Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Imperfection ❯ Chapter Eight ( Chapter 8 )

Imperfection

Disclaimer: I don't own NGE and if I did, then people wouldn't be harrying me to finish this fic.

A/N: Whoops, that last chapter was extra-short, wasn't it? Not very fair to any of you readers. Sooo . . . I decided to make up for it with this extended chapter eight (twice the length of my normal chapters for this fic), okay? Hope it makes up for my slow updating and short chapter seven. Gomen nasai minna!

Oh yeah, this may be the last chapter, because I am running out of things to write about for this fic. I'm really sorry! If it isn't, then this fic may go on for, at the most, two more chapters.

---- Chapter Eight ----

I hate them. I hate them. I hate them.

Shinji barely heard Dr Akagi's voice as he sat inside Unit 01. His mind was focused entirely on Kaoru, his betrayal, and on Rei. The said albino was currently watching him from where Dr Akagi and Misato were standing, silently. She couldn't meet his eyes.

She lied to me. Of all people, she lied to me.

"Are you feeling all right, Shinji?" Misato's worried voice asked.

"Shinji?" Dr Akagi echoed.

"I'm . . . fine," he answered slowly. There was a steel edge in his voice. "I'm fine. What is it this time?"

"Another Angel," the major replied hesitantly. "Shinji . . . the 17th you destroyed was . . ."

"A fake, I know," he cut in, venom dripping. "I know. Kaoru is still alive."

Misato bit her lip worriedly. Whenever Shinji was quiet and his voice crisp, it meant trouble. He was under too much psychological pressure. She looked at Ritsuko, whose fingers were flying over the keyboard. The blonde scientist was frowning.

"Are you ready, Shinji?"

"Yes, I am." The words seemed to have been bitten out. "Let's do it."

"Rei . . . did something happen to Shinji yesterday?" Misato asked the quiet albino. "He didn't seem natural when he came home last night, with Asuka. Weren't the two of you supposed to go on a date or something?"

"Major Katsuragi, I - I don't know what you mean."

"Look, Rei, something happened last night," Misato said, patience running thin. "I know it, because I know Shinji. He's not acting right. I also know that you can tell me what's going on with him. Is it to do with the 17th?"

Before Rei could answer, commotion had erupted in the control centre.

"We're under attack!"

"AT field has been detected!"

"PATTERN BLUE!"

"EVERYONE TO BATTLE STATIONS!" Misato roared above the shouts. "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR ATTACK!"

She turned back to Rei, who was looking on impassively. Nothing seemed to faze the girl.

"We'll deal with this later," she said curtly.

--------

Inside Unit 01, Shinji gripped the controls tightly, gritting his teeth. This was it. There was no more Unit 02 to get in his way. Unit 00 was out of action. This was his final confrontation with Kaoru. There was nothing stopping him this time.

The holdings were released and Unit 01 was moved to the launch pad. He knew he had perfect synchronisation with his Eva. In fact, his synchronisation ratio was beyond anything he had ever achieved before. This time, he was going to annihilate the last of the Angels.

"Are you ready Shinji?"

There was nothing else left.

"Let's do this, Misato. I'm ready."

"Good luck." Misato raised her voice over the din of the machinery. "EVA LAUNCH!"

He settled more comfortably in his unit as it was launched at breakneck speed. He would end this now. No one - no one would ever think to use him as a tool after this. Unit 01 shot through the last barrier and came to the surface of the ground. And he caught sight of his opponent.

"Kaoru . . ."

Calm as always, Kaoru Nagisa hovered in mid air, less than twenty feet away. The buildings had been withdrawn and all the people in the city had been sent to the shelters, under the impression that there was another bombing. His lips twitched in the slightest hint of a smirk. Lilims were foolish.

"You're ahead of schedule, Kaoru," Shinji said, voice unusually harsh. "But that doesn't matter any more. I'll finish you off like I did all the other Angels."

"You lilims are very strange," Kaoru commented. "Your attitudes change so quickly all the time."

"It's all thanks to you!" Shinji yelled in a strained voice. "If it weren't for your - your betrayal, I wouldn't be where I am now!"

"I suppose it is time to finish this."

"Damn right it is."

Blue met crimson in a silent challenge. Shinji glared at the Angel, his former best friend, the one who had claimed to love him. There was a fire in his blue eyes that burned harshly.

--------

"This is it," Misato whispered. "It's the final showdown."

Rei felt her heart beat painfully fast. She clutched the chest of her uniform in pain as her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't breathe. What was wrong with her? Something . . . something inside her didn't want to see this battle carried out. She needed to stop it.

"I need to stop this," she said quietly. "I need to get out there."

"No, Rei, it's too dangerous."

"But Major Katsuragi . . ."

"Rei, this is the first time you've challenged authority." Dr Akagi looked at her strangely. "If you feel you must go, then I will have Unit 00 prepared."

"Ritsuko!"

"Misato, I think that the commander would want this," Dr Akagi said flatly. "Rei's been rather aloof lately and I believe the commander would want her to show that she's still obedient to him."

They both looked at Rei, who returned their look with an emotionless one. Behind those blank orbs, Rei was getting worried very quickly. If she didn't stop them, either Shinji or Kaoru would get hurt. She didn't want either of them to.

"Get suited up then, Rei," Misato said abruptly. "We'll prepare Unit 00."

--------

"I can't believe you're going out there, Wondergirl."

Asuka glared at the albino. Rei continued to walk past her, unaffected by the German girl's words. Not one to be ignored, Asuka trailed her to the change room.

"You're playing a dangerous game here," she continued. "You're going to see one of them killed. Then we'll see how wonderful you really are."

"I don't care." Rei slipped out of her clothes, pulling out her suit. "Now please, leave me alone."

--------

"Shinji! His AT field is too strong! Find another way to get past it!"

The teen ignored Misato's agitated voice, his eyes still burning that same hatred. From twelve feet away, Kaoru hovered just above a building, watching him with his blood-coloured eyes. There was a sad, distant expression within them, a reluctance to `take care' of Shinji once and for all.

Shinji gritted his teeth. He had ripped apart AT fields before, so why should this be different? He would rip apart this AT field as well and when he did, he would crush Kaoru inside his hand. Like he had done with the decoy.

Everyone who claimed to love me before has betrayed me. My father, my old `friends' . . . and now Rei and Kaoru. I can't take this anymore! From now on, I won't let ANYONE betray me and get away with it!

"If this will make any difference in the way you feel, Shinji . . ." Kaoru's voice was soft, "I never intended to hurt you."

"Then why? Why did you and Rei lie to me?"

"We had no choice." The Angel flew closer. "My decoy once said that death is sometimes the only way out. It is true, to an extent, but only if there is nothing else to live for in your life. I had thought, at the time, that I had nothing. As I face you now, seeing the hatred in your eyes, perhaps now I have truly lost everything. Back then, I had you and Rei to live for - I love you both dearly and I had hoped to be with you longer than those few days we had known each other."

"You said you loved me," Shinji hissed.

"No, Shinji, I love you," Kaoru corrected gently. "I love you as God loves his people, and I always will. My love for you is never something to be referred to in the past tense because it will always be here."

The fire in Shinji's eyes dimmed. Kaoru always had his reasons for doing something. Those reasons often sounded like excuses, as elusive and as vague as they were, but they were reasons.

He was a child, to believe that when Kaoru had said `I love you', he meant that he loved him in a physical sense. No, Kaoru's love went deeper than that. This love was all physical, emotional and spiritual. He loved him as a person and as a child of God, flaws and all. As God loved humans, Kaoru loved him. This was true, unconditional love.

"So . . . you didn't . . ."

"If you feel that Rei and I have betrayed you, then we have," Kaoru said, sounding as wise as he usually did. "We cannot change what you think or feel."

--------

Gendo Ikari frowned at the scene playing out before his eyes. Why wasn't Shinji destroying the 17th Angel? This wouldn't do. In order to gain the power of God, the creator, he needed the Angels dead. Shinji was not doing as he ordered. Neither, come to speak of it, was Rei.

He had created Rei so that she would obey his orders. She was now getting ready to go into battle against his order of staying put and letting Shinji take care of the situation. He had strictly forbidden her to take any action in this matter. He needed to know that, in the end, he would be the one gaining the power of God and not someone else. For that, he needed to make sure Rei was on his side. But it showed now, obviously, that she wasn't.

Still, he had one last chance to get what he wanted. He needed to eliminate all possibilities of betrayal. That meant he needed to get rid of Tabris and of the current Rei. He had one last shell her soul could be transferred into. There, she would be reprogrammed to obey his commands. She would not remember that she had disobeyed orders and got away with it.

And in order to destroy them, he needed Unit 01.

"Activate the Dummy Plug System."

--------

The inside of the Eva, the cockpit, erupted in red light. Shinji looked around frantically, trying to understand just what was going on. He hadn't touched any of the controls, so why would there suddenly be all this red light?

Activate Dummy Plug.

"NO!" he shrieked, once he had discovered what had happened. "NO! FATHER! STOP THIS!"

The last time he had experienced the Dummy Plug, he had caused one of his best friends to die. It proved to be traumatic. He couldn't let the system kill Kaoru as well. He didn't want Kaoru to die. He couldn't . . .

Unit 01 jerked into action. She (A/N: I'm referring to Unit 01 as a `she' because - well, I feel like it) stumbled forward and then began charging at Kaoru, who looked relatively unfazed. He threw up his AT field, stronger than ever, which repelled the Eva. Unfortunately for Shinji, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't resist the Dummy Plug.

"FATHER STOP IT!" he screeched. "STOP IT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN! NO! PLEASE FATHER! GET IT TO STOP! DAMMIT! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THIS TO ME? STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"

In front of him, Kaoru stiffened. Shinji looked around to see the cause of the Angel's surprise. Unit 00 had just been launched onto the battlefield and was walking towards them.

"Rei, NO!" Shinji screamed. "GET BACK! YOU'LL BE KILLED!"

But Unit 00 kept walking. Inside the cockpit, Rei also looked determined. She couldn't let Unit 01 destroy Kaoru. The Angel narrowly avoiding being skewered by the blade the purple Eva had produced, al the while still staring at Rei. Shinji had felt helpless many times in his life, but never as helpless as this. His Eva was under his father's ruthless control and would kill anything that got in its way. Meaning it would kill Unit 00 and Kaoru.

"Rei . . ." Kaoru said, raising his voice slightly. "Get out of here."

"No, I can't." Rei's voice was quiet. "This is my fault. I have to help you."

"This is foolishness, Rei. Only one will die in this battle today and that one isn't you. Listen to me, Rei and go back."

As Unit 01 took this opportunity to attack Kaoru again, Rei leapt forward with Unit 00 and intercepted the attack. She had a firm grip on the blade, which was only inches away from the Eva's side. Shinji banged his fists on the controls, tears of frustration gathering in his eyes.

In a slow, forced movement, Rei pushed back the other Eva and drew out her own weapon, concealed in her hands.

"An N2 Mine," Kaoru breathed. "Rei . . ."

"STOP IT!" Shinji screamed as Unit 01 launched itself forward again.

"Go back, Rei," Kaoru ordered, voice suddenly hard. "Don't risk your life."

"No."

Rei charged headlong into Unit 01, knocking her down into the nearest building. Shinji cried out in pain. Gritting her teeth, Rei leapt on top of the purple Eva, N2 mine still clutched in her hands. It was ten seconds away from exploding.

Kaoru sped forward.

--------

Am I dead?

Rei looked around her. Everything looked as if it had been submerged in water. There were ripples everywhere she looked, and the sunlight came down in wavering beams from overhead. Her voice echoed as her thoughts projected, filling the vast space in this unknown place.

Where is this place? Where am I?

/ You are in the world that separates life and death /

The beams of sunlight shone into her line of vision, temporarily blinding her. She brought a hand up to shield her eyes. The voice continued to speak from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

So I am dead . . .

/ In a way, yes, but not quite. There is still a part of you in life that awaits your return /

But what happened?

/ Another took your sacrifice in your place /

Kaoru . . .? Or Shinji . . .?

/ You will know in time. For now, your place is not here. Go back to where you belong. Leave be what you do not need to know. When the time comes, everything will become clear /

The world spun around her and she felt as if she were falling into a vast hole. Flashes - scenes - pictures passed her by. They were her memories from this life . . . of Shinji, Asuka . . . and Kaoru. Each one disappeared as soon as they had appeared, leaving her mind and her memories just one, long stretch of black.

--------

"Ayanami? Rei? Wake up!"

She stirred, frowning. Why did she feel so strange? She opened her eyes, only to see a whitewashed ceiling. Where was this place? Her own body felt so strange as she sat up, only to discover she was in bed.

This apartment . . . she instantly knew it belonged to her. There was a familiar sense in this place, like she knew what it was before she had even seen it properly. The littered, filthy floor; the messy desk and the medicine tray and . . .

. . . the fresh scent of roses.

"Ayanami? Are you feeling all right?"

She turned to look at the speaker, a boy around fourteen or so, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was blushing faintly as he spoke to her, concern in his wide and innocent hues. He seemed oddly familiar, and yet she could not put a name to him.

"Yes I am," she said slowly, quietly.

"Oh, that's good," the boy laughed slightly, relieved. "Uh - you don't mind me coming in here, do you? I mean, the door was open and all . . ."

"No, I don't mind." She paused, frowning. "I was not ordered to."

He blinked in confusion. As he did so, she pulled back the thin covers on her bed and brought her feet down to rest on the cold floor. Standing up, she walked past the boy and moved quietly, slowly around to the window. Something in the back of her mind tugged on her, forcing her to remember that someone - or something - used to always sit here. Then her eyes caught something placed carefully on the windowsill.

A single, long-stemmed, red rose.

It was as if she had no control over her own body. As she reached out with a shaky hand to touch it, the tears started to fall. They coursed down her pale cheeks, even if her expression did not waver. She touched the velvety petals, a feeling of recognition in her heart.

She winced as a thorn pricked her finger.

There are no such beings that are perfect. The word itself has no true meaning to it. Nothing and no one can be perfect in everyone's eyes.

---- End ----

A/N: Well, whaddya know? I'm done! After all that wondering what in the world I was going to write . . . I finished!

I'll leave you to guess what happened in the end! It was rather obvious if you ask me. But I have to say that the time that the fic ended was NOT the same time that the fic BEGAN, okay? As in, the timeline kinda . . . changed.

That's all I'll let you know! You can review me with your theories on how I ended my fic. Sooo . . .

REVIEW!

Relinquished