Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Comfort and Kindness ❯ Terminal Visions ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimers:
Neon Genesis Evangelion and all related characters, concepts, etc. are
Property of ADVision and Gainax. I only *wish* they were mine.
Please try to be good to me; this is my first stab at an Evangelion "Only" Fic,
Though I now have others published online.
If you have not read this whole fic, I do state now this is a waffy fic, with a bit of action as well!
Special thanks to Andre Laval and Jon Cook for pre-reading this chapter!

Comfort and Kindness

( ) = Thoughts by characters

" " = Dialogue by characters

Chapter # 13: Terminal Visions

A Quiet Conversation

The morning light slowly crawled up a bed's sheets and blankets finally ending up shining on the face of one Shinji Ikari.
Slowly he moved one hand in front of the glaring light, slowly adjusting to it and the darkness of the rest of the room.
He then tried to move, but was surprised that he was entwined in twin lithe, but powerful light skinned arms.

(Rei!) Shinji thought as he looked up to see that his head, one shoulder were surrounded by her arms.
He then smiled and enjoyed the warmth and touch of the girl he loved.
Then he remembered what had happened.
He looked again at her angelic face so familiar to him.
He just couldn't be angry with her, he loved her too much to be.
He also remembered that his answers would come by the end of the week.
If he had been out a month before, he could wait till then.
He then snuggled closer to her sleeping form, and fell back to a content sleep,
where memories started to reveal themselves.

Touji and Asuka had managed to finally get to bed after they assured Misato that they would be OK.
After a few minutes , which consisted of changing for bed, and a minute or two of kissing,
both of them had entwined themselves to sleep.
They settled down to sleep when they found that they simply couldn't, even though they were exhausted.
Finally they started to talk about what the angel had done to them.
They reminded each other of their love for each other and of their friends.
Then of what Shinji had told them before the attack, of his mother's plans.
Then their talk turned to Hikari. They had a heart to heart talk of their friend,
and of how she had found a closeness with of all people, Kensuke!
They shared a laugh at their friend's new relationship, though not a intense as theirs, or Shinji and Rei's!
But still developing within it's own ways.
Then after a few more minutes of talking, they finally let the sleep encase them and for the rest of the night,
Touji Suzahara, and Asuka Langley Sohryu slept a peaceful and restful sleep.
It would be the last fitful sleep they would have as the next day, the Sixteenth Angel would strike
and take one of their own!

___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________

The Sixteenth
**Battle already joined in Progress!**

Rei was in pain, a pain that she hadn't had before in such intensity,
but a pain that reached into her soul, if that was an accurate description.
The Sixteenth angel, who was also assaulting her with not just physical pain was attacking her,
but an emotional and mental assault on her mind.
Asuka had tried to sortie and help her friend, but the damage
that the fifteenth angel's attack had on her mind simply was not allowing her to sync with her mother's spirit.
In her mind she was begging her mother's spirit to sync with her to save her friend,
and where before she felt the warmth of her mother, there was simply ...
nothing.

Finally, regrettably, Misato ordered her to be lowered down to the Eva cages.
Then from overhead, the Commander stood up and said,
"Sortie Unit-03 and keep Unit-01 in lock down."
Why not sortie both Evas, Rei needs all the help..."
Major, it is not your decision, just carry them out, understood!"
Then the Commander turned his back to her and gave command to the Sub Commander and left the Command Center.
"Yes, sir!" was all a disgruntled Misato said, as Ritsuko and the other bridge personnel witnessed.
Then a loud crash was heard and Unit-01 was on a catapult.
"Send me up now, or I'll do something here!"
Before Fuyutski could act, Misato hit the button to send the Eva up to the surface.
"Major!" Was all the Sub Commander could say out loud, while within himself, congratulating Misato for her actions.

Ritsuko, then kept a close eye on Rei's video feed, knowing that if she followed their plan,
she had only a few seconds to act.
As the angel was merging with more and more of Unit-00, and Rei,
it took no time for Rei to make a fateful decision, as she saw
Unit-03, and then Unit-01 headed in dead runs towards the Angel.
Before they had a chance, the angel struck, crushing a palette gun carried by Unit-01,
then, striking Unit-03 in the chest,
... and slicing through it. "TOOOOUUUJJJIII"! wailed Asuka as she saw the impact on her video feed. "NO,NO,NO,NO,NO!"
She continued crying and balling. To her, she had seen the one person she now trusted seemingly
killed and it was too much for her now fragile psyche.
As soon as the entry plug was opened, she rushed out towards the changing rooms.
If she had stuck around a bit longer she would have found that the angel's damage went just below Unit-03's entry plug.
So later when Touji emerged with a giant stomachache due to the damage caused Unit-03 sync with him,
he was sent to Nerv's infirmary.
No one saw the distraught second child sneak away out of Nerv,
and disappear towards the destroyed area of Tokyo-3.

As this was going on Shinji, in Unit-01 was dodging the angel still attached to Unit-00
and when he struck, he felt all the blood drain from his face as he heard a cry,
he had heard once before. It was Rei!
He knew now that they had to find another way for them to help her.
"Rei, hang on! I will think of something! Please, don't give up!"
Shinji then dodged another strike by the angel , moved around and got his prong Knife out.
He then grabbed the angel by hand and struck it!
Again, they heard Rei wailing in pain.
The angel through his hands was also slowly invading Shinji,
which were holding the angel at bay.

Rei, seeing all this then made her most fateful decision!
She leaned over and hit the self-destruct button!
Throughout twenty-five of the thirty seconds those in the command center, and Shinji in particular were begging her to stop this, to eject ,
and save her life. But she quietly had a smile on her face. It seemed that only Ritsuko knew why she smiled, but she didn't let on
as
to why. But as the last five seconds came, Ritsuko reached under the console she was at and pressed a hidden button.
A 1/2 second later it seemed that Rei's face had gone blank!

As if she had left her body.

Then...BBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

two-thirds of Tokyo-3 vanish as Unit-00 self-destructs!

Reactions to Tragedy

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! !!!"
After screaming, Shinji ... slumps in the seat of his entry plug wondering what went wrong with the plan, then the realization swept
in like a hurricane force wind.

Rei ... was ... dead!

Shinji them powered down his Eva and regressed into a fetal position
and cried quietly as he awaited the rescue team.
Ritsuko and the rest of the bridge crew were in shock at what they had.
She looked around as she saw Misato and Maya
Each weeping quietly, then at Shigeru, and Makoto who simply had shocked looks at what had happened.
She then slowly made her way towards the exit.
"Where the hell are you going Ritsuko?" yelled a now very angry Misato.
Maya had then got up out of her seat and placed
herself between the women with her arms up to separate them.
"To collect my sister's remains!" Ritsuko said with a few tears coming down her face. Misato, seeing this calmed down and
nodded in understanding.
Ritsuko then left to join the recovery team.
_________________________________________________________________ __________________________________

Vengeance and Sorrow

As Shinji looked up on his monitors after the explosion of Unit-00, he saw the devastation,
and the guilt he had for himself.
("Why couldn't you do something to save her? Why does this happen to us, to Rei?")
He then saw on the view screen the one person who he had to blame for this!
Commander Gendo Ikari had returned to the Command Bridge of Central Dogma
after Ritsuko had left to recover Rei's body. Shinji then calmly reactivated Unit-01 and locked out all to its controls except those
within. He then made for the nearest entrance to the Command Bridge and the man he blamed for all this.
All through this time, Gendo Ikari remained calm and collected.
As the new emergency came in the form of Unit-01, Gendo had ordered the pilot to be knocked out by increasing the pressure of
the LCL in the entry plug.
"Sir, the command was ignored by the internal CPU of the Eva, it's still in control of its pilot."
Fine, Bring me the second and the forth child here, now." Gendo ordered with his calm facade on.

It took three minutes for the Eva piloted by Shinji Ikari to make it to the Command Center.
Then before he had a chance to act, he saw his father, with four Section-2 agents all pointing their guns at, ... an unconscious
Touji Suzahara.

"Pilot, cease and desist from your actions, and consider that a week in the stockade will be all of your punishment."
The Commander said clearly so Shinji could hear it in the Eva.
"And if I refuse?" Shinji asked with a edge of anger in his tone.
"Then Pilot Suzahara, and when found, Pilot Sohryu, will be shot, and we'll call the next two children, Hikari Horaki, and
Kensuke Aida to pilot, and of course you'll be put in prison for the rest of your life.
Now power down the Eva, Pilot Ikari."
Shinji then sat for about ten seconds until he turned the Eva around and walked back to the Eva cages,
hoping this attempted mutiny gave Ritsuko enough time to finish whatever she planned.
But Shinji was going to talk to the Doctor when he got out, especially about why Rei died!
Rei had told him just before the battle, not to worry!
She said that Ritsuko had a plan to help save her if she was the target of the angel.
Now he would see if his act and her plan worked, because ... Rei also said it wasn't foolproof.
So some of the grief he displayed wasn't all-fake. He knew that Rei might not come back.
So he said a private little prayer to anyone that would listen to
"bring his Rei back".
________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________

Awakenings

As Ritsuko opened the hatch, she looked in and held her mouth with her hand.
There wasn't much left of the second Rei Ayanami.
But that was expected, though seeing it didn't make it easier for her.
She just hoped that her alterations to her transfer program worked
and wasn't noticed by the Commander.
She knew she had to get back to Terminal Dogma before the Commander did
or before the one she knew as her sister would be gone forever.

Misato had then helped Shinji out of the entry plug and for a few second s hugged the distraught boy,
before Security took him away for his week long incarceration.

Maya had been given specific instructions by Ritsuko before she left, now at the ten
Minute mark, she executed the program that she was told to,
and then started to preparations for the repairs to Unit-01, 02, and 03.

Ritsuko made it to Terminal Dogma as Gendo Ikari was recovering the body that would become the third Rei Ayanami.
As the program commenced, Ritsuko made it to the platform above the clone tanks
and then took over from the Commander and revived the clone that now had Rei's soul.
As this was happening, Gendo instructed Ritsuko to prepare the clone for her daily routines
and to have her moved back to the old apartment.
"Sir, that part of Tokyo-3 was destroyed. Why don't I have her stay with me?
Then she won't have to interact with anyone else until we see she's ready to."
Ritsuko then waited for Gendo's response. He simply nodded and left the area.

After he left, she accessed the security equipment in Terminal Dogma and disabled it.
After she was sure that she could talk out loud without something recording it,
she then revived the third Rei.
As the red crimson eyes opened to her she smiled … then stopped!
She had to know if the transfer was complete.

"Rei, who am I?"

"You are Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, head of the E project, and also head of the Science and medical department for Nerv."
Rei answered.

"No, Rei. Who are you to me in a genetic sense?" Ritsuko now waited with baited breath for her sibling's answer.

Rei looked confused for a few moments, then a small smile was on her face,
"Sister, ... your my sister, and Shinji is my love, I am pilot of Evangelion Unit-00,
I am friends to Hikari, Asuka, Touji, and live with them and Major Misato Katsuragi in her apartment."
She then stood up with Ritsuko and hugged her now crying sister.

(It worked! it worked!) was all Ritsuko could say to herself crying as they stood there,
Rei soaked in LCL naked, and now soaking Ritsuko's clothing.
After the relief of getting Rei back, Ritsuko had to sit her down to tell her now
that she had to act as if she had not come back.

Ritsuko then explained her plan to keep Gendo off their back so Yui's plan would work.
"You mean I have to act as I did before I met Shinji, and the others that have become my friends?"
said a now slightly upset Rei.

Ritsuko sighed, then said. "Yes, you'll even to become the doll that the Commander expects you to act like."
"Look Rei, I know it will be difficult, and
especially so with the Commander and Shinji, but for the plan to succeed,
you have to do this. Do you understand?" she now held her sister's hands

Rei had her head down and when she came up she had her old emotionless face on and simply said "Yes Dr. Akagi, I understand
perfectly."
She then went to the shower nearby. As she left, a tear came down Ritsuko's face,
hoping that this deception will not destroy the sister that just returned.
She also knew the hardest part for Rei will be when she meets Shinji again,
and when the Commander sees her again.
She would be there for her meeting with Shinji, but not when she faces the Commander.

_____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________

Journey To Truth

It had not gone well!
Shinji running like a mad man, and seeing his ego deflate in front of her eyes was almost too much for Rei.
Rei having to act as she did before the fifth angel, devastated Shinji and later the rest of her friends, Misato the most.
Kaji's sudden disappearance this past week didn't help matters either.
On top of that, Shinji's incarceration lasted an extra three days due to the fact that Shinji punched Gendo right in the face, breaking
his nose!
The Commander's visit was fully intended on trying to intimidate his son.
But instead he found himself on the wrong end of the pent-up frustrations of one
Shinji Ikari.

The night Shinji had met Rei, Ritsuko was thrust into her role as a sister.
Rei's resolve had finally broken under the strain of seeing a distraught Shinji run away from her
yelling that she wasn't "His Rei"!
Combined with the meeting later that day with the now injured Commander .
It made it difficult for Rei to carry on the masquerade much longer.
These were the events that made for Rei suddenly to drop her plate after dinner at Ritsuko's apartment, kneeling on the floor and
while trying to clean up the mess she made,
she starts to quietly cry into her hands.
Ritsuko rose out of her seat and rather clumsily held her sobbing little sister.
Slowly succumbing herself to tears as they both knew that soon the act wouldn't last much longer
and things would become much more hectic now that the last and most powerful angel awaited them.

__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________

Observations

In a secret room known only to the head of Section 2 and the Commander himself,
sat Gendo smirking at the sight before him, a crying Rei in Ritsuko's arms.
"Well Doctor, your usefulness may soon be coming to and end!"
He then hid his face behind his hands and contemplated the future and how these changes would be dealt with to keep his
scenario in play.
He absently laid his nose on his clasped hands. "Aaaaaoooowwww! Damn!"
was all Gendo said as he walked quickly to his command room's bathroom
while holding his now bleeding nose. The Sub-Commander took this opportunity to enter the office and almost let out a huge
chuckle as he saw the Commander of Nerv holding his nose and trying to stop the bleeding from it .
Fuyutski, then said to Himself; "Yui I wish you would have seen Shinji knock Gendo down, you would have been proud!"
He then reluctantly made his way to the ailing Commander to help him with his bleeding nose!
_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________

Now that Rei has ... recovered how will Shinji deal with the change?
Can Rei hold out much longer?
Can Touji, and Hikari find and help a depressed, and suicidal Asuka,
and what is Gendo planning for Ritsuko?
Next, in Chapter # 14: Final Ploy