Neon Genesis Evangelion:

Apocryphal Rhythms

Part7

by ZERØ's Wings

Rei took her clothes from the dryer and quickly slipped back into them. The jeans and blouse were unusually casual clothing for her; Dr. Akagi had suggested she buy them on their first and only shopping trip together, less than a year ago. She found them to be far more comfortable than her school uniform and her plugsuit, the only other articles of clothing she owned.

Rei was excited by the idea of living with Ikari-kun, and Major Katsuragi. She had always abhorred social functions, and remained quite distant from most people, but now she would be sharing her living space with two people she already knew and found agreeable.

Agreeable? Isn't Ikari far more than that to you? The harping, shrill child's voice of Rei I demanded. Rei III shook her head. I do not know. I care about him, but I have not had time to assess my own feelings. Also, I do not know if those feelings are mutual between us.

Are you afraid that they aren't? The voice said, and then dissipated, letting that question echo vexingly in Rei's head. She resumed dressing herself, but was now visibly shaken.

My mind was not meant to progress this far, Rei thought. I can feel myself pushing past borders, running down gates, letting emotions come as they will. She was just about to put a sock on her left foot, thereby completing her outfit, when a horrible tremor rushed through her body. Rei bit down into the loose skin in the joint of her forefinger and thumb. This pain was worse than any before, and was accompanied by the worst rush of memories she had yet experienced. She could taste blood in her mouth, she was biting so hard, but her body didn't feel a thing. The last coherent thought that entered her mind was the image of a bottle of pills, lying forlorn on the bathroom sink at her apartment. Then, her body and mind collapsed before an assault of static images and half-forgotten words.

Rei saw herself constantly falling through immense panes of stained glass. Each pane was a distinct, usually painful memory, fragmented into bold colors that shattered up around her into crystalline forms. The murder of Rei I, Unit 00's activation test, Unit 01 rejecting her violently, and the self-detonation of Unit 00 all rushed up to meet her, then exploded into colorful shrapnel. Her kaleidoscopic plummet was accompanied by a thousand voices, spoken from a thousand mouths all humming in her skull and blasting any independent thoughts from her mind. It was a complete sensory overload.

Old hag//TabHeRisWhoAbOverElComes-108\\7 Eyes(Englel) Sins Names(Angelus) Virtues Members(Colors)-"Why don't<Can't kill>you try smiling<the same>To become one?"

Rei's entire body was shrinking away as her mind expanded into the horrible, blight-ridden fields of the human psyche. Soon she was just a featureless head, or perhaps only a pair of eyes and ears, floating through the colorful barriers of stained glass memories as her subconscious screamed at her. Finally, what was left sentient of Rei fell through a final stained glass window, one depicting the Lance of Longinus floating, with the scarred, pallid surface of the moon behind it. Beyond that last colorful panel were the figures of Adam and God, each with an index finger outstretched, just about to make contact. She fell into the space between the two fingers, into an oily darkness, a liquid void that crushed her identity.

There were no tormenting voices in the void. They had all gone. Even Rei Ayamani was gone.

*****

Shinji's stomach made a grumbling noise. He left his SDAT on the couch and moseyed over to the kitchen for a snack. It was there that he met up with Misato, who was dressed in her official NERV uniform, complete with her red beret and buttoned-over jacket flaps. She had let her hair down, however, which was unusual when she was dressed this formally.

"I've been called in," she said flatly. "I'll be home late tonight, so go ahead and make yourself dinner."

"Misato-san, Rei asked if she could stay with us for awhile," Shinji said tentatively.

"Fine by me," she said, gritting her teeth a little. Despite Shinji's constant self-deprecation and Asuka's rampant bitchiness, Rei was the child who made her feel the most uncomfortable, especially since learning the truth of the dummy plugs. "She can stay in Asuka's room, if she's going to be here a few days," Misato offered. "Did she say when she'd be coming over?"

"Actually, she's already here," Shinji explained. "Sh-she uh, she came by last night," he stuttered.

Misato raised a single eyebrow; then laughed when she saw the nervous look on Shinji's face. She had no reason to worry about them. She ruffled up Shinji's hair a bit. "Hold down the fort while I'm gone, Shinji-kun." She winked at him and he gave her a limp, weary smile. In the next moment, she was out the door.

Shinji sighed and opened the refrigerator. There were a few bags of ice and some snacks, but Misato had cleared out all the beer. She had stopped drinking since Kaji died. Shinji got out a bag of chips and walked back through the house while munching on them. He paused when he reached his bedroom, seeing that the door was wide open. Rei must be done changing, he thought. He approached tentatively, slipping off his shoes to ensure he did not make too much noise.

Just as Shinji was about to look into his bedroom, he felt a warm liquid run up against his foot. He turned toward its source, the laundry room, and through the slight crack in the door he saw a single hand lying palm up on the floor. Shinji frantically burst into the room, and instantly his face became ghostly white and the breath was sucked right from between his lips.

"Oh my god…"

Rei was sprawled across the floor, her face mashed against the cold tiles. Blood was rushing thickly from her ears, mouth and nostrils. Her soft, blue hair was tangled and disheveled, soaking up some of the blood that pooled around her face. A second pool of blood was by her feet, and it ran up the left leg of her jeans like a fat, red ribbon, and punctuated between her legs, from which more blood was flowing. Her eyes were turned upwards, toward the sky, and they were cloudy, dull, and lifeless.

Shinji stood there for a moment, unable to move. His eyes were locked on her face, her beautiful face, which was now crumpled, covered with blood. He felt like throwing up, or screaming at the top of his lungs, or just doing something, but he was frozen in that spot, terrified and overwhelmed.

Finally, Shinji found himself able to move again, and he stumbled back, away from her, away from that horrible sight. He reached frantically for a phone, his first instinct was to call for an ambulance. As he picked up the receiver, though, he realized that there might not be a doctor in Tokyo-3 who could effectively treat her. He called NERV headquarters instead.

*****

Gendo Ikari sat in his office, brooding silently with his gloved hands folded in front of his face. His carrion-tinted glasses betrayed nothing of his underlying doubts and fears, not even to Fuyutski. Gendo's concentration was suddenly broken by a sharp, vexing tone. He sighed and reached for the phone under his desk.

"Speak," he commanded in a grim voice.

"Father!" Shinji yelled out desperately.

"What is it?" Gendo asked coldly.

"It's Rei, she came over to my place and uh, a few minutes ago she uh, well she--she's bleeding, th-there's a lot of blood," he babbled, sounding on the edge of tears. "Um, she uh, she's still breathing and she has a pulse, but she-she she lost so much blood, uh, oh god," and with that he broke down and began sobbing uncontrollably. Gendo was equally frightened and concerned, but he had no time for his son's hysterics.

"She's at your apartment? I'll send over an emergency team immediately. Just stay there, don't try to move her," Gendo didn't wait for his son's reply. He slammed the phone down and barked several orders in Fuyutski's direction.

"Fuyutski, head for the brig, we require Dr. Akagi's services."

"She may be less than enthusiastic about helping Rei," Fuyutski said, scratching his chin. "She did destroy the dummy system, after all."

"I don't care!" Gendo said, whipped into a fury. "Use any methods at your disposal to persuade her. Is that clear?"

Fuyutski looked nauseous. He sighed a bit, wishing that his commander hadn't given him this…unpleasant duty. "It is perfectly clear," he said with a stiff nod.

Gendo turned away from him and dialed the number for NERV's emergency medical team. He cursed under his breath, then gazed out to the fiery afternoon sky. The clouds were orange and purple streaks, assembled chaotically across a vermillion canvas. It was somehow appropriate to be watching the sky die in the fiery embers of the sun, whilst all his plans and hopes came crashing down around him.

End part7