to waste time on learning about a Japan that didn't exist anymore. Second impact changed the world, and the new one didn't place much care on the old as it was never coming back. Added to Shinji growing mental fatigue was the fact Ritsuko had been gone for over a week. Just up and gone, no hints, notes, or indication. And after the little reveal in Terminal Dogma and her warning about Misato and her safety…
Crossing his arms on the table, he laid his head on them and buried his eyes into the flesh of his forearm. Don't cry, please don't cry, keep it down, keep it together. Misato and Asuka were still here, and it wouldn't do good to let them see this. He had to be strong, he wanted to be. But it was just so hard! Not again, he couldn't lose somebody again! Maya was just as devastated at Ritsuko's sudden disappearance, and he was due at her place after she got off shift. Rei first and now Ritsuko? How many people was he going to lose?
"How you doing Shin-chan?" Misato asked coming out of the kitchen, a can of soda in hand. Since she had to work, she was being a bit softer on the booze. Ever since the trip down to Terminal Dogma she hardly touched the stuff. Sitting on the couch, she ran her hand down his spine softly. Having asked Shinji to keep Asuka in the dark about the whole Ayanami thing, she spied the door to Asuka's room. "How is she doing? Still out for blood?" the two females hadn't spoken in other than shouts all week.
Jerking back up, the touch was feather light but was actually quite familiar. It was a lovers touch, meant to entice not relax. Maybe Misato just wasn't the 'relaxing' type, or this was how she did relax with people she liked. Would explain why she would cling to him when he helped her to bed. "Worried, I'm worried about her, Misato-san," no need to say who 'she' was, Misato knew it too. Hiking his thumb over at Asuka's door, "And she's getting better. Upset that I'm keeping a secret from her, why can't we tell her?"
The gears could be seen working overtime in Misato's tactical brain, running the numbers and seeing the outcomes. "I was worried she'd do something rash, but that's going to happen regardless. I think I fucked up with how I handled her," a rare open swear, Misato rarely swore in front of Shinji. Noticing the wide eyed near smile, she giggled and ruffled his hair. "Ritsuko's going to be fine, Shin-chan. Nerv needs her, can't really run without her. So I don't see the commander ruining his plans. We just have to find her and get her out," Misato was a great actress when she wanted to be.
They sat there, Misato's hand on his shoulder, and they both just looked at it. What did it mean, it meant something but likely something different for each person. Knowing what it meant to him, Shinji put his hand atop hers and smiled, "You're right Misato-san. She's waiting for us to get her out. Where ever she is. I just have to wait and be strong." Ritsuko was just like Kaji now, an unknown person. Alive and dead at the same time, until they found a body to confirm it. "What about you, Misato-san, how are you doing?" he could only do as much for her as she'd allow. She had a lunch he made right next to her can of soda.
"Still reeling to be honest. I can't believe what…I still can't believe it," Misato freed her hand from Shinji's. Sitting on the couch, her eyes got a real faraway look, seeing through the wall into eternity. Heaving a sigh, it almost had physical weight about it, "Shinji…do you…blame me for what happened to Rei? If I hadn't…I sent her back to Nerv where…" Misato finally broke away from the illusion she saw and her face was hard and unrelenting, she was not going to let him off from this question.
Did he blame her for Rei's death? Misato had brought both of them in, even after Rei told Misato what would happen. His first love, the one that was still so vibrant and fresh in his heart…Misato had gotten her killed. It would be easy to blame Misato, to just point the finger and hurl all the hate and pain he had at her. But would that be fair, would it be justified? Couldn't he just not think about it? Let his anger bubble up and overwhelm him? Helped Asuka from time to time, but it didn't resolve anything, it didn't absolve them. At that point he knew his answer.
Summing up his well of courage, Shinji was bold for a moment. Leaning in he kissed Misato's cheek softly. "No, Misato-san, I don't blame you. You didn't know what she mean, I didn't know. How could we? What we saw isn't," he shook his head as he corrected himself, "wasn't natural. You did what you thought was best for both of us. I know you'd not have hurt her intentionally, and I think she did too. That's why she trusted you when you brought her in. It was…the commander that is to blame." Gendo Ikari was just a name now, the man dead to Shinji forever.
"Charmer," Misato actually had a faint pink hue to her cheeks, such a rarity for the woman that would just stay the most off color things. Getting up, she repaid the favor and flicked Shinji's forehead. "Keep acting like that and I'll have to tell Maya to watch out. I better get going…if I'm late they might start to suspect I know more than I let on. And we still have much to do. And t-thank you Shin-chan," her smile was truly wondrous, a divine mixture of hope, shame, and regret. Grabbing her lunch she left the room and called out as she left, "And feel free to tell her."
Just like Misato, set up an impossible task as she fled from it. Rubbing the light pain, he forced himself off the ground and slowly trudged towards Asuka's room. He could hear music coming through the door, her cd player was playing through the headphones but still loud enough to hear. Wrapping his knuckles against the door, he waited, "Asuka, are you awake?" She had been sleeping a lot lately, depression hit everybody different and yet she did smile when they hung out. Opening the door a crack he peeked in, "Asuka?"
Laying on her bed, staying up at the ceiling with her head phones on, Asuka almost looked dead. Just the shallow raise and fall of her chest broke the illusion, nothing else moved. Yet her eyes were open. Spotting the motion at the door, she did finally twist towards him, "Need something or just wanting to look at me?" Sitting up, her clothing fell unevenly back into place, she'd lost weight again. Yawning as she flung he leg over the side of the bed, "Katsuragi leave already?"
"Yeah she left, and she said I can finally tell you what we saw the other day. If you still want to anyway," he sat next to her and she grabbed his hand. How much pain had they both seen in there short lives, mental and physical. The last week had been one of much reveals for the two of them, both admitted to what they saw when the angel violated their minds. Who else on earth could understand what they went through, nobody. Shinji didn't want to bother Maya with his problems while she was already worried about Ritsuko…she tried though and it made Shinji love her more. But Asuka…they both KNEW what it meant. "Want something to eat?" he hated those hallow cheeks and pale complexion.
Leaning against him for a moment, she sighed heavily and grunted as she got off the bed dragging Shinji along. "Something light, I'm not that hungry but I know you won't stop until I do. You talk while you cook, and I'll consider forgiving you," she shuffled her feet, never once taking them off the ground. Falling into one of the kitchen table chairs, she laid her head on its side on the table. Soft and tiredly, "So where did Katsuragi and you finally fuck?"
"Is that what you think we did, Asuka? I…I don't know about Misato-san, but I see her as family, a sister, and not…well…not like that," Shinji admitted as he pulled out something to cook. He'd try to trick her into eating something hearty. Grabbing some thawed beef and some flour, he went about making a light beef stew. Did Asuka really think he'd try to have sex with Misato? Asuka thought a lot about…just how much harm did that pig Fukuyama do to her self-esteem? Knowing what he was about to say might have a lot of negative consequences, "What we did was find out the truth about Ayanami."
From tired to enraged, Asuka's eyes were baleful orbs of pure fury she wanted the albino's blood. She did not like hearing Shinji's accounting of what the monster had done to him. "I'll get revenge for you, Shinji. I don't care if you want me to or not, but I will. That abomination needs to be ground into a fine mush," she could still muster her glorious emotions when rallied enough. Taking the glass of tea Shinji just handed her, she drank it greedily, "So…what else did you learn about her?"
"Well…for starters that Ayanami is actually a different person than my Rei," Shinji started there and back peddled in the story. Going form Ritsuko's nervous asking of him to come, her near breakdown in the elevator ride up to meet Misato, and how Misato 'forced' the scientist to act. From there he went over everything, the Evangelion graveyard, Rei's 'room', and finally the tank and its end. "And now because she showed us what it was…she's gone," he finally ended. Setting the plate of food down, it had been a long story after all.
She held the spoon and just sat wide eyed at Shinji for a full minute post story. "T-they cloned that woman and killed her when she wasn't…who do we even work for anymore? What are they…" she shook her head hard. Sampling the stew, she blew on it a few times before taking a bite. Much to Shinji's enjoyment she beset the dish with gusto. Spilling some rich broth off her spoon onto the table in a quick flick of the wrist, "But they're all gone now, leaving just the…wait? Didn't you say Akagi said the reason the Ayanami we have now is so messed up is because she was turned on while the other was still alive? What would happen if they activated another now that she's…" Only after she said it did Asuka realize the full effect of her statement.
"I don't want to think about it. My Rei is g-gone, hopefully to a better place," Shinji sat down, he left the pots to soak. The what's and if's would drive him insane if he thought to deeply on it. What if 'his' Rei would have come back if they activated another body after she had 'died'? Would it really have been her, or just have the memories? How would that affect the whole Ritsuko and Maya relationship he had been in? And now with all the clones gone, it didn't matter, they were all gone with the exception of the monster. Sniffing had, the stupid tears where threatening to come, "Can we talk about something else?"
Taking Shinji's bowl, he hadn't touched it and she was still hungry by how she attacked the stew, Asuka nodded. "S-sorry, didn't mean to bring up odd thoughts. I was thinking that whole thing with Ibuki and Akagi was going to fail…glad it's working for you," she so rarely apologized it lingered in the air like a perfume.
Taking her empty bowl and glass, Shinji dropped the former in the sink and refilled the latter. Her hand touched his as he handed her the glass, it was warm and clammy, "Don't worry about it," and don't mention it again please he hoped, "And I was thinking…after what we both talked about. What we saw when the angel…attacked us. What if, what if our mothers are IN our Evangelions?" I mean my mom went in and never came out, y-yours came out changed. What if part of her stayed in there…the best parts of her." Even with their new closeness, Shinji tread on that topic with tiptoes less she lash out.
"That's stupid," Asuka pushed the half-finished bowl away, she was done. The invisible line had been crossed and she was making it known. Getting up, her hand clutched the glass so hard, they both heard it cracking. Pacing back and forth, "Those stupid things are just tin cans that do what we tell them, they're our toys! Your mother became LCL and mind went crazy! That is all, nothing greater…nothing! What do you even think was left behind?" She stomped and her hand went down spilling her glass of water on the floor.
Pushing, it was time to push and not be delicate about things. "What about their souls, Asuka? We…we know that they exist with the whole Ayanami issue. We synchronize with those things…what are we actually synchronizing with!" he put his hands on her shoulders and held tight. That fury was back, pure unbridled anger and hate! Not backing down despite the growing fear he felt, "I'm not saying it is for sure, but I'm just asking a 'what if'? I swear I saw her when I-I died in Unit-01!"
"She can't be in there! If she is then she's rejecting me! Why would my momma abandon me if she was in there?" she shoved Shinji off and slammed the glass between his feet. It was a deterrent, both being bare feet he couldn't follow her escape.
He had said it, it would take time, but if he kept it up maybe she'd believe him enough in time to give it a try. "She's not shutting you out, Asuka...you're shutting her out," Shinji muttered as he cleaned up the glass. Before he could check on Asuka again though, their phones were ringing, both of them. Another angel already?!
X-X
He just had to push didn't he? Asuka tore off her outfit as she prepped for deployment. Literally ripping the sleeves off as she tore her top off, she just seethed. Things were getting better, well she felt better, and he just had to bring up his stupid theory! Jerk, he had to be wrong, he WAS wrong! Yanking out her plugsuit, she sensed movement behind her, the freak was here. Leaning her arms into the suit she pulled the slick and cool PVC suit up to her shoulders, but she didn't pressurize it. Would it even matter? She was barely able to get the stupid toy to work!
"Shin-chan! How are you doing over there? Need some help getting into your suit?" Rei called out to the thin divider. Being the freak she was, Ayanami didn't even bother with trying to hid her shame, just stood unabashed and nude. As sensually as she could she crooned, "I could help you into it…and out of it when we're done!" Almost to make good on the line she started walking towards the divide.
NO! Grabbing Rei's wrist, Asuka yanked back hard and saw Rei's quite large assets bounce. Where they bigger than the last time Rei did her stupid naked walk around the changing room? "We have an angel to kill, we don't have time for your stupid shit right now. Get your suit on," Asuka flung Rei's hand back at her. Her mind was going over all the reasons why a growth in mammeries could happen. Well the obvious was just teenage growth, second was…pregnancy, and last was simply Rei was a genetic freak that the normal rules of nature didn't apply.
"You're right, better when we have more time. You're not fucking him are you? He's mine," Rei's unnaturally joyous voice chorused. Grabbing her suit she quickly donned it while never once taking her eyes away from Asuka. Oh those eyes were alight with unnatural light, wheels within wheels, "Tell me the truth Soryu…you want to don't you. I know you know about us…that last angel and what it did, he wasn't ready yet to remember. But you can't, he's mine now, all mine." Rei crawled over the metal bench on hands and knees over to the still unsealed Asuka.
Fear, unnatural and unqualified terror kept Asuka seated. This wasn't human, it wasn't even half human like Shinji learned, this was totally beast. Through sheer force of will she pulled away from Rei's outstretched hand and just barely dodged it. Through clenched teeth, keeping her voice down so it didn't echo over to Shinji's side, "No I don't. And he is NOT yours. Stupid idiot is with Ibuki and Akagi now. Let me see you act against them freak." She wanted this girl…this thing…dead! What it did to Shinji, what it was doing to her, it was just a pure abomination!
"Isn't it only Ibuki now, and she's been looking a little sick," Rei's smile went wide and showed her perfect teeth. Not a grin, it was just an animal bearing its teeth in a soundless snarl. Her leg bent over the bench in an unnatural angel that even the most limber of ballerinas couldn't mimic. Rubbing her stomach and drumming her fingers over it, "Everything I've ever thought it would be. You've no idea how far I'll go to keep it." Head staying in the same place, Rei's body rolled off the bench following the leg until the last possible moment and it snapped up with her back.
Ready to pounce, as ineffectual as it might be, if Rei went to Shinji's side and not the exit, Asuka watched and waited. Thankfully her prowess wasn't needed to be tested as Rei did leave. Calling out loudly, "Get ready Shinji. She's going to be there, but I will be to. If you feel the need to repeat Unit-03…" Maybe that was harsh to say to Shinji, Touji's mauling still was fresh on his mind, but so was the worse ones from Rei. Sealing her suit, she waited at the curtain. Still angry at everything, still hating most things…she was waited for her friend.
It took a few minutes, and Asuka heard all of it, Shinji got ready for the next mission. Pulling the curtain back he paused in shock for a moment as Asuka was just standing there emotionlessly waiting. "Ayanami was here? I…I didn't hear her at all," Shinji was trembling slightly. It would have been comical had Asuka not been feeling terrible, how Shinji peeked about the room like a five year old. How deep where those scars really? When it was clear Ayanami wasn't around, he hung his low and heaved one wet and soulful sigh, "I can't even look at her now, not after what I saw the other day. Not after…"
"Don't worry, after the angels are gone you and I will dance on her unit," Asuka put an arm around his shoulders and lead him. This was finally time for her to repay him for all the times he was there for her. Taking him to the Eva's, Rei was already inserted and on the elevator. Clenching her fist she bitterly saw Maya approaching, stupid bitch wouldn't fully understand his problems, not like she did! But it was better this way, a normal person for a normal guy. "See you out there, Shinji," she gave his shoulder a quick punch and ran off to her entry plug and waited.
The plug didn't seal, it didn't fill with LCL, it just sat there as the tech's worked on Rei and Shinji first. The important ones got the preferential treatment. After Unit-01 was taken care of, Asuka seethed as they finally saw to her. Misato took full screen on the video screen, alongside the feed of twin beams of light flying in a perfect halo in synchronized spins around each other. It would have been beautiful if she didn't know it was soon going to try to kill her.
"Alright, we don't fully understand this ones capabilities, but it is at least in range. Unit-01 is still on lockdown so it'll just be you two," Misato's image minimized and was replaced with the angel. It did nothing but fly there over the city. "We'll send both of you up once you get synchronized Asuka, so why don't you get started. We have a bit of a time issue here if you didn't notice," smug bitch just have to say.
Wait…get started? Asuka pulled on the stirrups and focused again, nothing happened. "I'm…its…what is going on?" Asuka yanked harder. They stirrups moved, the sounds were there, but it just didn't do anything. She wasn't able to start the sync process! No….NO! Not now, not like this, not now!
"Katsuragi-san, she's…got a sync score of zero. She can't….we don't have Unit-02 for this fight," Maya's face was there in place of Ritsuko's. That sickeningly sympathetic face, Asuka hated it! Maya couldn't understand what either Shinji or she was going through, yet she acted like she did!
Yanking harder on the hand grips, again and again, she tried so hard to get the stupid machine to activate! "No! I can do this! I CAN! I won't lose here!" Asuka railed in the entry plug! Her whole reason for being, the only thing she had left that was worth caring about, and it was gone! "Wrong, he's wrong," Asuka felt the stinging pain of tears breaking through her defenses and melting into the LCL.
"We move on then with Ayanami first, get Unit-01 ready to go just in case. We'll have to break the quarantine on it since Unit-02 is unavailable," Misato just moved on. Not even waiting or addressing Asuka directly, Misato just dismissed her as useless! "Shinji-kun, get ready to go," oh she had some emotion left for him didn't she!
Burying her face in her hands, she just balled up in the plug and floated in the LCL. She heard Shinji asking how she was, she didn't respond. What could she say, he wouldn't get it! Shinji could still pilot, he had purpose where hers literally just ended, taken away from her. Failure and disappointment was all she had left now wasn't it. How long till they replace her, would they even bother to tell her or would her card just not work one day!
"Launching Unit-00," Misato's order broke Asuka out of her self imposed isolation. Peering over her knees at the illuminated screens in the otherwise dark plug, she saw the blue giant hit the surface. If God existed maybe he'd let the angel kill that monster, and Shinji could take it out after.
Unit-00 existed its elevator right under the angel, and fired a volley at the beast. The rounds didn't connect, but the angel did react to it. It solidified, both of the coiling beams merging into a worm of light, it split in one point and crashed to the ground. It knocked a building over as it launched itself at Unit-00. Stupid freak was to slow to dodge it and connected. Maya called out what Asuka wasn't quite sure she was seeing, "Angel is trying to merge with Unit-00! And the order to detach the arm isn't responding!"
"Launching Unit-01, Shinji save Ayanami and get to cover," Misato still hadn't addressed the lead weight on the unused launch pad. With the order given, Unit-01 rocketed up to the surface and things quickly escalated. Being a better pilot than Rei, Shinji dodged the angels initial swipe at him, but it destroyed his pallet gun. Didn't matter, the pilots knew those things were mostly useless smoke dispensers. The knife was out and stabbed down into the beam of light as it passed him. Ayanami's scream of pain distracted everybody, nobody expected that.
Rolling away from the angel, Shinji took a defensive position as he waited orders. If his attacks hurt Rei, he didn't act, "Can I still attack it if hurts Unit-00?" his rare aggressive side was peeking through.
"Major! Something is changing! The corruption of Unit-00 stopped, but the angel is still connected," Makoto's voice cut through the haze. The angel stopped its lashing out at Shinji and started to simply start pulling away from Unit-00. The geeky man was speaking nonsense in Asuka's mind, "Unit-00 is absorbing the angel, but it's not being corrupted by it! I…I don't understand what is happening!"
Gendo's deep baritone overpowered all other panicking voices, "Activate Unit-00's self-destruct. The pilot has been compromised. Do not let them merge."
Asuka slowly sank back down into her seat, and her hands gripped the control. What was this, what was really going on here? "Work…work you bitch…work!" she whispered to her unit. This wasn't right, something terrible was happening. The light worm was slowly sinking into Unit-00, and the camera in that unit was out. Was Ayanami even still alive, or was something else in control now? Whatever it was, Shinji was going to need help, she couldn't just sit here and watch! See he had to be wrong, Shinji had to be wrong as her mother wouldn't let her just sit here and do nothing!
"Self-Destruct not working, angelic consumption up to seventy-five percent! Getting strange readings from both Unit-00 and Ayanami!" Shigeru reported as he was the one keeping tabs on the blue titan. Unit-01 slowly advanced on the fight, the angel's thrashing were getting weaker and weaker, whatever Unit-00 was doing the angel did NOT like it. With a grim fear the long haired man announced, "Ninety-five percent complete…reading a functional S2 engine in Unit-00, actually reading t-two of them?"
Shutting off the camera feed, Asuka needed to concentrate now. Whatever Ayanami is, it was making a play and it had Shinji on its mind. "This is stupid…totally stupid. Momma isn't here, but…if you ARE here…Momma let me save him. Help me to save him!" she yanked on the stirrups harder. In her desperation and plight she opened her mind to the possibility. What if her mother was here, and SHE was the one keeping her mother out? Shutting everything out as she tried to, maybe she shut her momma out to. "Please momma…please?" she begged.
"Major, Unit-02 activated! Sync score seventy and rising," Maya's joyous voice stunned Asuka.
Opening her eyes, she saw the familiar rainbow of activation and felt something strange and unexpected. Warmth surrounded her, permeated her, and filled her. "M-momma?" she felt it and by all the impossible foolishness in her life she believed it. It felt like she could hear her mother's voice in her head, real or not she would trust it! "Get me out there!" Asuka demanded and was not denied as she was launched up to the surface. And it was not a good sight. Whatever happened to Unit-00 it was not a peaceful merger…the city was destroyed and in its center was a golden Unit-00 floating above a lake. Unit-01 ran away from tendrils of light that emerged out of the new 00's back.
"Asuka, Unit-00 has been deemed an angel, Ayanami's life signs are unknown but it is focusing all its attention on Unit-01. We don't know if it can be hurt, be careful," Misato was oh so helpful. Though with the situation as it was, Asuka didn't expect much from the drunken slob.
Running down what had once been the streets of Tokyo-3, Asuka let the devastation sink in. A large portion of the city was rubble now, all blown away from the epicenter where Unit-00 was. Thankfully the stupid bitch was so focused on Shinji she didn't notice Asuka's rushing assault. She felt as if she WAS Unit-02 at this point, totally in synchronization with her behemoth. Drawing her dagger out of her shoulder sheath, she dove with a mighty warcry, aiming right at the thing's neck.
AT Fields clashed, the familiar hexagon flared up but Asuka pushed on harder. "Not this time! Not this time! I won't lose this time! Shinji you idiot, get over here so we can end this!" harder and harder she pushed. Warnings of synchronizing to much, orders for her to pull it back a little were ignored. The knife pushed through further and further, as Shinji got closer their fields clashed with Unit-00. Then everything went dark.
Standing atop an endless sea of water, Asuka found herself outside of Unit-02 and confused. "What is…what's going on?" she asked the empty expanse.
"You're trying so hard to stop me. But you won't win, you can't. Not now that I'm finally complete. I was missing something for so long, and now I have all I need to be free," Rei announced her arrival. Putting her hands on Asuka's shoulders, the albino smiled and rubbed her cheek against Asuka's. "I'll have what I want now, all of it. And you won't be able to stop me. I understand all now child. You're all my children, all of you," Rei floated around Asuka. Something about the girl looked different, more mature. Hands still on shoulders, Rei started pushing Asuka down into the water. "Don't fight it, just accept your fate," her body aged to that of a woman in her twenties.
Hell no was she going to be beaten here! It took all of her willpower to get her body to act, her hands lashed out and grabbed the Rei-thing around the throat. "If I go you're going with me!" she cried out as the water, cold and draining, reached up to her head. When she felt it go over the top, she saw Rei down in the depths with her. Smiling savagely, true radiance beaming out, Asuka just held on tighter as Rei fought against her. It wasn't a tie, not to Asuka, if they both died here that meant humanity one and Shinji free of the yoke Rei put on him!
Then a wall of white washed over Rei and her, and for a brief moment she saw the being of light again and the interior of Unit-02. Shinji's voice called out, but she was far to tired to hear or understand it…she just needed a quick nap. A real quick one, and she was out.
X-X
Waking with an arm around her waist, Maya hummed softly yet contently. Shinji had stayed the night, they both really needed some time together and relaxation. It's been a crazy couple of days for both of them, not good in anyway outside of one another. It had been Shinji's idea, he'd cook them some food and they'd watch a movie. Hard to do anything else now as most of the entertainment venues were closed. Aside from a few shops everything was closed after Unit-00's violent rebirth. The food had been great, she hadn't eaten much since Ritsuko's absence, the movie was just a pretense as they both needed a bit more affection. For a young man, he was leagues above her in skill in that venue.
Rubbing her thigh lightly, "You sleep well Maya-chan?" Shinji nuzzled into her neck and kissed it. Again, her man really did make her feel cherished. It was an awkward positioning on the bed, with him being shorter it made him being the support in this little spoon quite strange, Maya didn't care.
"Better with you here. I think I've gotten addicted to sleeping with somebody here. Rits-chan and you spoiled me to much," Maya mumbled sleepily. It had been many sleepless nights since Ritsuko was taken. Maya knew what was in Terminal Dogma, Ritsuko told her everything, and knew the risks her female lover took in letting everybody know. Alive or dead, what was it? To know or not, Maya didn't know what was worse. Twirling around, the sheets bunched up between them as she did, "What about you?" She knew already, he had bags under his eyes still.
Not able to lie to anybody, Shinji shrugged halfheartedly, "I had that stupid dream again and couldn't fall back to sleep. But don't worry about it." How could Maya NOT worry about it? Ever since the last angel battle, well now the angel before, he had mentioned having bad dreams with everybody's most feared blue haired angelic human hybrid. "What do you want for breakfast? I could make something or we can reheat the leftovers from yesterday," he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"Can we just stay here and not…" Maya had started to say but her stomach rumbled. Blushing softly she sat up, and her bare chest was hit with the cool morning air. Ritsuko did like to keep the A/C low and Maya never did set it higher. Call it hope, wanting to have the place ready for Ritsuko when she came back. Looking down at Shinji, Maya was stunned at how much her heart swelled. When she initial thought of this idea it had been almost a whim, now she was sure it was the right thing. Pulling the sheet off him, his morning condition still was apparent despite his lack of sleep, "How about we eat the left overs. I shouldn't keep you, I need to get to the base and you…"
What did he have to do? School was closed and the pet he maintained at the Katsuragi apartment had been shipped off with one of Asuka's friends. Home school work maybe, clean an empty apartment, or dwell on the fact that Asuka was in a coma and the Rei-thing was missing.
"I'll go reheat it for you, go take your shower Maya-chan," Shinji was in full on caretaker mode. Getting up, he found his boxers and yesterday's cloths and quickly put them all on. Ritsuko was the one to point it out to Maya, that when Shinji got nervous or worried he would focus on others. Cleaning, cooking, or whatever other ways he could spill his overflow of emotions went into whoever he was with. Maya had to bet that the girl that left town had been quite overwhelmed. Hell SHE was still had to be careful to not abuse that fact. Gathering some of Maya's discarded clothing, "Your washer get fixed since last time? I don't think I want to risk going to the Laundromat."
Rounding the bed to him, Maya enfolded her arms around him, "You can just let them stay wrinkled Shin-chan. You don't have to do this to please me, just relax. Just…let it come natural." He hadn't cried, hadn't really said anything about the outcome of the angel battle. It was Maya's turn to be there for him, Ritsuko would be, and they'd both be there for the missing scientist when she was returned to them.
"I…can't. I don't know what to feel anymore. Outside of this apartment and Misato-san…everybody I've ever cared for is gone. Rei, my mother, Ritsuko, and now Asuka…my friends…they all leave me. Even you were almost taken away. I feel so empty so much of the time anymore," Shinji honestly spoke. He hitched once against her but did nothing else, he touched her bare shoulders and pushed her back with a smile. "But when I am here…." He drew her in for a few moments of tenderness, Maya's left leg left the ground coquettishly.
He was distracting her, but for now she'd let him. "Go get us some food while I…" she blushed and hustled off to the shower. She could still feel him, they had gone at one another for most of the night. Knowing she couldn't get pregnant meant no reason to have it go anywhere else. Her shower thankfully had a detachable head which meant cleaning was a lot easier, and she just let the warm water sooth her mind and body. She was weak at times, and Ritsuko being taken put her in a low part but Shinji was there. And after his little line about his emotional state, she needed to step up her game to return the favor.
"Shin-chan what are…doing today?" Maya asked but petered out. On her table was the meal from the previous night, teriyaki chicken with seasoned broccoli and a side of eggs, and a note. He left while she was showering, she wanted to call him a coward but it was to early. Everybody dealt with pain in their own way, she just had to be patient and there when he needed it. Eating her meal, "I'll be here when you're ready to talk about her or anything."
Without company, breakfast went fast and while it was still good the food had been better the night before. Feeding Camo his breakfast, the ferret ate happily and curled up in her lap until she had to leave. The train had been repaired to get Nerv employees to and fro the base, but not many other tracks. It had been mostly empty as she rode it, she still stood though as it just felt right, and the base was a buzz with activity. Two weeks ago the base wouldn't have been this lively, but now that it was the safest place to be people spent more time there.
"I wonder where she is, how she is?" Maya wondered aloud as she saw Ritsuko's empty station on the repaired command bridge. Today they were supposed to get an update on many things, most of which Maya didn't truly want to know. Katsuragi wouldn't tell Shinji anything bad, the woman avoided such things, meaning Maya would get the honor. Maya hated that about Misato, the woman's tactic in relating to others. Drumming her fingers on her desk, "Wonder if she's got eyes on him now that Kaji-kun is gone." She better now, Maya wouldn't allow that.
Rolling his seat over to Maya's station, Makoto nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "Um, hey Maya, got a minute to talk?" he had that cute little tick about him that always made Maya smile. His eyes moved about frantically, his legs thumped like a rabbits, and his upper torso just bucked back and forth.
"Well until Katsuragi gets in with the update, I have nothing else to do. The defense grid is gone, Ayanami is gone, and the Magi are in diagnostic mode. So what did you break that you're afraid of telling anybody about," Maya teased. Ever since college, Makoto just had that nerdy attitude that made Maya giggle. While he never was boyfriend material, just not her type, but they were good friends regardless.
Tugging on his collar with one hand, he pulled a small box out of his slacks. Opening it up, it showed a fairly simple gold band, "Going to ask Aoi to marry me. With all this craziness going on, I feel if I don't do it now I might not get the chance." He hissed a little as Maya took the box out of his hand, eyes never leaving the box.
"Marriage…yeah I guess this is the best time for it. With everything going so wrong, having something good happen sounds lovely," Maya gushed. Sealing the box she carefully put it back in his waiting palm. Was he worried she'd take it from him, or drop it? He just couldn't relax, but an engagement ring was something special. "Why is it so plain though? I know you make enough to get something better, Aoi-chan not worth it or want it?" Maya did like Aoi. Color her impressed that Makoto landed such a pretty and sporty girl, guess you couldn't always tell just by looking at people who their type was.
Sliding it back into his slacks, Makoto heaved a depressed grunt on the ground. Patting the bulge in his pocket, "I waited too long to get one. This is just a holder until I can get to a better jewelry shop. Going to ask her after my shift today. If she says yes, you and Ikari-kun want to come? Akagi-san too when she gets back." The standing rumor was Ritsuko was transferred to Nerv Germany for emergency maintenance on their Magi units.
"She'll love it regardless of the type, that's the type of girl I think she is," Maya meant it. Aoi was fun loving and energetic, didn't put much care on the small things. A great pair for Makoto. Just like Shinji and Ritsuko were for…Would they ever get married? New laws allowed for it, she wanted to get married, she wanted children someday. "And I'll have to ask him, but I can almost promise you right now that we'll be there," she sniffed back as the wave of emotions hit her. Was this all a big pipedream? One pilot left, one that was under constant mental shock, stood between humanity and the end.
The door to the command deck opened and Misato and Shigeru joined the rest of the command deck, it was time for the lovely and expected update. "Attention everybody, got some news for everybody so if you can stop what you're doing and come over here," Shigeru summoned the crew over for the update. He looked tired, more so than Shinji had, Maya speculated that the poor guy was working all night on reports.
Pulling her jacket on tighter, Misato tossed her barrette on a computer terminal, "First off this all stays in this room. Classified information to command bridge and staff only." There was a feeling of no-nonsense going on. Katsuragi was in her full on military mode, she was not playing around. "Not a lot of this is happy, so word gets out their will be panic. First thing is Unit-00 and its pilot are now official classified as MIA and listed as an angel. Shigeru if you would," she gestured for Shigeru to talk.
"Magi speculate that once the angel made contact with Unit-00 it tried to contaminate the Evangelion. How it happened, it is withholding its decision, but instead of taking over the unit they apparently merged into one being. The energy released upon the merger was equivalent to an N2-mine and that's why the city is as it is now. The newly formed angel made mind contact with Unit-02, thankfully Pilot Soryu was able to fend it off and distract it enough for Unit-01 to damage it enough to escape," Shigeru turned back to Misato. He had the details on the fight, and the beautiful and terrifying new angel.
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Misato's shoulders just sagged, "As for Asuka…the doctors say the mental strain coupled with her surge in sync ratio gave her some sort of neural shock. She can come out of it in the next ten minutes…or never. She has been cleared of angelic contamination, so we do have that as a positive. With the destruction of our radar grid though, we have no idea where the new angel is. We have reports that after…after it fled Unit-01 it did the impossible and shrank down to human size. Reports from the US satellite system still has a pattern blue somewhere in the ruins of the city."
Maya felt cold. It was a scientific impossibility! Matter couldn't be created or destroyed right? Yet that massive metal beast had shrank as Shinji drove it away from Unit-02. Smaller and impossibly smaller until it was the size of a taller adult. It just couldn't happen, and yet it happened. And that poor girl, after months of problems with synchronizing when she finally does get it to work she gets hurt! And what did they do now that they knew the angel was still nearby, waiting. And it wasn't hard to speculate what happened truly. Maya might not have been a scientist of Ritsuko's caliber, but she wasn't a fool.
Rei…well Ayanami III, had caused the merger. The angel tried to take over Unit-00, the monster in the plug was touched and took over. The hunter became the hunted and pounced and devoured the angel. With the new matter and power she changed and attacked. Only the combined assault of Unit-01 and Unit-02 was able to drive her off. But that was just a newborn, what was Ayanami doing now? Could Shinji drive off the next attack?
"Katsuragi-san, what about the pilot of Unit-00? We have two Eva's and only one current pilot…what do we do?" Makoto asked what everybody was thinking. Well everybody that didn't know Ayanami was an abomination.
Shaking her head slowly, Misato was just ruining everybody's moods, "We have no readings from the entry plug so we don't know her status. But we have heard that the Fifth Child has been found and should be on way to test with Unit-02. So get ready for a new face around." The attempted positive spin didn't really work as she anticipated. A new face meant a new person to get to meet, possibly like, and then watch die. Of the four pilots they've seen, only one of them was still usable. The first pilot to save them, was the only one still there…Shinji was unintentionally elevated to hero status to many.
Maya just did her job, letting all the bad news sink in. How would she tell Shinji about this? Let him know he'd have to work with yet another child his age. Misato wasn't going to do it, Maya knew it. Could she just let it happen without her telling him? What was the worst that could happen if she just let it go? What were the odds that something bad would happen to this new pilot…well right now it was three to four against the Fifth child, maybe he'd buck the trend.
X-X
Sitting in his office, Gendo was waiting for the inevitable. The council was due any minute to convene to talk about the latest drastic change to the scenario. He would have to talk to them about it, address how he didn't know Ayanami had changed from loyal tool to plan wrecking monster. Problem was he didn't know how he missed it! He spent so much time with that girl that it was impossible for him to be oblivious to such a change. But he was, all his memories about the girl were muddled and clouded. It was so much easier with Rei II than this abomination.
"Are you ready for them? They're going to hold you responsible for this mess," Kozo stood loyally at his side. The old teacher had sunken cheeks and was paler than normal, they both shared something in common right now. Both men were terrified.
Now many people would be able to see Gendo as a lonely man. Aside from Ritsuko and the brief fling with the section two vice chief he hadn't been seen with anybody aside Fuyutski in years. He was a lonely man, his whole life was devoted to ending that loneliness and getting his wife back. What people would never believe, is that he current and quite earnestly always was afraid. Not the type of fear a child has of a monster under his bed or a monster in the closet. These were the fears of a driven man. An assassin, failing the council and being replaced, his son, Yui's reaction to his actions, and his own failings were always on his mind. They didn't stop him, the pushed him forward with a sense of purpose.
"I will tend to the council as I always do. They are old men chancing immortality. They need me, or they'd have gotten rid of me ages ago," Gendo kept his game up. Right now they could easily replace him, hell that is what this meeting could be about! He was down two pilots as one was comatose fighting the other that went rogue and stole an Eva as she left! Rei…his linchpin and key to his plans was GONE! And that bitch Akagi had to…maybe he had treated her to poorly. She had been a lovely woman when he approached her those years ago.
The bell went off and the projector dimmed the lights as the halo emitter began to whir. Seele was beckoning to them to answer for their sins. "They didn't get much from me after their oh so subtle kidnapping, but don't think them weak Gendo. These men are dangerous and now cornered. We're so near the end now, but our plans are in tatters, we don't know about theirs," Kozo warned as the image popped up.
"Ikari," Keel didn't let anybody else dictate the agency of this meeting, "what has happened! Unit-00 is lost as well as its pilot? The pilot of 02 is lost, and the city in a state of almost destruction. Is this what you call handling the situation?" Only Keel's and Seele 06 and 09 were presently illuminated, the other locations were dark.
Now that was a shocker for Gendo, the whole console wasn't there to bash him? Were they off plotting to overthrow him already, where they getting ready for that final strike. The fears of a man with a tiger by the tail. "The Second Child was deemed worthless before the battle even began so losing her now is hardly a consequence. Or was your offer of sending the Fifth Child a lie?" Gendo addressed the easiest point first. He had written the haughty German off as useless once her score dropped.
"We have opted to hold off on the decision of sending you the Fifth after this debacle," Seele 06's warbled female voice came through. If Gendo was a betting man, the broken Japanese and accent hinted at an American. It continued, its lettered name pulsating, "A week of observation to insure that sending him won't just result in his instant death is necessary."
Keel ran his thumb over the red of his visor and settled deeply into his chair, "Have Unit-02 prepped for him when he does arrive." Keel didn't give 06's bluff any ground to blossom, he just shot down his compatriot. Shaking his head, his heavy jowls wobbled, "What of the First Child, Ikari. Can she be replaced like before, would anybody question her return after the merger? And the American satellite system is still tracking that pattern blue in remains of the city. Your counter plans?"
Ah the meat of the matter, they wanted to know if he had contingency plans for the fuck up. Or did they have all the cards, well Gendo wasn't going to show his hand just yet. "Yes, we can get a replacement. Akagi is already working on it. As for the runaway, Unit-01 is on call ready to defend the base at all times," two boldface lies and likely everybody knew it. The real matter was would Keel call them out on it or let it lie. They had to know Rei was a clone, the dummy plug system required a body in it…they had clones just like Seele likely did.
"This is a tenuous time Ikari. We are down to the final angel and then our plan will enter end game. The council wanted to replace you after this last fuck up…but I have overrode that. Bringing somebody else up to speed would be to difficult at this juncture," Keel was as reluctant as possible to confess.
Smiling behind his gloved hands, Gendo was relieved to no end! They weren't going to try and make a play so close to the goal line. He still had Adam, he had access to the body of Lilith…he could still hope to salvage this! "Where are those dissenting members of the council, I'd have figured all would be in attendance for this meeting," he asked as his own interests were peeked. Why wasn't the whole of Seele here for his dress down, they all hated him.
"You don't need to know that Ikari. Just do your job and keep the way open for us when the time is ready," Seele 06's retort was brutal and angry. They knew something and weren't speaking about it.
The answer presented itself when Seele 09's non distorted voice cut through the pregnant air. "They've all been arrested by the UN. We had a mole in our midst and didn't realize it until to late. We re the last four of the council, well three and our dog. Move fast Ikari and keep yourself protected. The world has its eyes on you so you are momentarily safe. But once the angels are gone, the hammer that has been coming down on us will fall on you. We will have to act nearly instantly when…"
"Shut up you blathering coward!" Keel slammed his hand down and the other lights went out. One coward slipped an awful lot of dragons out of Seele's bag. They were being rounded up and jailed in secret or killed where they? Gendo smirked thinking that Keel was now hiding in some rat infested hellhole waiting for the time to strike. Could they even force an issue on him if so many of them were now missing? "Be ready Gendo, our time is nearly at hand. Our work nearly complete," and like that Gendo's office returned to its natural state.
Getting up Gendo made for his elevator, "We have little time old friend. They're desperate now, even more than me. They're losing their power, while I've only lost Ayanami. We have to be ready to act before they can make their last ditch effort to steal the victory from me." He keyed the elevator door to open.
"Where are we going Gendo? Unless you have a second tank of clones I didn't know about, I think we're just as ruined as they are," the old man undid the top few buttons of his shirt. He was tired, he looked ready to just fall over right there and sleep. How age had finally caught up with the man.
He had one question for a vital tool, and he placed most of his chips on it. "We're going to talk to the doctor again. She will be compliant with us I feel," he hoped anyway. What had prompted him to see that young woman so long ago? She was beautiful yes, terrible self esteem issues, was useful, but was that it? Anymore he couldn't really say, his drive for Yui so great it blinded him to so much. The walk to the cell had been in silence, and when he dismissed the guards he peeked in that window and saw her. Defiant and with her natural hair now peeking out from her longer hair. So much to distance herself from her worthless mother. "Akagi," he said simple as Kozo and he entered the tiny cell.
"Wh-what? Oh, its you," Ritsuko shook out of a fugue state. Isolation had a way of breaking people, making them pliable and moldable just for the simplest of human interaction. Yet this woman did not appear to be at that state yet, not distressed or even cracking, "Here to let me go, or are you going to try and make me work again?"
Kozo was about to speak, but Gendo raised his hand, this was his stage. "All we want to know is what you know about Ayanami. She seems to be acting strange, stranger than normal. And after what you did to the tanks, we need to keep her docile. How can we placate her," he just hoped nobody leaked the woman anything about the last few days.
"Can't say that I do. If this was the previous Rei, I'd say use Shin-chan to get her to act. She'd have done anything he asked of her. But you killed that Rei…but I should thank you for that. It allowed me a chance with him, and he's a better man than you," Ritsuko smiled widely at Gendo. Either being earnest or just trying to hurt his ego, Ritsuko didn't know she fell right into his hands.
Smiling, he reached out to touch her but she pulled away. "Thank you, Akagi, thank you. Kozo, get the bait ready. Bring the Third Child on base, we use him to get the angel to do what we want. We can salvage this after all, all thanks to Akagi's little tip," two could play that game. If Rei III had those memories of Rei II as she should, using the boy could and should work! Just hold a gun to the boy's head, and Rei III would dance to his tune for the few minutes it was needed.
"Wait…what? What are you talking about!" Ritsuko was up and off the ground in moments, but to no avail. Gendo and Kozo were out and the door shut before she could stand. They heard her pounding on the door, pleading that she was wrong and for them to come back. They didn't…they had their plan like it or not. They just had to be ready for it when the time came.
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Authors Notes
Yup this one is finally nearing its end. I was debating if I wanted to actually have Asuka die in this chapter but thought that wasn't necessary and overly 'dark' for no real point other than shock value. Hope you've enjoyed this, hope I'm keeping somethings in suspense for you, and have a Happy Halloween!
Ja Mata
Zentrodie