"Major Katsuragi has a difficult situation ahead of her" remarked a worried Maya inside NERV's command center.
"Yes, she definitely does" Ritsuko agreed, reading data on a terminal "The umbilical power cable has been disconnected from Unit 01, so the only source of power it has is what's left inside the internal battery"
"How long can it…?" Maya began to ask, worried.
"If Shinji activates life support mode and does not move Unit 01, it will last about ten more hours" said the blonde "We will have to find a solution for this within that time"
Not far from the gigantic circular shadow of the angel, NERV had set up an improvised checkpoint, where Misato, several operators and the two operational pilots were at that moment. Surrounded by them was abundant machinery, there to help them analyze the angel. Units 00 and 02 were also located very close, ready to be used whenever necessary.
Misato observed the visible part of the angel through binoculars. The black and white sphere had remained motionless for hours, which at least gave them time to make a plan.
"The United Nations' forces are ready" Aoba reported, pressing keys in a terminal a few steps away from Misato.
"I wonder why they sent ground troops" Makoto stated next to him. It seemed obvious that that kind of manpower was not particularly useful against their current target.
"They want to pressure us" Misato remarked, lowering the binoculars but without taking her eyes off the angel "What about the shadow?" she asked later.
"It's still motionless, its diameter remains below seven hundred meters" Makoto reported.
A short distance away, while this conversation was taking place, Rei stared intently at the blackness of the shadow in front of her eyes, her usually stoic face replaced by a worried expression. It was the first time since Shinji and her had become a couple that the boy was in serious danger during an operation, at least for that long. The blue-haired girl was a calm person, but it was impossible for her to stay so under those circumstances. She felt anxious and uneasy and those feeling only seemed to grow stronger as the minutes passed. She wished with all her might that she could do something, anything to get Shinji out of there safely, but at the moment there was nothing she could do. Her only option was to wait for Major Katsuragi to come up with a plan, and when that time came, give her best effort to make that plan bear fruit.
Asuka, respectively, was having mixed feelings about that whole situation. On one hand, her wounded ego had been partially healed when Shinji could do nothing to defeat the angel on his own. On the other hand, however, Asuka couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt in the back of her mind, since if Shinji had gone ahead of her and Rei it had been precisely because she herself had suggested it just before the operation began. The girl tried to quell that feeling by telling herself that, after all, someone had to be the one leading, but her strategy wasn't working. She frowned, realizing that the faces of everyone around her showed concern for Shinji's situation, which, in turn, made her feel guiltier. Finally, in an unconscious decision, she decided to do what she always did when she was not pleased: complain.
"What a pathetic performance" Asuka said while putting her arms on her hips, trying to externalize a confidence she didn't really feel at that moment "He may have the best sync rate, but he's clearly not the best pilot"
Rei, who had not spoken a word to Asuka since they got out of their Evas, felt that remark as if she had just been slapped. The anxiety she was experiencing was already bad enough, but hearing Asuka speak ill of Shinji at precisely that moment infuriated her. The bluenette glared daggers at the redhead, which the latter immediately noticed. Initially the German girl was taken by surprise by the intensity of Rei's gaze. She had never seen her like that before, but she quickly composed herself "Any problem, doll? Does it bother you if I speak the truth about your boyfriend?"
"You're not speaking the truth" the bluenette replied, her words quick and direct "Shinji's performance was not pathetic, if you or me had been in his place we would be inside that shadow right now"
"I don't doubt that you would have failed too, but I must remind you that the shadow tried to swallow me and I managed to escape" Asuka replied, trying to sound sure of herself.
"Yes, but only after you had seen how unit 01 was swallowed and you were aware of the danger the shadow implied" Rei replied immediately "Without that information you would have suffered the same fate as Shinji"
Asuka fell silent. That was an argument she couldn't refute. Annoyed at not having anything to say to that, she changed the subject "Well, it's his fault anyway, for trying to play the hero by leading the operation"
"You were the one who suggested that. If anyone is to blame, it's you" the bluenette snapped, clearly upset. Asuka felt her guilt growing exponentially. She tried to come up with something to counterattack with, but she couldn't think of anything.
Rei remained silent, her anger fading quickly, replaced by concern and anguish "I wish Shinji hadn't listened to you. I wish I had been the one who led the operation... and he was here... safe" the girl barely managed to say, her voice almost breaking.
The Second Child was surprised by those words. To begin with, she had fully expected for Rei to wish that she, Asuka, was the one the angel would have swallowed instead of Shinji, not herself. But seeing the grieving face and hearing the trembling voice of the First Child was something that Asuka never expected to witness "Does she love the idiot that much?" the red-haired girl thought, suddenly feeling awful about her own words.
Unable to stand Rei's presence any longer, although this time for completely different reasons than usual, Asuka walked away from there.
Several hours later, Shinji Ikari woke up, feeling exhausted and hungry. He never imagined that sleeping could leave someone so tired. It took him a few seconds to process where he was. As soon as he realized that he was inside the Entry-Plug of Unit 01, the events of that day came flooding back to him, and fear took hold of him again. He activated Eva 01's vision for a moment, hoping to see something else than a white void. He wasn't that fortunate.
The boy turned off the Eva's vision again to avoid wasting power. He looked at the timer on his Plug-Suit, which he had started as soon as he activated the Eva's support mode, shortly after he was swallowed by the shadow of the angel "I've been here for eight hours now... I should have another two before power runs out" Shinji thought apprehensively, the most primordial of fears taking hold of his mind "Am I going to die here?"
"So, the shadow is the angel's true body" said a worried Misato.
"That's correct. Approximately 680 meters in diameter and three nanometers thick" explained Ritsuko, in front of a blackboard full of information about the angel "Abstract mathematics define the region inside it as the Dirac Sea, which could be connected to another spatial dimension. That's where Unit 01 is"
"And what is that giant sphere, then?" Misato asked.
"That floating object is just a reflection of the angel in our dimension" explained the doctor "As soon as the angel is destroyed, it should disappear with it"
"Well, what can we do to destroy the angel and get Shinji out of there, then?" the operations director then asked.
Ritsuko was silent for a moment, her face serious "The only method that could work would be to launch all available N2 bombs at the center of the angel while the two available Eva units nullify the angel's AT field with their own" the woman explained "If we concentrate enough destructive power at that moment, we can hopefully destroy the angel and the Dirac Sea with it"
Misato frowned at that idea "But what will happen to Shinji in that situation? Didn't you say he's inside that Dirac Sea?" the NERV operations director asked not pleased in the slightest "What kind of rescue operation is this?"
"Recovering unit 01 is the priority of this operation, and this is the only solution that allows that" Ritsuko replied coldly.
"But..." Misato began to protest.
"In this situation the pilot's life can't be taken into account" the blonde added before Misato was able to say anything else. In a fraction of a second, the purple-haired woman closed the distance separating her from the doctor and gave her a resounding slap. Ritsuko was stunned for a few seconds, then returned her gaze to Misato, while caressing her sore cheek "...If we lose Shinji it will be your fault. Don't forget that, operations director" the woman said with anger in her voice.
"Why are you and the commander so concerned about recovering unit 01?" Misato asked, her gaze sharp. With a quick gesture he grabbed the scientist by the lapels of her white coat "What are really the Evangelions?"
"The information I have given you is all we know" Ritsuko replied not very convincingly.
"You're lying" Misato spatted.
"...Misato, trust me" the blonde whispered, looking into her eyes for a moment. After that, she regained her composure. "I will take command in this operation" she added before walking away to start working on that, leaving behind a thoughtful Misato.
"The Second Impact, the Evangelions, the Human Instrumentality Project, the Second Angel…" the woman thought "There are so many things I barely know anything about"
Ritsuko explained her plan to the operators and the pilots shortly after, making it clear to them that it was the only option available. The faces of everyone present made apparent that no one was very pleased with the situation, but no one received the news as badly as Rei.
During the last few hours, the girl's anxiety had been increasing slowly but constantly, knowing that every minute that passed was one minute less until the time came for the internal battery of Unit 01 to run out of energy. But, at least until that point, she had hoped that as soon as they had a plan to rescue him everything would be solved. Discovering then that the only plan at their disposal offered, at best, a slim chance of Shinji getting out of that situation alive made her nauseous. She had a hard time maintaining her composure while Dr. Akagi finished giving the necessary instructions. She couldn't lose Shinji. Not like that.
Asuka, respectively, did not receive the news gladly either. If the redhead already felt bad about the situation, knowing that the chances of saving Shinji were so slim made her feelings of guilt increase even more. She discreetly glanced at Rei, who was next to her listening to Dr. Akagi, her face and body language not being able to hide the concern and anguish that she was feeling at that moment. Asuka lowered her head, looking at the floor. She felt like trash.
Shinji opened his eyes. He was sitting in the seat of a train. In front of him, sitting on the opposite seat, an exact copy of himself was looking back at him.
"Who are you?" Shinji asked, the words coming out from his mouth without needing to think about them.
"I am Shinji Ikari" the other replied.
"That's my name" replied the Third Child.
"And mine too. I am the Shinji Ikari that exists inside your mind" the copy indicated.
"Are you my inner self?" the boy asked.
"That's right. There are many others like me. There is the Shinji Ikari that exists inside Rei Ayanami's mind, the one inside Misato Katsuragi's mind, the one inside Asuka Langley Sohryu's mind... each of them are different, but they are all Shinji Ikari " the copy explained.
"Yes... you're right" Shinji murmured.
"You fear the Shinjis that exist inside the minds of others. You don't want they to dislike the Shinjis that exist in their minds. You don't want them to hate you. You don't want them to hurt you" the copy declared later.
"Of course not. I don't want to suffer" Shinji agreed.
Barely a second after saying this one of his memories materialized before his eyes. He was walking behind Rei, both of them heading towards NERV "You don't trust your father's work?" the girl asked in an even voice. After Shinji denied that, she glared disapprovingly at him.
The memory vanished, being replaced with another. This time he and Asuka were sitting in the living room of Misato's apartment, the redhead glaring daggers at him "You are the biggest pervert I have ever had the misfortune of meeting! I can't believe you… did that with the doll!"
Again the memory was replaced by another. Now it was Misato who was in front of him, scolding him for disobeying her order to retreat during the Fourth Angel's attack "It's not enough for me that you tell me you're sorry, you have to obey orders from now on"
Now he was in his schoolyard, Touji punching him and making him fall to the ground for his little sister's injuries that the battle against the Third Angel caused.
A second later, he was on the walkway of Eva 01, looking at his father. The man returned an indecipherable look, his face serious "I have called you to pilot the Evangelion"
The next moment, Shinji was a four-year-old child, watching his father turn his back on him as he walked away from his life.
Shinji found himself back on the train, his copy in front of him "I don't want to suffer. I don't want others to hurt me" he stated.
"Yes. But suffering is a part of life. There is no happiness without sadness. There is no pleasure without pain" the copy said.
"That's true" Shinji admitted.
"Do you want to stop suffering?" the copy asked.
"Yes, I don't want to suffer anymore" Shinji acknowledged.
"If you stop living you will stop suffering. But you will not be able to experience happiness either. Do you want that?" was the copy's next question.
Shinji was silent. Again the image of the train disappeared and was changed to one of his memories. He was in his schoolyard, sitting under a tree with Touji and Kensuke, while they were having lunch. Touji asked him what he thought of Asuka, and Shinji replied "Honestly, I think her ego is the size of her Eva" the three of them started laughing afterwards.
After that, Shinji was inside Unit 01, just after defeating the seventh angel with Asuka. The redhead looked at him through the intercom of his own Eva with an honest smile on her face "Just because we defeated the angel I'll forgive you, but don't get used to it"
He was now at Misato's apartment, shortly after revealing to the woman that Rei and him were a couple. Misato asked him to treat his girlfriend nicely, Shinji replied that she could be sure that he would do it. Misato put a hand affectionately on the boy's shoulder before smiling widely while saying "Actually... I already am sure of it, I know you're a good boy too"
In front of him was Rei, both standing face to face to each other under the moonlight, the night they celebrated Misato's promotion to Major. The girl looked determined at his eyes and confessed her feelings for him "I love you, Shinji"
A moment later, they were at her apartment the next day, Rei put aside a lunchbox and leaned towards him, bringing her face closer to his "You make me happy. I love you, Shinji" she said before joining her lips with his.
Now they were standing in the same apartment, days later, Rei gazing tenderly at him "I don't want you to be nervous when you are with me, I want you to be happy. If at some point you want us to try that, I'm willing. If you don't want to, that's also fine with me too. I just want you to love me and be with me, that's what makes me happy" she said before hugging him affectionately.
They were standing again in Rei's apartment, a day later, embracing each other. Shinji asked her if she was sure of what they were about to do. Rei directed him a loving gaze "I'm sure. I want to be one with you, Shinji. In body, mind and soul"
The memories faded, and Shinji was back on the train once again. He stared at his copy and shook his head "No. I don't want to stop living"
"Even if you are going to suffer?" the copy asked him.
"Even if I'm going to suffer, it's worth it" the boy replied "I'm not going to run away"
The image of the train disappeared. Shinji found himself floating on an endless white void. A bright female silhouette approached him, extending her arms, and hugged him. Shinji noticed an indecipherable familiarity in the silhouette, and felt safe in her arms. Then it dawned on him why that silhouette felt familiar.
"Mother?"
"The two units are in position, ready to neutralize the angel's AT field" Makoto reported, the tension clear in his voice.
"Sixty seconds to launch the bombs" Maya indicated.
"Understood" Ritsuko said, observing the scene from the command center.
Rei stared intently at the angel's shadow from inside Unit 00, anxiety filling her mind. It was then or never. She couldn't allow himself to fail, the chances of Shinji getting out of there alive were already slim. The girl gripped the controls of Eva 00 tightly, getting ready for the signal.
Then, the ground began to shake.
Rei widened her eyes, surprised, when she saw how the ground on which the gigantic circular shadow was began to crack, red debris scattering through the air in every direction. Asuka, inside Unit 02, had the same puzzled expression "What's going on?" the redhead asked, stunned.
"What's wrong? Report!" demanded a worried Misato, not understanding what was going on.
"We don't know what's happening, the indicators are off scale" stated a worried Maya.
"But we haven't done anything yet..." said a surprised Ritsuko.
"Could it have been Shinji?" Misato inquired, a small hope making its way through her mind.
"Impossible. The battery of Unit 01 has to be exhausted" replied the faux blonde.
While this was happening, the sphere that was levitating above the city began to contort on itself, then its color became completely black and, finally, a huge robotic hand made its way through it, expelling a large jet of blood from within. Everyone involved watched in astonishment as a second hand made its way through the same hole just opened by the first hand, widening its gap, causing blood to flow even more. After that, the head of unit 01 emerged from the hole, emitting a guttural scream. A new struggle by Eva 01 caused the angel to begin to collapse in on itself, allowing the upper half of the robot to emerge.
"What kind of monster have we created...?" Ritsuko murmured quietly, but loud enough for Misato to hear, who directed her a narrow look. The woman shook her head shortly after, this was not the time to think about that.
Asuka watched the scene in shock. She had never seen an Evangelion act so uncanny and feral "Am I piloting something like that?" she thought, unable to help but feel slightly afraid.
Rei, respectively, watched the scene equally surprised, but harboring mixed feelings. The scene was grotesque, but it also meant that the chances of Shinji emerging from the situation unscathed were much greater than before.
Unit 01 managed to remove its entire body from the angel's sphere, after which it descended to the ground in one jump. The sphere ended up convulsing on itself and burst, causing a literal rain of blood for a few seconds. Once this dissipated, the only thing that could be seen was Eva 01, which emitted one last roar before staying completely still.
Once the angel's defeat was confirmed, and the planes were informed to abort launching the N2 bombs, recovery personnel was quickly deployed and rushed towards Unit 01, with the objective of recovering the pilot as soon as possible, treating his injuries if he had any, and taking care of his physical condition, which would undoubtedly be diminished after so much time stuck inside the Eva... as long as they found him alive. The Eva's power reserves were completely depleted, which meant no intercom or readings from the command center, so there was no way to know if Shinji was alive or not until he was taken out of the Entry-Plug. However, none of the recovery personnel vehicles arrived before Unit 00.
Rei rushed Unit 00 towards Unit 01 as soon as she had confirmation that the angel had been destroyed. In the blink of an eye she was in front of it, forcibly opening the entrance of the Entry-Plug to take it out and carefully place it on the ground. Then, just like Shinji had done after defeating the Fifth Angel, the bluenette got off her Evangelion and ran towards the boy's Entry-Plug as fast as her legs could carry her.
The First Child opened the hatch of the Entry-Plug, her anxiety causing her heart to race "Shinji!" she exclaimed while shoving her head inside. There was the aforementioned, sitting on the Entry-Plug's seat, his eyes closed.
Rei rushed over to the boy, fearing the worst "Shinji! Are you alright?" she asked again once she closed the distance with him. Then, she noticed that he was still breathing. Shinji was alive. An immeasurable feeling of relief flood through her entire being, her anguish quickly fading away. Tears began to fall from her eyes, sliding freely down her cheeks.
Shinji felt dizzy. He noticed how a voice called his name and a pair of hands holding his shoulders. He opened his eyes, and could make out the blurry silhouette of a person before him. His eyes then focused and he could finally see that the one standing before him was Rei, with obvious concern on her and tears running down her cheeks, staring at him.
"Rei..." he managed to say weakly. Seeing her there, next to him again, seemed like a dream after the hours she had experienced inside the angel.
"Shinji..." was the only thing the girl could say before wrapping her arms around him with extreme care and resting her head on his neck "Thank goodness you're alive…" she managed to say between sobs.
"I'm sorry I worried you…" the Third Child whispered.
"Don't talk..." Rei whispered back "Save your energy... recovery personnel will be here soon"
Shinji didn't say anything, he just nodded and closed his eyes. He was back and Rei was with him. Apologies could wait.
The recovery team arrived at the Entry-Plug shortly after. After checking Shinji's vital signs, they took him away and promptly transferred him to NERV's medical facility, where they could treat him further. Fortunately, the boy did not have any significant injuries or conditions after the event, he was just hungry and a little dehydrated from having spent so many hours locked inside his Eva. Nothing that a meal, a little serum and a good night's rest couldn't remedy. Once the medical staff finished the tests and treatments, they left the boy alone to rest. Shinji had fallen asleep shortly after, still tired, and didn't open his eyes until several minutes later.
The boy stared at the ceiling of the medical facility, which was already beginning to look familiar, and the presence of a person sitting in front of his bed, holding his hand. Rei, as expected, had come to see him as soon as she was allowed and had waited patiently for him to regain consciousness. Shinji sat up slightly and opened his mouth to say something, when the girl got up from the chair and partially climbed onto the bed, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. The boy reciprocated to the gesture gently, also wrapping his arms around the girl's back.
"Rei... are you okay?" Shinji said as he brought one of his hands to the back of the girl's head and gently stroked her hair.
"I thought I would lose you today" the girl whispered, her voice barely audible "I was terrified"
"...I'm sorry" the boy apologized "I didn't want to worry you"
"It's not your fault" the bluenette murmured, tightening her grip on him "But please, try not to let it happen again. I don't want to go through this again"
"I'll try" Shinji murmured. They were both silent for a few more seconds, after which Rei finally released her hold on him and sat back down on the chair in front of the bed "By the way, what happened in the end? How did you guys defeated the angel?"
"We didn't defeat it, don't you remember what happened?" the bluenette asked, to which the boy simply shook his head "Unit 01 went berserk and teared its way through the floating body of the angel, ripping it into pieces" the girl explained, much to Shinji's surprise "It was... quite the grotesque scene"
"Oh..." was the only thing Shinji could reply to that "Well, I guess it's better that that happened than not, or I probably wouldn't be here right now" the boy thought. He didn't have much time to dwell on the matter, however, as the door of the room opened right after, making way for Misato and Asuka.
"Shinji!" the woman exclaimed, very happy to see that he was awake "How are you feeling?"
"Tired" recognized the Third Child "But fine otherwise"
"I'm glad to hear you're fine, you had us really worried. Do you remember what happened?" the woman asked curiously.
"No, but Rei was helping me catch up" the boy said, glancing back at his girlfriend. Right after he opened his mouth, yawning "...Damn, I sure am tired"
"Honestly, I think we're all pretty tired, it's been a very long day" Misato said "Honestly, I think it's best if we all go to rest, it's also getting kind of late" the woman said after checking her watch "We'll see you tomorrow, Shinji"
"I guess you're right" Shinji said "See you tomorrow, then"
Rei approached him once again to kiss him softly on his cheek before muttering a quiet "Goodnight", earning them a very teasing grin from Misato, which Shinji did his best to ignore. Both his girlfriend and her guardian began to head towards the door, when they realized that Asuka had not moved at all, she was still standing next to the boy's bed.
"Asuka, aren't you coming?" Misato asked curiously.
"I... I'm coming in a moment, I have to talk about something first with Shinji... alone" said the redhead without looking at her "I won't take long, you can get out"
Those present were surprised to hear this. Asuka had been in a bad mood for several days, especially with Shinji, so the fact that she now wanted to talk to him alone was something that no one expected. Still, the redhead's expression and her body language seemed to indicate that she wasn't angry, so it looked like there would be no problem in letting them talk in private. Misato raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any more questions "Alright, I'll wait for you outside, then" she said before walking out of the room.
Rei, respectively, stared at Asuka dubiously, then gave Shinji an inquisitive look. The boy smiled and nodded, letting her know that he would be fine. Rei smiled back gently before saying goodbye to him once more and leaving through the door like Misato seconds before her. Once they were alone in the room the Third Child turned his attention back to Asuka.
"Alright… what do you want to talk about?" the boy asked curiously. The redhead grimaced and, in a quite unusual behavior for her, darted her eyes to her left, avoiding eye contact with him.
"I... wanted to..." the girl began to speak, the words not coming out with ease "...apologize" she finally said.
Shinji raised an eyebrow, not understanding what she meant "Apologize? Why?"
"Because I taunted you to take the lead in today's operation and that caused all of this" the girl said while crossing her arms, still without looking directly at him "Although you are an idiot for falling for that, it's still my fault"
"Oh... that's what you meant" Shinji murmured, scratching his head "Don't worry about that, someone had to take the lead anyways. If it hadn't been me it would have been you, or Rei. I don't think things would have changed much"
"Yeah, well… that's true" Asuka said, not very convinced. The idiot was taking it too lightly "Still, I don't like owing anyone anything so accept the stupid apology and let's move on"
"Okay, okay, apology accepted" Shinji said, trying not to chuckle. Apologizing was not Asuka's strong suit, that much was clear "If I'm being honest, I expected something else"
Asuka looked at him for the first time since they were alone in the room "What do you mean?"
"I thought you wanted to apologize for how you reacted a few days ago when we talked about… the night I spent away from home" Shinji replied, blushing slightly.
"Oh…that" Asuka thought, realizing that she had been treating Shinji worse than usual for several days already because of that incident. With that day's operation she had completely forgotten about it. The girl felt a sting of guilt again "Yeah, well... that wasn't very nice from me either. I guess..." the redhead stopped mid sentence, trying to come up with the right words "...I guess I owe you an apology for that too. It's none of my business what you two do... and also..." the girl looked away again "Today I have realized that she really loves you... I guess she's not a doll after all"
Shinji was surprised by Asuka's words. It was unusual to hear the redhead speak so highly of Rei, but Asuka finally realizing that the bluenette was a person with emotions was a more than welcome change "I'll accept your apology, Asuka, on one condition"
Asuka looked back at the boy, curiosity welling up on her face "Which one?"
"That you stop calling Rei doll" Shinji replied, smiling slightly.
Asuka felt relief. She mirrored the boy's smile and sighed "That seems fair to me"
They were both happily silent for a few moments, until the girl spoke again "Well, I guess I should get going. See you tomorrow, idiot" the girl said before turning around and approaching the door.
"While you're at it, you could also stop calling me an idiot" Shinji said, watching her walk away.
"That wasn't the deal" Asuka said before sticking her tongue out at him and quickly leaving the room.
Shinji chuckled and lay back down on the bed "That is also fair, I guess" he thought before closing his eyes.
To be continued...