A Cut in the Bloodline

By: Screaming With Your mouth Shut

Chapter 3: Barriers and Boarders

Yui's POV:

Darkness. And then...

"Yui! Are you alright?"

What happened? I asked myself. Why was I lying on the floor. My eyes fluttered open. Gendo, Misato, and Ritsuko are all surrounding me, each wearing a worry expression. I can feel something soft under my head. It was Gendo's jacket. Did I pass out? I don't know. Last thing I remember, I was sitting down, looking at pictures of my long lost son, Shinji and his...

DAUGHTER?!

"Yui! Say something! Is everything alright?" Gendo exclaimed. I don't know what he's talking about. I think i'm okay. No... I'm not alright...

"I-I've been a grandmother... for... all these years... and... and he never bothered telling us?!"

I was hurt. I was torn between feeling proud or upset. I've always hoped I would be a grandmother in the future, and now, I am. But I've been a grandmother, all this time, and I never knew. It hurts. It really shows that he truly doesn't care about us. Why did he have to do this? Why does he hate us? I could feel tears coming. All I want is to meet my grand daughter, and to have my son back. Why is he keeping her away from us? Another thought crossed my mind. What if he's married. He didn't even invite his own parents to his wedding. I'm honestly crushed. Shinji... how could you do this to me? You've betrayed me...

I tried sitting up, only to be restrained by Misato and Gendo. I didn't resist. I couldn't find the strength to resist. This was all to much for me. All in one day, I discovered that my son is still alive, his whereabouts, and now that fact that i'm a grandmother. I don't even care anymore. I want to hold my son again, I want to meet my grand daughter. I'm not angry. Not anymore. I tried sitting back up again. Gendo's hand caressed my cheek, wiping away the few stray tears that remained. I was crying? I don't remember. Standing up, I slowly made my way back to my chair. Gendo gave me his arm to support me, but I insisted that I could go on my own.

I reached my seat and sat back down. I looked over sternly at the agents. I wanted some answers.

"W-what's her name?"

The older agent took a step forward, pulling out a small piece of paper, before throwing it on onto the desk in front of me. I quickly snatched up the paper and unfolded it. As I was unfolding it, the older agent spoke.

"Lab report confirms that she is registered under the name Reika A. Ikari, under the North American Citizen Directory."

Reika... I repeated the name over and over to myself. It was a beautiful name. My grand daughter... Reika Ikari... I was liking the sound of that. I would of been satisfied with just that, but I had other questions that were nagging at me.

"How old is she?"

"Thirteen years of age, born December 13, 2016."

"And her mother?" I asked, a little curious.

"That information is currently unknown. And there are no records of your son ever marrying somebody."

A felted a little relieved. So my son isn't married. I don't think I could meet my son, grand daughter, and daughter-in-law all at once. That still leaves the question for my grand daughters mother, but that's besides the point. I was just glad that he had been found. Surely though, word is going to spread around NERV quickly. That, and he has a daughter. I wonder how everyone else will take it. No doubt Hikari will be happy for him, Auska will be jealous, Toji and Kensuke will tease him about it, and everyone else would just be happy that he's returned.

Misato made herself known for the first time since she arrived.

"How do we go about approaching him... I-I mean them... Reika... and... Shinji..."

Yeah, I wonder how. I don't think he would appreciate it if we just knocked on his door one day. Besides, he knows that we found him. For all we know, he could be making preparations to flee the country. Whatever we do, we must act fast. I don't think I could bare loosing my son and grand daughter again. But what can we do? I suppose the only option we really have is to meet him in person. Maybe he's changed. Maybe he doesn't hold a grudge against us anymore. Although the idea seem implausible, there was still hope.

"We will approach them ourselves. Face to face. There's no other way."

Misato seemed a little taken back at my forwardness. I guess she was expecting some sort of "tactical" plan on how we were going to get him to return to us. Though maybe effective, morally, it was the wrong choice, and if we want him to come back, I don't think duping him would be the way to go about.

"We will send four people over to North America."

Ritsuko seemed to catch onto what I was trying to say. After seeing her nod, she took a step forward, and spoke up.

"Yes, we shall have three people confront him, and have one as backup, providing intel."

"Exactly!" I practically cried. I was happy, I don't think I've ever smiled this wide in a while.

"Excellent. We will send Auska, Toji, Misato, and Ritsuko. Misato will provide intel, while the rest of you meet him." Gendo said, easily as enthusiastic as I was. I don't blame him. I turned towards Ristuko and Misato.

"That will be all. Misato, have Auska and Toji report here immediately. You are dismissed."

And with a salute, Misato practically darted out the door. Ristuko how ever lingered. Pulling out her clipboard, she tossed it on the desk in front of us.

"You know, this could make Reika a potential pilot for Unit-01."

Shinji's POV:

What the hell was NERV doing here? Was the question I furthermost asked myself. Surely they weren't here for sight seeing. No, they must have known I was here. Why else would they come to this small town. I choose this place to live for a reason. Maybe they're going town to town. Maybe they never noticed me. The agents didn't seem to notice. Maybe everything will be alright after all. I should stop worrying. If they knew I was here, they would of followed me, or come to my door by now. Damn! I took all these extra precautions so Reika and I wouldn't have to deal with this shit. Now I feel as if I can't walk down my own driveway without looking over my shoulder ever five minutes. But NERV isn't stupid. I know that all to well. They would go through heavan and hell if it means, getting their precious Unit-01 working again. Seriously... fuck Unit-01!

Looking over at the clock, it's passed eleven o'clock. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I should go say goodnight to Reika then hit the sack myself. Winter will be here soon, and if we want to stay warm, cutting fire wood would be in our best interest. The snow can get pretty brutal around here at that time of year. Picking myself up off the couch, I headed up the stairs and into Reika's room, who was already asleep. After saying a quiet goodnight to her, I headed off into my own bedroom, to get some sleep. But sleep never came. The haunting memories of my past wouldn't leave me alone. The pain, the sadness, the loneliness. All washed over me like a big title wave. I tried so hard to forget my past in Tokyo-3, and for a while I did. Reika was my only source of happiness. Every time a memory of NERV, or EVA appeared, I would think of my little girl. But that wouldn't work anymore, not tonight. I feared the worst. What if they wanted Reika. What if they were looking for her. What if they wanted to put her through the horrors of piloting EVA like they did to me.

No. I wouldn't let that happened. She's all I have left in this world. I wouldn't let them take her away. I wouldn't even let her look at an EVA. I would rather fucking kill myself then let her be in the entry plug of one of those... things! It will not happened. No matter how bad Mother, Father, Ristuko, Misato, Auska want her to pilot for them, she wont. They would have to get through me first. And I promise, I wouldn't be so easy. I have to calm down. None of this was going to happened. I could be in a million places for all they know. Maybe it was just a coincidence that they ended up here. By morning, those Section-2 agents will leave and move onto the next town. I have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. So god help me, this will all blow over in a few days, and everything will return to normal.

At least that thought raised my spirits a bit. But I still can't seem to fall asleep. Maybe I should check up on Reika, you know... just to be sure...

I quickly flung the sheets off my body, and sped over to her bedroom. Slowly but gently opening it, I was relieved when I saw she was peacefully asleep. But her... bedroom window... was... open? Its pretty chilly out, why in the world would she have her window opened? The curtains blew out a little just enough for the moon to shine over Reika... There was... blood... w-what the fuck... It's got to be a nose bleed. I prayed to god that it was a nose bleed. It was everywhere. All over her pillow, and sheets. She was... naked? Her clothes, ripped apart, scatter all over the floor. No... what the fucks going on... I rushed over to her bedside. She didn't appear to be breathing... no... no... no... OH FUCK NO... I started panicking. She was bloodied and bruised all over her body. The realization, the blood, the clothes... it was like she had been raped... I was ready to explode. Take everything out along with it. I didn't care. I didn't give a shit anymore. My little girl, my precious Reika... GONE! Fucking gone. The blood, it just kept pouring out. The sweat and dried seman covering her body. The open window, the cuts and bruises all over her arms and chest. The reality of it all. It all seemed so real, so messed up. So warped and twisted. Who would do such a thing to someone so Innocent as her. WHO?! I should of heard her screams. Why didn't I hear her screams. I should of, I was awake this whole time. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON! The blood, the ripped clothes, the window. EVERYTHING. The blood, the ripped clothes. The blood, all the blood. She was smiling. At me? The blood. It looked like she had a few teeth missing. The smile, the blood. I felt something in my pocket. Whats this? Teeth? And why is there blood all over my hands...

"Daddy... why did you stop... it felt so... good..."

I shot upwards. I was drenched in sweat. I had a hard time trying to catch my breath. It was only a dream. Thank god... it was only a dream. I sighed heavily in relief. Oh my god... it all felt so real. Maybe it was all this NERV business. But I've never had a dream that... fucked up. I glanced over at my alarm clock. 3:53am. I don't think I want to go back to sleep. Feeling the sudden urge to pee, I got up and walked over to the bathroom. After relieving myself, I decided it was a good time to make some coffee. But before I do that, I should check up on Reika, you know... just to be sure...

I opened her door slowly. No... It was all there. The blood, the ripped clothes, the cuts and bruises all over her arms and chest. The sweat and seman covering her. The open window. She was breathing. Curled up in a ball, crying profusely. I quickly rushed over to her side, that was when I felt it. The teeth in my pocket, the blood covering my hands, and even on my legs. The window blew the curtains, just enough to let the moonlight shine over her. She was starring at me. Tears streaming down her cheeks, and the look in her eyes... They looked hurt, betrayed, lonely. She reminded me of... myself... I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe I could do this. To my little girl, to my own daughter. Oh god, what kind of monster am I!? I want to die, I just wanted this all to end. How could I do this to my little Reika...

"Daddy... why did you stop... it felt so... good... is it... is it because i'm not human...?"

Human? Oh god, what the fuck is she talking about! How did this happened? Just then, the wind blew the curtains a second time. The moonlight shown over her once again. Something seemed different though. Something totally out of place. Leaving me, with only one question on my mind.

"R-Reika, w-why is your hair... b-blue?"

I shot up from my bed once again. The sunlight seeping through the curtains and into my eyes. I was covered in sweat and had the sudden urge to pee. I looked over at my alarm clock. It was 8:12am. I could hear the sound of Reika singing downstairs, accompanied by the smell of pancakes. Jesus Christ THANK GOD! What the hell were those dreams all about. I jumped up and went to the washroom to relieve myself, before flying downstairs and into the kitchen. I was greeted by the lovely sight of my daughter, still in her pajamas, with her hair tied back, and earbuds in her ears, holding a plate of pancakes. Not a single scrap, cut, or bruise present on her body. I walked over to her, and pulled her into a tight embrace that seem to catch her off guard. A little stunned at my action, she managed to stammer out.

"D-Dad... i-is everything alright? You've been acting strange lately..."

"I'm alright, I'm... just glad your okay..."

"If you say so... now if you don't mind, could you let go of me...?" she said followed by a faint giggle, she continued. "Unless you want burnt pancakes."

After everything that had happened, I let out out a slight chuckle myself, before reluctantly letting go. I was just glad my little girl was safe. But what did those dreams mean? Could they be telling me something? Deciding that it was only a dream, and nothing important, I walked over to the coffee machine, and began fixing myself a cup. That was when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Reika called. And in a flash of a second, Reika spun on her heals, and sped towards the door. I wasn't really paying to much attention, or even wondered who was at the door.

"Dad! There's people from... NERV here to speak to you?"

Shit... I couldn't believe it. They've found us. I wasn't prepared for this. I walked over to one of the kitchen drawers, reached under and produced a 9mm pistol. Tucking it into the waistband of my pants, I slowly shuffled towards the front door. There I was greeted with the sight of three overly joyed individuals. I recognized all three of them almost immediately. One redhead, a jock, and a fake blond. I turned towards Reika, who was standing beside me, puzzled. I didn't want them to take her away. I wouldn't allow it. I will put a bullet in each of their skulls if I have too. But neither of them did anything. It just turned into one big starring match. That is, until the redhead spoke up first.

"It... it really is you..."

Auska's POV:

8 Hours Earlier...

So they... finally found him... they actually found him. And were on our way to meet him. I'm... actually nervous, glad, but nervous. I don't know what he will be like. All the hell he's been through, god knows if he's still the same gentle person I once knew. Somehow, I doubted that was the case. He also apparently has a daughter. Now, that was quite a shocker. I didn't quite believe it at first, but Commander Ikari doesn't lie. And I seen the photographs myself. I'm surprised, shes really pretty. And I'm sure that doesn't come from her fathers side. Phleh! I bet hes still the spineless wimp he was when he left. I bet he hasn't changed at all. He proved it when he ran away from NERV. Couldn't deal with the responsibilities of piloting the greatest weapon ever made, so he ran away. Now hes raising a daughter. I'm surprised he hasn't run away from her yet. He can raise a child but he can't pilot an EVA. Some father he is. Now I'm stuck with all these inferior pilots. At least Shinji gave me a challenge, mind you it wasn't a real challenging challenge.

But I'm glad that baka has been found. It's been getting real boring around here lately. I wonder if hes still as good of a cook as he was when he was in Tokyo-3. Not like my cooking is awful or anything. If all, its far from it. I am the great Auska Langley Sorhyu, of coarse everything I do is perfect. Even piloting EVA, and seeing as the angels will be returning soon, it would be nice to have an EVA that's actually capable of killing an angel. Not that I really care for Shinji returning, but having Unit-01 operational to assist me in killing the angels, would be in our best interest. Not like I need it or anything. Now that we have recovered the micro-chip, I'm sure my EVA will be completely capable of destroying the angels all on its own.

I stepped off of the treadmill, 47 minutes, not bad. Personally, I can go longer, but Misato wants us prepared and full operational in an hour. And if I'm going to meet the stupid baka and his daughter, I might as well use the time to make myself look good. Heh. What am I talking about. I look good regardless. Exciting the workout room and making my way into the main hallway towards the command center, I walked into the one person I hated more then anybody else in the world. Rei...

"Just where do you think you're going, doll?"

I noticed at me saying that, caused her pace to increase. Even avoiding eye contact. Now just who does she think she is, ignoring me like that, I'll show that cunt.

Before she could even pass me, I slammed her into the wall. Watching her wince in pain made me feel good. That doll deserves everything she has coming for her. I mean, she's an angel after all! She's the enemy! I don't even know why she's still at NERV. Nobody likes her and she isn't good for anything. Correction, she's a pretty good stress reliever, but that's it! HA! Judging from the cut marks and bruises on her arms and the blood stains covering her dirty shirt, it looks like she came back from one of Ritsuko's 'appointments'.

But she didn't retaliate. She never retaliated. Or else, she would get an even bigger beating. She knew her place. This one time, she defied Commander Ikari's orders, she got beaten so bad, they had to wake up a new clone. Ever since then, she's just let everyone hit her around. Like it doesn't bother her. But I can tell by the tears in her eyes, she thinks otherwise. But I don't care. Nobody cares. She's a clone. She can be replaced at anytime. She's useless, annoying, and unimportant. Realizing that I wasn't going to hit her furthermore, she picked herself off the ground, clutching her arm tightly to her chest, and began hastily walking away.

I let her leave. I didn't have time for a thing like her. I had somewhere I needed to be...

Sometime later...

Shinji lives here?!

The town was tiny! Empty! It was like a ghost town. This didn't seem right.

"Are you sure this is right place Misato?" I said into the inner-comm.

This is where section-2 reported to of found him. Misato's voice boomed over the speaker.

"If you say so..." Quite frankly, I was having a hard time believing that he would be here. Oh well, just got to trust command knows what they're doing.

Please turn left in three-hundred meters, then continue straight for another fourteen-hundred meters, until you arrive at your destination.

Well, here we go, the home stretch. Lets just hope this wasn't all for nothing. I barely slept on the plane coming here, and I was beginning to get tired. If he doesn't agree to come with us, I might just strangle him. My thoughts were soon interrupted when we pulled up to a huge, log cabin house. It was impressive, like it had been just recently built. This is where Shinji lives? There are a number of trucks parked outside the house, but only one looked operational. The others seemed to have bits and pieces taken off of.

"Well, this is it. Everybody ready?"

This time it was Ritsuko's voice. She hadn't talked much since we left the airport. I guess she's as nervous as everyone else. Toji talked non-stop. Sometimes, he needs to learn when to shut the fuck up. And Misato stayed at the hotel. She said something about providing intel, and the fact that she wasn't ready to see him without causing a huge scene. We all stepped out of the SUV, and slowly began walking up the steps towards the door. For a couple seconds, we just stood there, each of us afraid to knock. Why is that? We are NERV after all, we shouldn't be afraid. Toji took the initiative, stepped forward, and with three simple knocks, we waited.

A young girl answered the door. She looked to be around 13 years old. She had her long, black hair tied back, and appeared to still be in her pajamas. In her hand, she had an mp3 player and earbuds, carelessly wrapped around each other. This must be his daughter. Obviously wanting to make a good first impression, I put on the biggest smile I could. I was about to introduce myself, when Ritsuko beat me to it.

"Hello there! My name is Ritsuko Akagi, and I'm from an organization called NERV. We are here to speak with your father."

The young girl regarded her strangely, before calling out for her father, not taking her eyes off of us. I could hear footsteps behind her. They were getting louder and louder. The moment of truth. It was him. He certainly had changed a bit. While still looking relatively the same, there were a few noticeable changes. One, he has a tattoo running up is right arm, and two... he has quite the build. Damnit... he's gotten hotter since I last saw him! I mean look at him! It's actually him! After 14 years... I was taken back. I couldn't think straight, yet alone, formulate a sentence. So I stammered out the only thing I could at the moment...

"It... it really is you..."

Meanwhile, in an unknown location...

Twelve figures were gathered around a large table, a giant projection screen playing in front of them. The screen was displaying countless documents and none-stop surveillance footage.

"So, it appears Ikari has led us right to him, just as we suspected." One of them spoke with a smirk.

"Yes, as it now stands, he may not be as useless as we thought." Another spoke.

"Everything is all going according to plan, as long as we have a pilot for Unit-01, all will go well." One said with utter confidence.

"Excellent, and with the angels returning soon, we shall soon achieve what we set out to do fourteen years ago."

"Good, prepare to have the new clones arrive at NERV as soon as the young Ikari does."

"Understood."

And with that being said, the figures began disappearing one-by-one, until only two remained.

"Let's just hope we can trust Ikari this time." The first one spoke.

"He will have no choice. We got him right where we want him." The second one spoke, before vanishing.

The lone figure remained silent.

"I hope for your sake, that you are correct, Kawrou."

A/N: Boom! Chapter 3 is out, and alot earlier then I expected. I had a few free days off, so I immediately went to writing. In case you haven't realized, I genuinely dislike Auska, I think she's a bitch, so shes going to remain a bitch. The next chapter will be a short chapter entirely about Rei. It will be taking place around the exact same time as when Auska, Ritsuko, and Toji confront Shinji and Reika. That chapter will be out soon. After that I will finish writing chapter 3 for my other fic, "Pursuit of Happiness". I've been neglecting that fic for some time now, so its high time I get a chapter out for it. Then I'll have chapter 4 for "Us verses Them", will be out shortly after that. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this installment of "A Cut in the Bloodline". Thanks for reading! Cheers.