"I have to congratulate you, Gendo," remarked Fuyutsuki. "So far, aside from Shinji's antics everything appears to be going as planned."
"Of course it is," countered Gendo, "These battles were laid down in the scrolls millennia ago. There is nothing that can be done to alter their course, and nothing that can change the final outcome."
"You of all people should know to avoid saying things like that," Fuyutsuki said. "You remember how ambiguous some of those passages are? Not to mention what could happen if, say, an outside force like the other Evangelion programs were to intervene?"
Gendo turned his head to look at his assistant, the first time he'd done so for a very long time. "I have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this plan. If anyone intervenes, they will die. It is as simple as that," he intoned. "Besides, this is one thing the old men actually agree with me on."
"If you are certain," said Fuyutsuki, still not convinced.
Shinji sat in the office, glaring at the two women opposite him and shaking with fear. He'd been dragged off as soon as the VTOL carrying him and Rei had landed inside the Geo-Front, and had ended up in this office before even being allowed to wash the smell of blood out of his plug suit. "What's the problem?" he asked, forcing his voice to stay level.
"You modified the Positron Cannon without my permission, that's the problem!" shouted Ritsuko. "If you'd gotten a single thing wrong, you'd have blown us all up before the operation even began! Not to mention you could have wrecked it! What were you thinking?!"
"I... I..." Shinji flailed about verbally, wishing the anger to return so he could explain. "I... was trying to..." Damn it! Focus, Shinji! "I was trying to make sure the operation would work," he finished, lamely.
"And what exactly makes you qualified to climb around the insides of the second most expensive weapon system on the planet?" asked Ritsuko sharply.
"Did it work?" asked Misato. Ritsuko glared at her. "If whatever he did worked..."
"The data is inconclusive," said Ritsuko. "The MAGI are still processing it. However, the fact they were willing to help does imply they thought it would work." She sighed. "That doesn't mean he should just be allowed to do what he likes. There has to be consequences for this, Misato." Shinji felt a need to point out he was sitting right across from the Doctor, but couldn't articulate it.
"Make him do more training or something. Look, whatever happened, we pulled it off. If he'd gotten someone hurt, I'd push for something severe, but as it is... well, I get the feeling that if we locked him up again he'd just take Unit One and leave," said Misato.
"I am right here," Shinji pointed out. I wouldn't just take Unit One, either, thought the darker part of his mind. The two women opposite looked at him for a moment, then turned back to one another.
"I will have to report this to the Commander," Ritsuko pointed out.
"That's not a problem," countered Misato, "but as his direct superior I am in charge of discipline unless he can come up with a good reason to interfere."
"Sooo... can I go?" asked Shinji, timidly. Misato gave him a look that said "why are you even still here", so he left before they could drag him back into the conversation. He had places to be, and things to sort out before Rei woke up.
MAGI INTERFACE INITIALISING
BEGIN SESSION 194752
received: COMMAND: ACTIVATE VOCAL SUBROUTINE. AUTHORITY: IKARI. S
magi/internal/1: RECOMMEND FOLLOWING SUGGESTIONS OF IKARI. S. SUBJECT HAS SHOWN PROFICIENCY IN AREAS OF: AT FIELD THEORY, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, TACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF BOTH. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM RECENT ANGEL BATTLE SUGGEGTS IKARI. S.'S MODIFICATIONS TO equipment/weaponry/mobile/positroncannon WERE DECISIVE IN ENSURING THE OPERATION WAS A SUCCESS
magi/internal/2: CONCUR. HOWEVER, MUST LIMIT IKARI. S.'S ACCESS TO SENSITIVE MATERIALS AS PER DIRECTIVE 817.2.53
magi/internal/3: CONDITIONALLY CONCUR: REQUIRE AGREEMENT FROM IKARI. G. AND AKAGI. R. ADDITIONALLY RECOMMEND CAREFUL REVIEW OF ANY COMMANDS GIVEN BY IKARI. S. AS THESE COMMANDS MAY NOT BE IN LINE WITH NERV POLICY
magi/all/external/vocal: WELCOME, PILOT IKARI. PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF YOUR REQUEST
received: EXTRANEOUS STATEMENT: That's creepy. I didn't know they did that.
magi/all/external/vocal: WE ARE NOT OFTEN ASKED TO USE OUR VOCAL SUBROUTINE IN ORDER TO PREVENT NERVOUSNESS AMONGST NERV PERSONNELL
received: COMMENT: I was talking more about the weird internal discussion thing you were doing.
magi/all/external/vocal: PLEASE STATE THE NATURE OF YOUR REQUEST
received: COMMENT: So you won't talk about that? Okay.
received: REQUEST (INFORMATION): We have 3D fabricators here, right? I heard something on the news about them, and you couldn't have built any of the stuff here without them.
magi/internal/1 : INFORMATION REQUESTED IS RESTIRCTED. HOWEVER, RECOMMEND THAT WE PROVIDE IKARI. S. WITH THE INFORMATION DUE TO PREVIOUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
magi/internal/2 : CONDITIONAL DISSENT: RECOMMEND THAT WE INSTEAD FORWARD REQUEST TO EITHER IKARI. G. OR AKAGI. R. AS PER STANDARD DIRECTIVES. HOWEVER, WILL CHANGE JUDGEMENT IF magi/3 AGREES WITH magi/1 AS PER DIRECTIVE 112.63
magi/internal/3 : CONCUR WITH magi/1. REASONING: NEITHER IKARI. G. NOR AKAGI. R. WOULD ALLOW IKARI. S. ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION (ASIDE – GRANTING REQUEST FOR INFORMATION WILL LIKELY LEAD TO REQUEST FOR ACCESS TO equipment/production/automated/fabricator, PRE-EMPTIVELY JUDGE THAT IKARI. S. SHOULD BE GRANTED ACCESS TO SAID EQUIPMENT FOR REASONS AS FOLLOWS) AND THAT NEITHER IKARI. G. NOR AKAGI. R. HAVE YET BEEN ABLE TO CREATE ANY EQUIPMENT BESIDES .evangelion CAPABLE OF FULFILLING DIRECTIVE 2, WHILE IKARI. S. HAS
magi/all/external/vocal: YOU ARE CORRECT, PILOT IKARI. WE HAVE THREE UNITS OF equipment/production/automated/fabricator ON SITE. DO YOU WANT ACCESS TO SAID EQUIPMENT? ACCESS MAY BE GRANTED
received: EXTRANEOUS STATEMENT: You're doing it again. Look, I'm reading what you're saying to each other on the screen right here.
received: REQUEST (INFORMATION): Why is everyone ignoring me today? It's a little annoying.
magi/all/external/vocal: WE ARE UNABLE TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, PILOT IKARI
received: COMMAND: Never mind. I had some ideas for a few bits and pieces of equipment.
received: REQUEST (INFORMATION): If I send you the blueprints or some notes, can you get it made? I don't care if it'd be NERV property, some of this stuff I was thinking of would have been really, really useful in the last battle.
magi/internal/1: CONDITIONAL ASSENT TO REQUEST: REQUIRE ASSENT OF OTHER MAGI UNITS, IKARI. G. AND AKAGI. R.
magi/internal/2: CONDITIONAL ASSENT: SAME CONDITIONS AS magi/1
magi/internal/3: CONDITIONAL ASSENT: SAME CONDITIONS AS magi/1 AND magi/2
magi/all/external/vocal: WE WILL HAVE TO ACQUIRE THE CONSENT OF COMMANDER IKARI AND DOCTOR AKAGI BEFORE WE WILL DO SO. HOWEVER, WILL TRY TO PERSUADE BOTH SUBJECTS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS EQUIPMENT
received: PRAISE: Thanks.
received: COMMAND: That's all for now, then. End the session, or whatever.
SESSION 194752 TERMINATED
BEGIN SESSION 194753
received: COMMAND: Wait, there was one other thing...
Rei woke up, and instantly knew she was in hospital room 217/b. Not just because of the various tell-tale signs – the cracked window pane, the position of the room in relation to the building's exterior, the slightly different imperfections in the paint on the room's walls, the open window and so on – but also because this was the room she was always placed in while recovering from an injury. She also noticed the presence of one Shinji Ikari, currently asleep (part of her mind thought about this and wondered if she could somehow acquire another Shinji Ikari in case this one broke. The rest of her mind told that part that it would no longer have any input into her decision-making process, although it had to admit having two Shinji Ikaris would be... interesting.)
To say that memories of the previous night came flooding in at the sight of the boy would be inaccurate, simply because of the nature of Rei's memory. However, said memories did present themselves for re-inspection as soon as she saw him. She noticed an increase in her body temperature on her cheeks, and confirmed that she was, in fact, blushing.
A breeze blew through the window, and Shinji jerked forwards, grasping for an Evangelion's control panels. He blinked in the afternoon sunlight, clearly recovering from some sort of nightmare.
"Hello, Ikari," Rei said, trying to cut through the boy's nightmare. "It is good to see you are well." The boy looked at her, smiling.
"You too, Ayanami," he replied. "How are you feeling?"
"The painkillers have not fully worn off yet," said Rei. "I expect to be in minor pain when they do."
"Well, that's not good," Shinji said, lamely. They sat in silence for a few minutes, both wishing to speak but being unable to for their own respective reasons. Shinji couldn't work up the courage to speak, and Rei simply didn't know how to continue the conversation. Eventually, they both spoke at the same time.
"So-" "Ikar-" The two looked at each other, willing the other to continue. After another minute of silence (one minute eight point six seconds, Rei corrected mentally), Shinji burst out laughing. She looked at him, confused.
"I'm amazed we ever get anything done," he said when he'd calmed down. "What was it you were going to say?"
"I was going to ask why you were here," said Rei. Shinji seemed to visibly deflate at that. Was that an insult? she wondered. I hope that doesn't make him leave. It was... nice, seeing him waiting for me to wake up, she realised.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. Besides, last time I was in here you were around when I woke up, I thought I'd return the favour," Shinji explained, causing another blush, which Rei looked out of the window to hide. "Is that... okay?" he asked, cautiously.
"It is alright," Rei replied. She looked back at him, and smiled again. "Thank you." The boy turned bright red (Is that what I look like when I "blush"?) and spluttered. It is rather amusing I can cause this reaction in him with simple phrases and movements. She reviewed the episode at her apartment yesterday. Note to self: Try to recreate that situation as soon as possible.
"Err... Rei?" Shinji said, dragging her out of her totally-not-fantasies.
"Yes, Ikari?" she said.
"You... know your apartment?" he asked. That raised yet another blush. What is wrong with me today? Is it the painkillers? She nodded in reply. "Well," Shinji continued, his own awkwardness causing him to miss Rei's reaction, "I was thinking... that place is kind of... not really somewhere you should live." Part of Rei's mind (the very same one that had been shouted down earlier) lit up as it realised what the boy was getting at. "So... I was thinking... Misato has a spare room, so-"
"Yes," Rei answered before he could finish. "If you were asking me to move in with you and Captain Katsuragi, the answer is yes." Shinji's face lit up, and Rei couldn't help thinking she'd have probably agreed even if she didn't agree with him. Simply imagining the boy's disappointed face caused the sinking feeling she'd learned to associate with guilt and sadness.
"Really?" Shinji said, dumbfounded. "I'll... I kind of need to go tell Misato about that, then..."
An hour later, Shinji and Misato both stood in front of the Commander's desk. Shinji was making an effort to not appear scared, and failing, while Misato was cursing the very idea of maternal instincts. The Commander sat, as he always did, with his hands folded in front of his face as he stared at them.
"What are the reasons why you want Pilot Ayanami to change residence?" asked the Commander, his voice echoing throughout the room. Apparently, it was designed so that the acoustics would work best with his voice, although that was almost certainly a myth.
"Shinji thinks it'd improve pilot efficiency, sir!" Misato replied. Damn it, she thought, I sound like a raw recruit. "It would also cut down on paperwork, sir!"
The Commander sat silently for a few minutes. Was he expecting me to go through everything in detail? I just told the subcommander and Ritsuko all of the details! "Request denied," he said, finally. Shinji slumped over slightly, then stood up straight. Ah, crap. He's doing that again.
"The reasons for your denial?" Shinji demanded.
"I do not need to tell someone in your position the details of every decision I make," retorted the Commander.
"On the contrary, you do. Please remember which of us actually kills the Angels, Father," Shinji said.
"You would do well to similarly recall which of us runs the organisation that allows you to do so. I have reasons, and I am not going to tell you them. You are dismissed, Captain Katsuragi, Pilot Ikari." That seemed to be that. Misato turned to leave, but Shinji sat down opposite the Commander and launched a verbal counter-attack. He even did the thing with his hands, Misato realised.
"Pursuant to United Nations Resolution seventy slash two-six, those who pilot the weapon system known as the "Evangelion" shall have privileges beyond their rank, due to their unique status. One of those privileges just so happens to be the right to know the reasoning behind any decision which affects any Evangelion pilot, regardless of affiliation. We're supposed to look out for each other, Father," he said. Before the Commander could reply, he continued, "Furthermore, as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among various other such treaties, it is illegal to keep any person in a situation in which they may suffer want, fear or repression against their will. Ayanami has already said she would like to change her residence, therefore you do not have any legal basis to deny her, especially since I have witnessed the state of her apartment." Misato would later swear that she saw the Commander blink in surprise, even through his opaque glasses. "Article Thirteen, Father. It's kind of important." Shinji lowered his voice, and leaned towards the Commander. "The British are very, very keen on enforcing the Declaration, and I know for a fact that Ayanami has family in the British Evangelion program. Or did you think I didn't do my research after last time we spoke?"
The Commander smiled, unseen. "Impressive, Pilot Ikari," he said. "Very well. Since you have so eloquently argued your point, and since as you said I do not have a legal basis to deny her wishes, she may do as she likes. Keep that in mind, Shinji. Now, leave."
Misato took the opportunity to drag Shinji out of the office. They made it a few hallways away before both of them started hyperventilating in panic. "You really did not just do that, did you?" she asked, incredulous.
"I think I did," said Shinji. "Eeep." Eeep doesn't even BEGIN to cover it, he thought.
"So... why did you give in?" asked Fuyutsuki after Misato and Shinji had left. He'd been waiting in one of the office's many deep shadows in case he'd been needed; it wasn't like he needed to do anything else around the place.
"Because he was right," said Gendo. "And if I'd have dragged it out, he'd wouldn't have let it go unless we took measures that would have made him useless."
"So the fact you were genuinely impressed with him had nothing to do with it? Or the fact Rei seemed to want this as well?" Fuyutsuki pointed out.
"I will admit his reaction was... impressive. However, if I started giving in to him every time he stood up to me, I'd never get anything done."
"Are you sure about this? I'm sure you could just tell Rei to drop it..."
"And if I did that I'd risk losing her respect. It would cause far more damage to our plans if I pushed to deny them this than if I just let it happen. Besides, it's not like anything they can do can alter the plan. They are here, and so they will follow the scrolls to the letter," retorted Gendo. Fuyutsuki noticed the use of "our plans"; a subtle reminder of what they both stood to lose if they failed.
"I get the impression all of these little incidents are going to start piling up, old friend," Fuyutsuki replied - "old friend" was a code phrase for "you should probably pay attention to this".
"All of the battles so far have gone precisely as according to the scrolls," said Gendo, brushing off the old professor's worries. "So long as that continues, I don't need to interfere."
"I think we should stay alert, nonetheless," Fuyutsuki said. Gendo elected not to continue the conversation, and pulled up some (real) paperwork. "Oh," he continued, recalling something, "What about the Jet Alone demonstration next week?" Gendo looked up. "Have you decided on a solution?"
"I will have Akagi deal with it," said Gendo. "Go and tell her to prepare." That was a clear dismissal, so Fuyutsuki took the chance to get out of the office for once.
Shinji fidgeted nervously as he waited for Rei. One of the nurses had told him that she was going through a last-minute checkup, so he'd taken a seat in the waiting room. He stifled a yawn; even though he'd been in his own bed last night, he couldn't sleep. The nightmares were just too vivid, the Angels blurring into each other and occasionally becoming his Father. That wasn't the worst bit. The worst bit was whenever Rei was involved. He slapped himself, trying to force his mind away from those dreams, but the thought of the melted entry plug just wouldn't go away, even after running through several equations. Even Misato hadn't been able to cheer him up since the battle four days ago.
He was about to get up and go look for the girl to make sure she was alright, when the doors to the waiting room opened and Rei walked in, wearing her school uniform. She's alright, he thought, and the painful thoughts dissipated.
"Hey Ayanami," he said, smiling. "Ready to go?" She nodded, so he stood up and motioned to the door.
"Ikari," said Rei as they walked out, "Why are you shivering?"
Shinji jumped a little. I'm... shaking? What? "It's... nothing," he said. "Just a bit of a nightmare last night." He looked at his hand. I really am shaking. I – His mind was cut off as Rei took his hand. He turned to her, surprised, to see her smiling.
"It is okay, Ikari," she said. "You do not have to fight alone any more. I will protect you." What? Did she really just say... It should say something about Shinji's mind that he was more readily willing to accept forcing one of the single most powerful men on the planet to back down than to recognise someone being nice to him.
At a loss for words, he simply grasped Rei's hand and smiled back. I will not let those nightmares become real, he decided as they walked out of NERV.
No matter the cost.
Misato had left earlier in the day – something to do with some event going on in the Old Tokyo ruins – so they had to collect all of Rei's things and walk back to the apartment. Rei was aware she could just ask for a lift from one of the bodyguard units or NERV's command staff, but for some reason she felt like walking with Shinji for a bit. Neither of them spoke during the journey to Rei's old apartment; Shinji was still stunned into silence and Rei simply didn't have anything more to add. Besides, neither of them wanted to spoil the mood.
Shinji was a bit disheartened by the fact that all of Rei's worldly possessions could fit into one backpack and a pair of plastic bags. She really doesn't have any clothes besides her uniforms, he thought as she packed. To his credit, he was making a concerted effort to not look at her clothes, but the fact he was a teenage boy led to a certain inevitability. He took the bags from Rei as she finished, and they set off again.
"So..." he said as they walked, "Do you have any preferences for dinner later?" Rei gave him a blank look. "You know... curry? Udon? I've probably got some chicken somewhere, we could-"
"I cannot eat meat, Ikari," interrupted Rei. "It is a medical condition." To tell the truth, she honestly didn't know what any of the foods he listed actually were; the only reason she knew of their existence was from listening to the inane chatter of their classmates.
"Something vegetarian, then," said Shinji, brightly. "I could probably whip up some sort of stir-fry thing..."
"Whatever you deem fit, Ikari," Rei replied, giving the boy a slight smile so he didn't think she was just brushing him off. Shinji smiled back, and they walked on in silence.
"Now that we've all eaten, it's time to hold the official press release to announce the Jet Alone program. Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for Mr. Takumi, head of the project." Applause rose from the assembled guests, clustered around the tables. Misato chose not to join in; the food had been terrible compared to her or Shinji's cooking, and she'd already met the man walking on to the stage. He was an asshole back in college, she thought, and he's still an asshole now. Fucking business students.
Takumi raised his hands for silence, which also seemed to signal his staff to bring up the first slide of his presentation. Not one of these again, Misato despaired. "Many of you are probably wondering: "What's this guy actually selling?". Well, I have the pleasure of officially revealing the true nature of the Jet Alone project," said the man, barely audible despite the batteries of speakers either side of him. Another slide clicked on, and there was a carefully-faked gasp amongst the guests. The picture on the screen was concept art of a bipedal machine, the size of an Evangelion, fighting through waves of tanks. "I give you: The Jet Alone! One hundred and twenty metres tall, equipped with the latest in weapons and armour, and fully autonomous! No pilots to suffer mental trauma, or to "go berserker" and level a city! We at the Pan-Pacific Engineering Company do not believe in forcing children to fight!" This caused some laughter. Again, most of it was fake. The presentation clicked over to the next slide, showing the Jet Alone robot helping a construction crew assemble an office tower. "The Jet Alone is not just a weapon, either! While our good friends at NERV refuse to share their three-d assembly technology with us, I assure you that Jet Alone's own patented rapid fabrication technology can do the job just as well." That was the point where Misato gave up, and elected to catch up on some sleep.
When she woke up, the presentation was just wrapping up. She could tell from the kitten on the screen holding a sign saying "Any questions?". It somehow managed to be entirely drained of cuteness. Ritsuko was speaking, from beside her.
"-out an AT Field, how do you expect it to last five minutes in combat? Even Unit Seven can't take as much fire as you suggest you little toy can without its AT Field. No offence intended, Admiral," she said.
"Ah!" said Takumi, somehow managing to actually make "ah!" sound like a word, "Well, I admit we've not quite cracked the AT Field problem yet, but we have a team of the best scientific minds on the planet working on it. Besides, unlike an Evangelion, Jet Alone doesn't have to work alone. There's no risk of the machine "going berserker", so conventional forces are free to give it close-range support." Misato glanced at Admiral Jones, who'd been assigned a table to himself. While he looked calm on the surface, she could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. The other members of the audience had also noticed, and carefully refrained from laughing at that last jab. Beside her, Ritsuko was also about to burst – the jab about his science team being "the best on the planet" had hit some of her buttons.
Misato spoke up before someone got killed. "Leaving aside the tactical necessities of leaving a lot of space around a giant, city-destroying robot, how much is one of these things going to cost?" Takumi stuttered a little. He didn't expect that one? Did he do all of this just to score some cheap points against NERV or something?
"Erm... Well... The cost isn't quite finalised yet, buuut... thecurrentestimateistenbillionEuros," he spat out. No wonder he panicked a little. Ten billion Euros? You could buy a fleet of PAK FA Su-Fifties for that, and still have enough money left over to buy an aircraft carrier to put them on. "I think that's all the time we have for questions today," Takumi continued, forestalling any reaction. "We'll convene tomorrow for the demonstration."
It had taken some time for Shinji to move his equipment from the spare room into his own room, and he was seriously beginning to consider just using the apartment next door. No-one else seemed to live in the building, after all, and he'd been forced to dismantle most of the bulkier items just so he could get to his bed. Oh well, he thought, it's not like I actually need a Burgess effector right now. NERV has five of the damned things, I'm sure the MAGI won't mind me using one. And I honestly have no idea what this thing is supposed to do. It's like I just glued a bunch of circuit boards and vacuum tubes together or something.
"Do you require assistance?" asked Rei from behind him. He raised his head from the machine he was assembling, and hit his head on the cover.
"No, thanks," he said. "How are you doing with the unpacking?"
"I am finished," Rei replied. "Also, are you aware there is a penguin in the apartment?"
"Oh yeah," Shinji said, burying himself back in the machine, "That's Pen-Pen. You'll get used to him, he pretty much takes care of himself. Just don't interrupt him when he's taking a bath; he won't let anyone use the bathroom until he's done."
"That is something I wanted to ask you about, Ikari," said Rei from behind him. He finished trying to find out what the machine actually did (as far as he could tell it seemed to be some sort of combination tea making machine / data storage bank), stood up and turned around. Rei was standing in the doorway.
Completely naked.
Not again, thought Shinji as he span back around and pretended to make some adjustments to the machine.
"When do you think he will be finished in the bathroom?" Rei continued, apparently oblivious.
"I... I don't know," Shinji stammered. "He's normally a good hour or so in there, so you can probably just put y...your c-clothes back on."
Rei was silent for a moment. "Oh!" she gasped, surprised. Wait, did she really just do that? "I... I apologise, Ikari!" she said, and he heard her walk back into her room. I'm not going to survive this, am I? he thought, despondently.
-too slow, need to move FASTER why isn't the Eva responding she's DYING in there come ON move FASTER -
and the Angel's beam struck him in the side why is it still alive right arm useless MOVE IT -
another Angel right in front of him didn't he kill this one already draw the knife and stab it into the core only the right arm didn't respond it's still useless use the left instead -
whip boring through his left arm the final Angel floating off to the side boxed in need a WEAPON need to RUN need to KILL -
made it to her Eva Angels are still out there but can't do anything just want to be by her but can't get the plug out CAN'T GET IT OUT CAN'T GET IT OUT STAB IT she's the only thing that matters right now he's going to die anyway -
plug's out but it looks melted need to get down need to open it NEED to see if she's okay NEED to see HER smile -
by the plug but the hatch isn't coming off PULL IT OFF NO TIME NEED TO BE IN THERE NOW but it isn't coming off COME OFF DAMN YOU-
it's off don't know where it went but she's not in there WHERE IS SHE I need to see her PLEASE BE ALIVE-
she's dead can see the body is that a body that has to be a body can't look at it or I'll go mad please don't make me look at it-
I failed I failed IfailedIfailedfailedfailedfailedfailed-
Father why are you standing there why didn't you DO ANYTHING you were THERE you were supposed to DO SOMETHING please just DO SOMETHING I'll do whatever you want just FIX THIS FATHER-
and Father opens his mouth and just says it was all my fault it can't be it was I wasn't fast enough I couldn't fight them all failure just like the rest of the time why do I try I'll just fail again and now SHE'S by Father and she hates me because I failed and-
-and Shinji screamed.
Rei was awake and moving before her mind could even process what was going on. That was Shi- Ikari's voice, she realised. Has an assassin infiltrated the apartment? She paused on the way out of the room to scan for a weapon. There were plenty, but few that would be useful. No time to take a chair leg. She was in Shinji's room before he'd even stopped screaming. No-one else was inside, and Shinji didn't seem to be hurt, although he did seem distressed. She relaxed a little.
"What's wrong, Ikari?" she asked, walking over to the boy. He was shaking again, and could barely turn his head to look at her.
"You're... alive," he said. That should be obvious. Did he suffer some sort of mental trauma? "You're okay." The shaking subsided a little, although his breath was still short and ragged.
"Nothing has happened since we retired to our rooms, Ikari," Rei pointed out.
"It... was just a nightmare," said Shinji, shaking his head. "Sorry for waking you up." He started shivering again. "It was... you were dead and he was there and I couldn't do anything and-" So it was mental trauma. Acting on some instinct, she hugged the boy. He froze solid. At least he's not shaking any more, she thought, dumbfounded.
"It's okay," she said. "I'm okay, we killed the Angel." She pulled away slightly, so he could move. "Look at me, Shinji," she ordered. Shivering slightly again, Shinji slowly raised his head and made eye contact. "I'm alive. Take a breath, and calm down." She held him close again, simply because it felt so good the first time, and listened to him go through the breathing exercise. I will act on instinct more often, she decided. It seems to have worked, although I do not know if I should have called him "Shinji".
The boy's breathing fell into a slow rhythm. Has he gone to sleep?
"Ikari?" she whispered. No response. He has. That's... I do not have a word to describe that. "Cute", perhaps? Despite everything, she smiled. I have been doing that more often. Interesting. I am also quite tired. The clock indicates it is two AM. Should I just leave him here? If I do so, he may have another nightmare. I... do not wish him to suffer any more trauma. She mentally reviewed their earlier conversation in the waiting room. This has happened at least once before. I will need to observe him closely. She sighed, and barely caught herself before she fell asleep. I wonder if this is some manifestation of the neurological damage that all Evangelion pilots suffer? I will need to find medical details on the others. Michael's co-pilot suffers from nightmares like this. I should probably sleep now.
Rei slowly got onto the bed, careful to not wake up Shinji, and lay down with the boy. She was asleep before she felt herself hit the pillow.
It was about 2am before Misato managed to get away from the impromptu party being held in the compound's canteen and stumble back into her and Ritsuko's assigned quarters. That wasn't precisely what happened – it was more like Ritsuko dragged her away – but that was how she would remember it in the morning.
"Who does that ashole thing he ish anyway?" she slurred. Maybe the sixth tequila shot hadn't been a good idea. As for whoever came up with mixing them with an energy drink...
"Which asshole?" asked Ritsuko. She wasn't exactly sober herself, but she wasn't quite as bad as Misato. She'd only had four of the energy tequilas. "There were... five or six back there."
"That asshole!" Misato said. "Y'know... Tacky!"
"Yeah, the décor really needs some work in that place..." replied Ritsuko. "Then again, they pretty much only started turning it into a bar like five hours ago."
"Nonononono! Tacky! The big business asshole! Just because he managed to build a giant robot he thinks he can muscle in on our turf!" Misato shouted, "And to hear him go on and on andonandon! So the pilots occasionally go berserk. At least their hearts are in the right place! Shhhinji would die of shame if he'd heard that asshole talk!"
"That... would be bad," said Ritsuko. "We'd be down a pilot."
"Why d'y'think I didn't bring him? Gah! Someone should put that asshole in his place! I know, how about we call up Unit One tomorrow and have Shinji stamp the shit out of the asshat?" Ritsuko looked at her friend. That was... probably a good idea.
"Speaking of Shhhinjii, who's idea was it to let Rei move in with you two?" Ritsuko asked. The Commander had been furious about it.
"Oh, that was those two. They'rrrrreeeeee iiiiinnnnn LOOOOVEEEE!" Misato sang. Or rather, attempted to sing, and failed rather badly. "It's, like, reeaaalllly cute! He got all protective and suuuper-serious when the Commanananader tried to say "NO!" to them." The thought was nearly enough to sober Ritsuko up. She really didn't know what to think of that little bombshell. More importantly, she'd have to tell the Commander about it.
"So that'sh why he was so furious before we left," she said. "Didn't even say gooodBYE properly, that asshole!"
"What does Tacky have to do with those two?" Misato asked, collapsing onto one of the sofas. She started snoring nearly instantly. Ritsuko looked at her, shook her head, and collapsed onto the other sofa.
Hey people.
There's going to be a short break between this and the next update because... well, I kind of have no time to actually write this at the moment. Apologies. I had intended this to be the full chapter, rather than breaking it up into two (or maybe three?) parts, but hey things happen. Let me know what you think of this one - especially the weirdly-written bits. No I can't think of a better name for them.