Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ If I Am Normal, Are You Weird? ❯ Death ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6

Death

Shinji awoke to the muffled sound of Rei's heart beating through her night shirt. It had been so ironic. Shinji had, albeit reluctantly, come to Rei's apartment to comfort her. Yet he felt more comfortable now than he'd ever been in his entire life. Comfortable with Rei's personality, comfortable with himself... and overall safer than he'd felt for as far back as he could remember.

Maybe it was simply because he had gone back to his old role as Rei's protector. When Rei had asked him to spend the night, he had instantly accepted. He couldn't leave her, not while she was still an emotional wreck. Yet as he had held her and watched her fall asleep, he felt something different about this time. As if it weren't completely for and about her. He needed this as much as she did to understand that the "old Rei" was gone for good, and had been replaced by someone who held feelings for him that he couldn't ignore.

Shinji's train of thought was cut off by the sound of Rei stirring. His gaze turned toward Rei's face to see her eyes slowly opening. She smiled at him, which turned into a goofy grin. "No offense," she said, "but those things on my chest... they aren't pillows."

Shini's eyes widened as the full realization of what he'd been lying on hit him. "Gah!" he cried, quickly getting his head off of Rei's chest and turning on his side away from her to hide his blushing face.

Shinji heard Rei elicit a naughty laugh, and then felt her lips softly brush his cheek. Shinji blushed even harder as he felt Rei's hot breath against his ear. "School day," she said. "Time to get up."

After the twosome got dressed, they headed out of the bedroom and down the hall. As soon as they got to the door, Rei twisted the handle and opened it... to find Asuka staring at them in disgust.

"I knew it!" cried Asuka as Rei and Shinji stepped out the door. "I can't believe you!" she yelled at Shinji. "You acted like you didn't even want to come over here, and then you go and spend the night? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"Well... actually... it was Rei's idea," said Shinji.

"Rei's idea?" repeated Asuka. She whirled on the blue-haired pilot. "Oh, now I see! You just wanted to lure him out to your apartment so you could sleep with him! It's positively disgraceful! That's the sleaziest, most disgusting trick I've ever heard of!"

"Now wait just a minute!" retorted Rei hotly. "Not that it's any of your business, but nothing like that happened!" Her tone turned sly. "I guess we know where your mind is, now don't we."

"What?" cried Asuka. "How dare you accuse me of thinking even remotely down to your level?" She crossed her arms. "At least I don't invite boys over to my apartment to sleep over."

"Oh, like you can even..." Suddenly, Rei trailed off, and her eyes became distant.

Asuka smirked. "And like you can even finish a sentence," she laughed.

"Shut up," said Rei. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Concentrate on what?" asked Shinji before Asuka could reply.

Rei shushed him. Then, with a small gasp, she whirled North. "I see," she whispered.

Abruptly, she took off at a run. "Come on!" she said to Asuka and Shinji. "An Angel's coming! We've got to hurry!"

"What are you babbling about?" asked Asuka. But Rei was already running at top speed toward headquarters.

But Shinji had seen this sort of thing before, and he quickly ran after Rei, knowing that what she had said was true.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Asuka, dumbfounded. She watched as Shinji took off after Rei. Then she shrugged. "Jeez, even when she's normal, she's still weird." Then she ran after her teammates.

Azrael, Angel of Death, journeyed toward the city in which Adam was being held and growled to himself in frustration. He wasn't a fighter. In truth, his mission had always been one of peace, easing the transition and preparing souls for judgment. Even if his primary goal wasn't to participate in the trials, this just wasn't him!

And to make matters worse, the position he held was now in jeopardy. A young and impudent upstart had made it known that he desired Azrael's position. In fact, while he was wasting his time here, his rival may have already usurped his post, something which would leave Azrael as a mortal.

His only solution was to accomplish his task and return as quickly as possible. Swiftly, he entered the city and began to comb the streets, searching for the demons that inhabited it.

"Well, it's certainly superior in terms of intimidation," Hyuga joked weakly.

Misato could only nod in agreement. It floated around the city; a giant, fifty meter tall Grim Reaper. A black cloak formed its body, with skeletal, humanoid hands jutting out of it and its core lodged firmly in its chest. And as if to round out the cliché, in its right hand it held a huge scythe.

"It appears to be searching for something," said Ritsuko.

"And it's completely ignoring the UN's missile barrages," added Gendo. "Very focused."

"Those barrages are fairly harmless anyway," said Misato. "There's no reason it should pay attention to the UN, unless they start bombing it with N2 mines. That's how the rest of the world works, so why not The Angel as well?"

"Was that a feeble attempt at political humor?" asked Ritsuko.

Misato shrugged. "Hey, you take what you can get around here."

"Cages one through three report that the Eva Pilots are prepped and ready to board," said Lieutenant Shigeru Aoba.

Misato's eyebrows raised. "Well that was fast," she commented. "Have all Eva Pilots board their entry plugs. Once the plugs are inserted establish a com link."

Two minutes later, com windows appeared on screen showing each of the three pilots. "Listen up," Misato began. "We're not sure what we're up against here, so for right now I want you to withhold attacking and stick to observation instead. Gather as much data as you can, but don't engage unless provoked. And Rei?"

"Yes, ma'am?" asked Rei politely.

"No tricks!"

Rei rolled her eyes upward and sighed. "Okay," she said resignedly.

"Everything is in position, Major," said Maya.

"Acknowledged," replied Misato. "Eva launch!"

As soon as the Evas reached the surface, each took a rifle and stealthily proceeded to surround the target. Shinji peeked around the corner to stare at The Angel's retreating form. "It looks like it's just circling the city," he said. "It's not making any aggressive movements at all."

It passed down a street parallel to where Asuka was standing behind a building. "It doesn't seem to be heading toward headquarters in any clear direction. Maybe it's some kind of decoy." She opened a com window. "Rei, it's coming your way. Try to get a weapons analysis."

"Right," acknowledged Rei. She stretched out her awareness toward The Angel to scan it.

The Angel quietly increased its speed.

"Form and shape morphing ability detected," Rei reported. "Possible energy discharge. And don't let that right hand distract you." She quirked a half-smile. "That scythe's just a little too obvious."

Suddenly, The Angel rounded the corner five blocks down and turned to face her.

"It spotted me!" cried Rei.

Rei quickly ducked out of the street and ran as twin beams shot out from The Angel's cowl. Giant cross-flares lit up where Rei had stood, turning the area into a graveyard of light. Rei emerged at The Angel's side, firing wildly at it.

But what little of the spray that did hit was absorbed by The Angel's AT Field. "Damn it!" Rei gritted her teeth in frustration.

Cold sweat lined Misato's brow as she witnessed the attack. "Abort all observation activities!" she ordered. "Units 01 and 02: Proceed to Unit 00's position to assist in destruction of the target!"

Ritsuko's teeth were bared. "That idiot!" she cried. "How could she have botched something this routine?" Again, the image of the laughing Rei clones resurfaced despite her best attempts to keep them submerged.

"These things happen," replied Misato coolly. "And besides, it would have come to this, eventually."

"Don't you think you're taking this a little too lightly?" asked Ritsuko harshly.

Misato's head spun to fix Ritsuko with a steely gaze. It was one thing to engage in a bit of banter, but not during a combat situation, and not when it called her competency as Director of Operations into question. "Rei's actions are my responsibility," she stated coldly. "If there's a problem with them, I'll deal with it."

"Don't you see?" demanded Ritsuko hotly. "She obviously blew the operation on purpose! She didn't want us to collect data on The Angel!"

"And why is that?" asked Misato skeptically. "Are you hiding something again, Doctor Akagi?"

Ritsuko realized that she'd been practically raving at Misato. She took a deep, calming breath. "Forget it," she said. "Forget I said anything." Damn! This isn't like me. And now one of our biggest secrets was almost compromised. Why can't I keep cool like normal? Once again, she heard the sound of the clones' laughter. That's why! Damn them. Damn them all for laughing at me. And damn Gendo for choosing them over me! What gives that little bitch the right to have everything she wants out of life? She isn't even human, just a biological machine! She should be destroyed!

And Ritsuko knew that was what she had to do. Even if it cost her her own life in the process.

Asuka raced toward The Angel at top speed, drawing her progressive knife even as she ran. Soon she stood face to face with the invader, flanked on either side by Units 00 and 01. "Rei, Shinji: Head five blocks down and give me some cover fire," she ordered.

Then she turned to The Angel, smiling coldly. "You're mine." And with that, she charged, the butt of her prog knife pressed firmly against her palm as she prepared to drive it straight into the monster's core.

But The Angel was prepared for such an attack. With surprising dexterity, it whirled the scythe over the core. The scythe lost form, melding itself with the core to protect it from harm. Sparks flew from The Angel as the prog knife met the armor. Then, the left hand morphed into a giant blade. In a heartbeat, the razor-sharp metal cut through Unit 02's right shoulder plating to reach the soft flesh and bone underneath.

Asuka screamed.

The Angel's cowl flashed again, and the Evangelion fell to the ground. Once again, it began its inexorable advance on Rei.

"Unit 02's chest armor is melted down to the sixteenth layer! The trapezius armor has been completely cut through! The pilot is wounded!" reported Maya.

"Dispatch a rescue team to retrieve Unit 02's pilot," ordered Misato.

Hyuga's eyebrows raised. "That's strange," he said to Misato. "It appears that The Angel has some sort of personal vendetta against Unit 00. I mean, that was the first one it attacked, and wouldn't it make more sense to simply destroy Unit 02? But it seems to be ignoring Unit 02 now and concentrating on Unit 00."

"You might be on to something," said Misato. Then she smiled. "And maybe we can use that to our advantage." She opened another com window. "Rei: I want you to lure the away from headquarters, preferably into some kind of corner. Shinji: You'll follow them, keeping on the opposite side of The Angel at all times. Once Rei is in position, the two of you will launch a simultaneous two pronged attack at the front and back of the target. Understand?"

"Wait a minute!" cried Rei. "You're using me as a decoy?"

"Don't worry," said Misato reassuringly. "You can keep as far a distance as you feel is safe. Besides, Shinji will be there. Right, Shinji?"

"Uh... right," said Shinji halfheartedly.

"Boy, you sure sound like you're raring to go," said Rei sarcastically.

Shinji sighed. "I'm sorry."

Abruptly, Rei laughed. For some reason, Shinji's reflexive apology made her feel more at ease. "Hey Shinji, you can just think of yourself as the hero who has to rescue the fair damsel from the evil monster." She smiled winsomely at him. "Would that help?"

"Uh..."

"We don't have time for this!" Misato interjected. "You both have your orders. Now move out!"

"Roger," said the two pilots.

"Hey ugly! I'm over here!" shouted Rei at The Angel. It really wasn't necessary, since The Angel was already advancing toward the Evangelion, once more with scythe in hand. Beams flared out of the cowl anew at her, illuminating Tokyo-3 with gigantic violet crucifixes.

But none of them hit Rei as she broke into a run. "Shinji, I'm passing into the Southeast block, thirty-fifth district," she reported. "Bearing South. As soon as you're in position, let me know."

"Roger," replied Shinji.

Rei ducked behind a building and opened fire. Again, little effect. "Come on!" she cried. You can chase me all you want. But you won't catch me. I'm faster than you are, Azrael.

Azrael? Wait a second! How did I...?

"Rei's synch ratio is increasing dramatically!" reported Maya. "Harmonics levels are up as well! It's unbelievable!"

Misato smiled. "That sounds like a good sign to me!" she said, flashing the V sign.

All the while, Ritsuko brooded as she wrestled with the images in her subconscious.

A com window opened at Rei's elbow. "Rei," said Shinji, "I'm in position."

Rei smiled at him. "You don't know how good it is to hear that." And it looks like my guns aren't affecting it at all. Sorry, Misato, but I'm going to have to do this my way.

With that, she took out her prog knife and launched herself into a forward roll. "Kiiiiiiiiiyeeeeee!" she cried as she jumped back up, bringing her blade to bear on The Angel's core.

She never made it. The Angel's left hand quickly morphed itself and stabbed the blue Evangelion straight through the abdomen.

Rei's eyes were wide in horror as she felt the blade twist in her stomach. Her jaw worked, but the only thing that would come out were small squeaks and hiccups as she felt her gorge rise. She looked at her enemy, seeing two glowing violet eyes in the cowl. Then, she felt nothing but searing heat as the energy beams drove her into the side of a nearby building. As she slumped to the ground, everything faded before her eyes.

"Oh my God," whispered Misato as she watched the battle unfold.

"The head and shoulder platings have undergone thermal fusion," cried Maya. "The pilot is unconscious!"

"Brainwave patterns entering the delta bands!" said Hyuga. "Heart rate and blood pressure dropping!"

As the rest of the command staff's attention was fixed on Rei, Ritsuko resolutely clenched her fist. This was her one chance!

Quickly, she got out her laptop and logged herself into Unit 00's life support system.

She stood in darkness. A cold wind blew from nothingness, ruffling her pale-blue hair. Trapped in solitude, she gazed at the blackness.

Rei shivered. "Where am I?" she whispered.

Slowly, one by one, they materialized, each wearing a plug suit identical to hers.

"Not you again!" said Rei. How did I get back in the Dummy Plug System? No, wait. This is someplace different. She looked around. The darkness seemed to press in on her, as if to suffocate her. This place gives me the creeps. What am I doing here?

Dying.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she collapsed on the ground, clutching her midsection. She held her hand up to her face to see it covered with blood.

Her blood.

The Rei clones looked down at her inquisitively. "Help me," she pleaded to her likenesses.

The clones merely stared at her.

"Help me, please!" she entreated the clones as she felt hot tears begin to run down her cheeks. "I don't want to die."

But the clones did nothing, content with merely watching her.

Rei's sobs turned into a tearing cough as the air squeezed from her lungs. She tried to inhale, but the best she could do was to take small, shallow gasps. "I can't... breathe," she said.

It was so cold.

Everything began to get blurry as her vision drifted in and out of focus. It didn't matter. The only things to see were multiple visions of herself. And yet, there seemed to be someone else. Could it be...

Shinji.

She saw him standing there, even as everything was fading out of existence. Summoning all of her strength, she reached her hand out toward him. "Shinji," she said, her trembling voice barely above a whisper. "Help me. I'm scared."

The hand dropped.

The clones stared at the body for a few more minutes. Then they docilely faded back into the shadows.

Maya gasped. "LCL pressure increasing in Unit 00! It's going beyond the safety lines! It's squeezing all of the air out of Rei's lungs!"

"What did you say?" asked Misato.

"Respiratory systems failing!" reported Hyuga.

"Override the LCL pressure commands!" Misato ordered Maya.

Maya keyed frantically and then slammed her hands down on the keyboard in frustration. "I can't!" she replied. "The user signature has a clearance that outranks mine!"

A user clearance higher than Maya's? thought Misato. But that could only be... wait a second! She looked over to her command chair to see Ritsuko sitting in it, staring at her laptop.

Frowning, Misato went over to Ritsuko. The chief of technology and development's head snapped up. But before she could make any attempt to cover what she'd been doing, Misato looked down at the screen.

Misato's eyes widened as she gasped. "What the hell?" she cried. "That's Unit 00's LCL control screen! What do you think you're doing?" She snatched the laptop away from Ritsuko and logged off. "Maya: Reset the cache and decrease LCL pressure again."

"It's working," said Maya a few seconds later.

"Blood pressure stabilizing," reported Hyuga.

"Dammit!" cried Ritsuko in spite of herself.

"Security," said Gendo. "Please escort Dr. Akagi out of the command center."

"The pilot is still in serious condition," reported Hyuga.

"Understood," replied Misato. "Increase oxygen content. Let's try to give her as much air as we can." She turned to Shigeru. "How's Shinji?"

"He's engaging the Angel right now," replied Shigeru.

It is done, thought Azrael to himself. Now, I can return.

With that, he turned toward the oncoming demon.

"Ayanami!" cried Shinji as he saw Unit 00 slide down against the armament building. The Angel turned toward the enraged Evangelion just as he bulldozed it straight into the skyscraper opposite Rei. Angrily, he pressed the gun against The Angel's core and fired. Again and again, he emptied his rifle into The Angel.

The core began to crack and glow brightly.

And suddenly, The Angel exploded in a hail of cold fire, vaporizing the two buildings and shooting out into the stratosphere. Two beams flared out of the pillar of fire; a giant crucifix of light.

Evangelion Unit 01 walked from the cross, carrying Unit 00 in his arms.

Shinji sat in the waiting area of Tokyo-3 central hospital staring down the hall toward the intensive care ward. It had been three hours since they had rushed Rei from her entry plug to the emergency room, and now Shinji waited for Misato to return with some news about her condition. Once again he berated himself. Why couldn't he have gotten there sooner? Maybe if he had, she wouldn't be in this condition. Some hero I turned out to be, he lamented.

All thought of that vanished as Misato came down the hall. He practically jumped out of the chair and went to her. "Misato, how's Rei?" she asked.

Misato smiled wanly at him. "It wasn't as bad as it looked. She's already regained consciousness, and the doctor says that she'll be ready to leave tomorrow morning. Would you like to go see her?"

"Okay," replied Shinji.

Misato led Shinji to the room in which Rei was staying. Rei lay in bed, her face expressionless even at the sight of Shinji. "I guess I'll leave you two alone for awhile," said Misato. She ducked out of the room.

Shinji smiled at his fellow Eva Pilot. "Hi, Rei."

Rei merely stared at him.

"Um... Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes."

Shinji felt his stomach sink. Why is she acting so... dead? Unless... no! It can't be that! She's just weak from that Angel's attack. That's got to be it. "Uh, Rei? I was wondering... Would you like to go to the movies with me, sometime? After you get out of the hospital, I mean."

"What for?"

A lump formed in Shinji's throat against his will. What's wrong with me? Rei is back to her old self again, so why am I sad about it? Wasn't this what I wanted?

No. Maybe it had been weird to have Rei acting normal and maybe Shinji had had a hard time adapting to it; but in that time he had become everything to Rei, the person whom she'd most treasured. And he had finally had something that he'd wanted since he'd first joined NERV--a value to someone beyond piloting Eva.

And now he had lost her. Perhaps forever.

"Rei," said Shinji, "I... I'm sorry. I need to leave."

"Good-bye, Shinji."

"Good-bye, Rei." Shinji's tears began to flow down his cheeks as he ran from the room.

Asuka stood just outside the door, a bouquet of roses in her hands. "What do you think?" asked Asuka brightly, waving the bouquet at him. "Nice and red. Guaranteed to piss old Wonder Girl off for sure." Then she saw that Shinji was crying. "Oh, what the hell is your problem, Third Child?"

"She... she's gone," Shinji sobbed.

Asuka frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Rei's gone!" cried Shinji.

Asuka's eyes flickered, but then she relaxed herself. This was Shinji she was dealing with. "What are you, stupid?" she said. "The doctors all agree that Rei is going to be fine. There's nothing to worry..."

"You don't understand!" screamed Shinji. With that, he took off down the hall, sobbing.

Asuka stared after him as he ran away crying. Finally, she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Boys!" she groaned. Then she put on her best face and went into the room. "Hello, Rei! I brought you a little surprise." Her voice dripped with faux-menace.

A minute later, Asuka's voice went from a bantering tone to an outraged yell. "Fine! Give me the silent treatment! See if I care!" She stormed out of the room, angrily tossing the flowers she'd brought on the hallway floor as she went.

The iron cuffs chafed Ritsuko's wrists as she marched toward Commander Ikari's office, flanked at either side by members of security. It had been a long five hours that she'd been held inside that cell, contemplating her fate.

But at least the visions of the Dummy Plug System were gone, now.

Gendo stood up from his desk as Ritsuko entered. "Remove Dr. Akagi's handcuffs. There's no need for them." The security team did as ordered. "You're dismissed," Gendo said to them.

Ritsuko's eyes flickered in surprise. What was he up to?

"I really must congratulate you, Dr. Akagi. How did you find out that Rei's LCL had been tampered with?"

This time, Ritsuko couldn't mask her surprise. "LCL?" she asked.

"Yes. When you told me that Doctor Sadamoto would most likely not prescribe the anti-serotonin medications which Rei required, I had to find an alternative method of getting her to take them. The LCL seemed to be the best solution. By combining the anti-serotonins with the LCL, I theoretically could inject her with the necessary medication to return her to normal."

"Theoretically?" repeated Ritsuko.

"Yes," continued Gendo, walking over to her, "I wasn't exactly sure if it was working or not, since the effects seemed to be minimal at best. In fact, it was a good thing that you stepped in when you did. I was considering following your recommendations and disposing of this clone after all. But it's a moot point now, since you ended up restoring Rei back to normal. I hope you'll forgive my having to arrest you. It was done purely for appearances, you realize."

Ritsuko clenched her teeth as Gendo walked by her toward the door. Once he had left out of the office, Rei returned to laugh at her yet again.

There was nothing for Shinji to do the next day but sit on the couch. And that's exactly what he did, staring at a blank TV screen and trying his best not to think. Thinking would lead to memories, and the memories were too painful.

Beside him, Asuka did the same thing. She sat there, face expressionless on the opposite end of the couch near the phone.

Neither of them said anything.

Why is Asuka like this? Shinji wondered. Is she thinking about Ayanami? Ayanami... she was so... no! I don't want to think about it!

Neither of them said anything.

Who cares about Wonder Girl, anyway? thought Asuka. She's just a stupid doll. Someone probably wound her up too tight and she started acting human for once. Okay, so it may have been fun while it lasted, but it wasn't like she was cool enough to hang around me. Her fashion sense was just lousy and... and... aw, hell.

Neither of them said anything.

Images of Rei came to Shinji, unbidden. The sparkle of her eyes when she had looked at him that first time in the hospital. The sound of her giggle as the twosome teased each other in the elevator that time. The soft skin of her hand touching his. The feeling of safety and warmth from holding her...

Abruptly, Asuka's palm slammed down on the table next to her. "This is stupid!" she cried. "Look at us! We're acting like we just came from a funeral or something." She picked up the phone.

"Asuka?" said Shinji inquiringly. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think, dummkopf? I'm calling Rei!"

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Shinji, you idiot! What do you know, anyway?"

The phone rang once, twice, three times. Finally, there came the sound of a receiver being picked up. "Hello?" Rei's voice came over the phone.

"Hello!" said Asuka cheerfully into the phone. "Güten Morgen, Rei!"

Rei said nothing.

"How are you feeling?" asked Asuka.

"I am well."

The silence that followed between the two was an endless winter.

"What is the purpose of this call?" asked Rei finally.

"Why, to see how you're doing of course!" said Asuka. Once again, her tone had turned angry. "Why, any idiot can see..."

"Then, as you have already asked how I'm doing, there is no further need for us to talk."

Click.

Asuka stared at the receiver for a trio of heartbeats. Then, she hung up the phone, hopped off of the couch, stormed into her bedroom, and violently slid the door shut with an angry grunt.

Shinji winced as he heard the sounds of shattering objects punctuated by German swearwords being screamed in a high-pitched voice.

After Rei had replaced the receiver, she looked around at her apartment. It wasn't much of a sight. Grime was once again beginning to form on her walls. It was nothing to bother with, being irrelevant to her purpose.

Her eyes wandered over to the pitcher of water on top of the icebox. The pitcher and water were once again dirty, she noticed. She made a mental note not to drink from it.

A small sound of padding footsteps caused her to look down toward the floor. A rat had worked its way into her apartment, and was searching for food. The rat looked up, chittered at her, and resumed its heading. It was of no moment, since it would eventually leave anyway, and wouldn't bother her while it was there.

Rei contemplated all of these things for a split second, and then went back to looking forward to the fulfillment of her purpose.