Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Where Darkness Falls ❯ Alicia ( Chapter 4 )

Where Darkness Falls

Chapter 4 - Alicia

Misato wandered through the streets of Silent Hill, avoiding the winged monsters to the best of her ability - more in an attempt to conserve ammo than any real fear of the creatures.

It is amazing, she thought as she ducked in an alleyway, waiting for one of the things to swoop lazily past, what a human can get accustomed to.

Eventually she reached the train station, blinking in surprise as she rounded the corner just in time to spot someone walking through the front door. In the heavy, concealing fog she could not quite see who it was, and her curiosity temporarily overrode her burning desire to find her wayward charge.

Could it be Commander Ikari? she mused, cautiously drawing her pistol (just to be safe) and slowly approaching the station. Ritsuko, Fletcher…Amber?

She resolved to check it out, stealing carefully up to the door of the station and peeking around the corner. Finding the barriers open, she made her way in, placing her feet carefully so as not to step on any of the newspapers that littered the floor. The train station was eerily silent, but Misato tried not to let it get to her, reminding herself as she peered round another corner that silence was better than the clicking of heavily-nailed footsteps or the flapping of leathery wings.

"Hello there."

Misato let out an involuntary yelp as she found an American woman sitting casually near the base of a short staircase, smiling at her with open amusement in her emerald green eyes. At a guess, Misato would have said that the woman was about her own age, with long dark hair in a queue down to her waist. Her skin was clear and unblemished, and she was dressed quite elegantly in a flowing, dark blue dress.

"I said, hello there," the woman repeated calmly, her face lighting in a soothing smile, "I'm not going to bite," she said coolly, "so… would you mind pointing your gun elsewhere?"

Misato blinked, realizing that she had levelled her pistol at the woman, and lowered it to the side. "Sorry about that," she murmured, impressed by the woman's nerve.

"Quite alright," the woman nodded, acknowledging the apology. She studied Misato for a moment, then extended her right hand. "My name is Alicia… it's nice to meet you."

"Misato Katsuragi."

There was a moment of silence as the two women shook, sizing each other up, and in that time, a thought occurred to Misato.

I didn't even notice it because I was so surprise to see her, but we've been speaking Japanese this whole time.

This thought led to another, and without any further preamble, Misato blurted, "I'm looking for a Japanese boy - he goes by the name of Shinji Takeuchi… have you ummm, have you seen him?"

God what a stupid question, she berated herself critically, I didn't even ask if she needed any help or anything - I must be losing it. She eyed the woman closely. Though it doesn't LOOK like she needs any help… she doesn't really seem like the damsel in distress type.

"The name doesn't sound familiar," Alicia said politely.

Misato nodded, reaching into her flight jacket and pulling out a battered picture of the boy. "This is him."

Alicia took the picture, studying it closely and giving Misato a few seconds to reflect on the day the picture was snapped. He was happy that day, she thought sadly, right after beating the dancing angels… getting used to having Asuka live with us… things seemed ok then - hell, he was even smiling when I pulled out my camera. What happened to us…? When did it all get so fu-

"Sorry," Alicia shook her head apologetically, handing the photo back. As Misato's fingers closed over the picture, Alicia whispered, "He's very handsome, though a bit young… is he your lover?"

"N-no," Misato stammered, her ears going pink, "why… why would you think that?"

Alicia shrugged. "You seem too young to have children," she observed, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her chin in her palms, "but he is clearly very important to you." She tilted her head to the side, resting it fully on her left hand. "If not a lover, and not a child… why is he so important to you?"

Misato was taken aback - this was the second time in less than 24 hours she had been asked this question. "When he moved to my city, I promised that I would take care of him," she said uneasily.

"Interesting…" Alicia said thoughtfully, "Now, pardon my boldness, but based on your dialect and uniform, I have to ask… are you from NERV, perhaps?"

Misato, taken completely off guard, replied, "Yes, I'm the operations director at NERV."

Alicia smiled soothingly. "Then, would that mean that Shinji is one of the world-famous Evangelion pilots?"

A much longer pause followed as Misato stared into the woman's bright green eyes. Everyone in the world knows who the Children are, she told herself, feeling a vague sense of unreality wash over her, and she identified my uniform… maybe she's from the new NERV branch herself? That would make sense, I guess - sure would explain why she's so damn calm about everything. Hell, maybe she's THEIR operations director.

Finally, she nodded. "He is," she confirmed, "and… I have reason to believe he may be near the lake - so I'm headed in that direction."

Alicia immediate shook her head. "You can't get to the lake by any of the streets," she pointed out, slowly rising to her feet and stepping past Misato. "The streets are all dominated by crevasses several metres wide, but if you go out that door," she pointed to the south end of the building, "and make your way through the Ridgeview clinic, the basement fire exit will let you out right near the lake."

Misato nodded gratefully. "Thanks."

"By the way, Miss Katsuragi…"

"Yeah?"

"I don't mean to pry," the woman said apologetically, "but…why would Shinji run away from you?" She tilted her head to the side once more, assessing the operations director for a moment. "…is it because of Kaworu?"

Misato was stunned. How does she know about Kaworu? she thought, averting her eyes from the woman's intense gaze. She HAS to be from NERV - has to! There's no other way to explain… damn it, who IS this woman!?

She blinked as she realized that Alicia was no longer standing in front of her. "Wait!" she called, finding the woman heading for the door on the opposite side of the train station.

Ignoring her call, Alicia reached the door and pushed it open, glancing back over her shoulder and murmuring, "Before you go through that door, Miss Katsuragi, ask yourself this: what do I really feel for Shinji? Until you answer that question - even if you find him physically… his true self will forever elude you."

Misato's jaw dropped open as the woman stepped out. "Hey!" she called, dashing over to the door and flinging it open. "What do you know about Shinji? How do you know about Kaworu? Who are y-"

She cut herself off as she realized that the street outside was empty.

"What the…"

Misato bit her tongue. Get a grip! she told herself. I don't know why THIS bothers you so much when everything else around here changes at the drop of a hat. She let the door swing shut before its enticing openness could draw some ill-willed and hungry creature, and made her way over to the door Alicia had indicated. Ritsuko said something about a crevasse across Bachman, she thought grimly, And since the road to Munson Street is out, I guess I have to believe Alicia…

Misato consulted her map, feeling relief wash over her as she found the Ridgeview clinic to be less than three blocks away. She pushed the door open, keeping her gun at the ready, and started down the street… but as she passed one of the myriad benches outside the train station, a flash of colour caught her eye.

Frowning, she made her way over to it, her mouth going dry as she spotted a small, red envelope bearing the initials K.M.

Taking a quick look around, she picked the envelope up and tore it open, shaking out a small key with the number 32 on it, a black and white photograph of a lighthouse, and a brief note, which read:

Dear Miss Katsuragi,

Just a small gift to help you on your way. Be sure to drop by the gym on Sandford Street when you get a moment, I think you'll like what you find there. Best of luck to you.

-A

Perplexed, Misato slipped the key into her pocket and took a closer look at the picture, her eyes widening as she spotted a small, dark-haired figure standing at the base of the lighthouse and looking up. While the figure's back was to the camera, it could very easily have been Shinji… though there really was no way to be one hundred percent certain.

Ridgeview, she thought, shaking her head and studying the picture one more time before sending it to join the mysterious key, I guess that clinches it.

**

Three blocks, one shotgun shell, and five handgun rounds later, Misato found herself outside the Ridgeview clinic, gazing at the huge gap in the road just past the entrance. Guess Alicia was right about that, she thought, walking around to the front of the building, hope she was right about everything else.

The front door swung open with a faint creak, setting Misato's teeth on edge, but as with the other buildings she had come across so far, the clinic was as empty of life as a graveyard. "Bad analogy," Misato whispered, noting with some gratitude that there was a map on the wall and quickly locating the basement fire exit. "Next I'll be saying things like, `It's dead quiet here,' or, `it's as silent as a tomb.' God, I just want to make some noise to keep from going insane, I mean-"

She cut herself off, realizing that making noise to keep from going insane was exactly what she was doing.

As quick as she could, she made her way through the ground floor, pausing at the only open door to peek in. The office of the chief surgeon (according to the plaque on the door) was in chaos, with papers and personal trappings scattered everywhere. Bringing her pistol up to bear, she slipped into the room, feeling that since this was the first sign she had seen that others were alive, she should check it out.

Damn, she thought, looking around at the carnage, someone went to town on this place! Must have been looking for something awfully valua- wait! Is that blood?!

She crouched near a small red puddle on the far side of the chief's chair, letting out a thankful sigh as she found it several shades too light, and far too thin to be blood. "Thank God," she murmured, beginning to rise… but pausing as she took note of the fact that the puddle was surrounded by broken glass - as if someone had smashed a small vial. "Probably wanted to destroy it," she reasoned, heading back out of the office and continuing towards the stairs. "Guess it doesn't really matter right now."

After a rather short, completely uneventful walk, Misato found herself in front of the door leading to the basement stairs… but as she pushed on it, she found that it would not give more than a few inches, a soft rattling issuing from the other side.

"Oh come on!" she hissed, entirely frustrated. "Come ON!"

She threw herself against the door, but only succeeded in giving herself a nasty bruise on the shoulder. Damn it…

Misato headed back through the main floor, impulsively checking the rooms for other survivors. She found no one, but in the kitchen she spotted several empty squirt bottles, lined up in neat rows against the sink. Entirely on impulse, she grabbed one and headed back to the chief surgeon's office, squeezing the bottle and allowing it to suck up the small pool of red liquid.

Someone tried pretty hard to get rid of this stuff, she thought reasonably, it's gotta be important - hell, maybe it's part of that drug case the cops are working on. When I - IF I see Fletcher again, I'll give it to him… who knows, maybe it'll help him out.

With the bottle safely stowed in her jacket, Misato headed back to the lobby, first reviewing, then simply taking the map off the wall. "Now," she said, feeling marginally better after this little act of thievery, "only one door to the basement - of course… but if I can get to one of the windows on the upper floors, it looks like this fire escape lets out right by the fire exit. Perfect."

She rolled up the map and tucked it into her pocket, starting off towards the other stairway and finding it (thankfully) unblocked.

As she reached the second floor, however, a shudder ran through her, making her reflexively close her eyes… and as darkness filled her vision, the same, piercing scream that she had heard in the school tore through her senses, leaving her breathless and shaking.

Not again!!

Misato found it very hard to stifle her own scream as she opened her eyes and found herself once again surrounded by the same dirt and decay that had been so pervasive in the school and Amber's house. The sight of the world shifting into madness was not what made her feel like screaming, though… it was the gruesome figure slouching its way down the hallway towards her that excited terror in Misato's stomach.

It wore a nurse's uniform, but it was hunchbacked and shrivelled, its stunted limbs seemingly ill-designed for moving its mass around. Where its face should have been, there was only rubbery brown tissue, devoid of any intelligence or recognizable features. Misato hesitated for a moment in spite of the knife in the thing's right hand, as an errant thought flitted through her mind.

That looks like it used to be human…

Former human or not, Misato was forced to bring her weapon up and fire, the instinct for self-preservation far outweighing the desire to help or understand. Three rounds ensured that the `nurse' was free of any burden she might have felt.

"Gotta get out of here," Misato whispered, glancing around the now-dim hallway with trepidation, "it's too confined… nowhere to run if things get real sticky."

Another great pun, she thought distantly, pushing open a door marked, `holding,' and stepping through.

"Aww!" she gasped, coming up short as she found the room full of gurneys, all covered from head to foot in white, blood-stained sheets. "God," she breathed, trying not to gag, "it's like a slaughterhouse."

She pulled her shirt up and glanced around, swallowing hard as she took in the shape under the closest sheet.

What the hell is underneath there? she thought, reaching out as if mesmerized and nearly touching one of the oddly deformed shapes before pulling her hand back and shaking her head. Wait… I don't think I want to know…

She surveyed the room, hoping to find something useful. The room was largely empty apart from the bloodstained gurneys, but there was a cabinet with some blood bags in it, leaning rather drunkenly against the far wall. Most of the bags looked torn and drained - as if some creature had gorged itself on their contents - but there was one that looked full and intact.

Hmmmm, Misato mused, some animals are attracted to blood… better take one of these - just in case I meet up with whatever did this.

Swallowing her distaste, she pocketed the blood bag and started towards the door opposite the one she entered, but before she could reach it, it burst in, a howling figure rushing through the gap - straight for Misato. Training took over, and the operations director rolled to the left, her eyes catching the telltale flash of a knife as it sailed past, inches from her spine. Continuing her pirouette, Misato reached over her shoulder and whipped the shotgun around, unloading a shell into the thing's back before she had even finished getting the strap off her shoulder.

She pumped another shell into the chamber and pulled the trigger, ensuring that the figure would not rise again. Sticky like that? she thought, wondering why she was not drooling in a corner by this point.

With a heavy sigh, Misato turned on her heel and strode from the room. She did not bother turning the thing over to see if its face was as featureless as that of the other `nurse,' because she was afraid that she would find it all too human.

DEFINITELY time to go…

**

She managed to find her way to the door leading to the next floor (all the paths to the fire exit seemed to be blocked on this one) and pushed it open, but she was forced to duck as she found the way blocked by a series of barbed chains, swinging aimlessly in the space just above the stairway. Standing in the narrow doorway, she frowned, absently moving left or right depending on how the chains swung and trying to figure out how she could get through without getting her hair or clothes snagged.

It happened so fast that Misato barely had time to react, her instincts again saving her.

"Ahh!!" she fell back and to the left as one of the chains suddenly shot at her, no longer waving randomly back and forth but moving with deadly accuracy. Now prone, Misato rolled back from the door as three more chains rocketed towards her, splintering the wood as they drove into the floor space she had just vacated.

Scrambling to her feet, Misato dashed down the hallway and burst through the last door, throwing it closed behind her and dropping to the floor as three of the chains smashed through it. Oh man! she thought, her breath coming in short pants as the chains slowly pulled back, you've gotta be kidding me!

She could see the fire escape, that was one good sign anyway, but her initial hope that the chains had reached the limit of their extension was dashed as she realized she was not alone in the room, and they had most likely retreated to leave her to this creature's disposal.

That window's not on the map! she thought tiredly, trying very hard to keep her mind from focusing on the writhing mass of leech-like tentacles protruding from a hole in the base of the wall.

Rising carefully to her feet, and trying to give the door a wide birth in case the chains were just playing possum, Misato levelled her shotgun at the mass of tentacles. "What the hell," she shrugged, "might as well give it a go."

The shotgun boomed and several of the tentacles dropped lifelessly to the floor, but no sooner had they stopped twitching than they were immediately replaced by even more of the unclean looking things, three of which fell on their dead progenitors and began pulling them apart.

Dog eat dog, huh? Misato thought grimly. Well if you like that, boys… how about something a little more human?

Praying that her ploy would work, Misato reached into her pocket and pulled out the blood bag, tearing it open.

Instantly, the mass of tentacles froze, every one of them pointing at the bag as if straining to reach it from the confines of their hole. "Bon apatite," Misato muttered, tossing the bag as far from the window as she could and rushing towards the fire escape.

The tentacles paid her no mind, seemingly content to go after the easy prey, and Misato made it to the fire escape without so much as a scratch. Now then, she thought with the slightest bit of smugness, just head down the fire escape, and we- Oh God DAMN IT!!

The fire escape, it seemed, ended somewhere in the middle of the first story… and the ground underneath was simply gone - leaving a deep, black void where the ground should have been.

"Figures," she groaned, "guess we go up… check the map… and - hell, something! There has to be SOME way out of here!"

She climbed the fire escape to the third floor and shimmied through the window, freezing as she heard the rattle and scrape of metal on metal just outside of the room she had crawled into. Chains, she thought, her stomach falling, the… whatever it is must be just through there. Great. She consulted her map, but it was of little use. I know what's on two and one, she thought reasonably, this might be my only way out of this shit hole.

With this thought firmly in mind, Misato carefully reached into her pocket and pulled out more shotgun shells, feeding them into the breach as quietly as she could and tiptoeing closer to the door. With a short cry, she kicked the door open and stepped through, blinking as she found it unexpectedly bright.

Waiting for her on the other side was another flesh and metal monstrosity. This time, its skin was tinged blue - as if it had been out in the cold too long as was now suffering from hypothermia… but where its legs should have been was a patchwork of metal plates, bolts, and chains.

Misato pulled the trigger immediately, throwing herself the rest of the way into the corridor as the monster lashed out, raking the hallway with its cruelly barbed chains. The first shot scattered harmlessly off the creature's lower body as Misato slammed through a door marked `nurse's station,' pumping the shotgun as she went and narrowly avoiding a barrage of angrily questing chains.

"You missed me!" Misato howled madly, backpeddling through the room and firing again as the creature's body blotted out the light from the hall. "That's right! You missed!! Come GET ME!!"

She hurled herself through another door as the monster let out a keening, angry cry.

Crazy, Misato thought, pumping the shotgun again and dashing through another narrow hallway, I've gone entirely crazy - that's it. Just snapped like a twig, whoo hoo, gone.

She crashed through another door, whirling around and bringing the shotgun up to bear, determined to continue this pattern of hit and run until the damn thing just gave up and died… but the creature was nowhere to be seen. Wiping sweat from her brow, Misato inched closer to the door. "Where are you?" she muttered, frowning as a soft `clink' came from somewhere down the hall. "Come… on!"

Muscles tense, she risked a glimpse around the doorframe… but again, she was presented with quiet, the faintest, echoing `clink' the only indication that she was not alone.

Where the hell is it??

Slowly, Misato lowered her shotgun, wondering if she could double back around to the window she had come through and head up to the fourth floor - forget the monster, just get out… but the choice was taken from her as the floor directly in front of her erupted in a shower of wood and metal, two of the waving chains whipping past Misato's face and making her hair flutter.

MOVE!!!

Misato obeyed the mental command, only instead of fleeing, she threw herself forward, jamming the end of the shotgun against the thing's dome-shaped head.

"Bang, motherfucker!!"

The blast of the shotgun was deafening in the small room, but the results were satisfying. A large, irregular hole appeared in the monster's blueish skin, accompanied by another of its harsh, raucous cries. Misato reached out and pumped another shell in… then another, then another, screaming at the top of her lungs as the thing tried to pull back through the floor and get away from the brutal punishment she was dishing out.

On the sixth shell, the world filled with light, blinding Misato with its brilliance.

When it had faded… only the empty hallway could be seen, only there was no hole in it, no decay, and no screaming, chain-bearing monster. I hope you like Hell, Misato thought, panting harshly as she swept the empty hallway - just to be sure. Convinced that she was alone, Misato started back towards the window, hoping that the fourth floor might have some more appealing options, but as she took a step, a glint of silver caught her eye.

"Another one…?" she whispered, kneeling on the floor and carefully picking up the small, silver crucifix laying exactly in the spot the monster had come through. "Guess that makes five."

Pocketing the cross with a thoughtful expression, Misato slowly made her way back to the fire escape, unable to escape the idea that there was far more going on here than she had even guessed.

**

As it turned out, the return to the `real' world, as Misato was starting to think of it, had somehow repaired the fire escape, allowing her to climb all the way down and put her feet once more on solid ground.

And there's the lake, she thought, nodding to herself as she found herself a stone's throw from a small, lakeside resort - clearly the tourist-driven extension to the small town. Consulting her map, Misato found that she could either continue along Munson, as Amber had described, or cut through Rosewater park - a far more appealing option, she decided, as she thought she could hear the rough cries of several of the beak-bearing monsters, and getting into another fight was just about the last item on her to-do list.

Slipping through the gates with as much stealth as she could muster, Misato found herself in a quiet, almost desolate park. It was well tended, she saw, with an assortment of flowers scattered here and there and several large shade trees… but there was a sense of emptiness and sorrow that pervaded the place, as if something sad had occurred there a long time ago.

Walking slowly through the park, Misato nearly jumped out of her skin as a calm voice said, "Hello, Miss Katsuragi… I see you found your way through the clinic."

"Good lord!" Misato cried, covering her heart as she looked wildly around, finally spotting Alicia smiling coolly at her from a park bench, "Do NOT ever do that again! I could have shot you by accident!"

"My apologies," Alicia said unconcernedly. "Now… could you point that elsewhere?"

Misato blinked, then lowered the shotgun as she found it still pointed at the woman. "Sorry."

"Forgiven."

They regarded each other for a long moment. "So," Misato said, finally regaining her breath, "I take it you're the one that left me that envelope."

"Naturally," Alicia nodded, "and I take it you are still looking for your Shinji?"

"Of course."

"Well now," Alicia said thoughtfully, "just curious here, but in all the months you've known Shinji… were you all that open. What I mean is, were you ever more than just a housemate to him? Were you… open with how you felt?"

"What do you mean by that?" Misato asked tersely, annoyed that this woman would not speak plainly.

Man, she thought, forcing herself to be calm, compared to her, Commander Ikari is like a picture book!

"How did you feel about him?" Alicia pressed gently, "Was it only the feelings of a guardian… or was it more then that?"

"That's hardly any of your business," Misato grumbled, taking a calming breath as she realized just how worked up she was getting over what was really a very innocuous line of questioning.

"Was whatever you were doing more important than Shinji?" Alicia whispered, smiling softly, "Did you include him in what you were doing… or did you just leave him alone - like his father?"

Misato frowned. "How do you know about Shinji?" she asked levelly, itching to bring the shotgun back up and make the woman talk. "Who are you that you know all of this? Is that Shinji in that picture? Do you know him?"

Alicia ignored the questions, rising slowly to her feet and gazing out over the lake. "I think you would be most pleased if you investigated the lighthouse on the far side of the lake," she said casually, "Come… walk with me."

With no other choice but to follow, Misato began walking, finding herself engaged in the most run of the mill conversation she had ever participated in. They talked about Shinji's hobbies and music, Misato showing Alicia Shinji's SDAT - completely forgotten in her pocket since she had snatched it up as a weapon in Ritsuko's apartment. They talked a bit about the town, and how the tourist business usually thrived earlier in the year. They talked about plants, and men, and everything under the sun.

…everything except how Alicia knew about Shinji, or who, exactly, she was - then the topic was always brought back around to something mundane.

Passing by Pete's Bowl-O-Rama, Misato was about to bring the subject up once more, more than happy to interrupt Alicia's casual dissertation on the growing habits of a local flower she called `Lady Dark,' when the distinct sound of gunfire reached their ears, coming from somewhere inside the bowling alley.

"You wait here," Misato said quickly, reluctant to leave the woman but unwilling to let someone else die if she could do something about it. "I'll check it out."

Without waiting for a reply, she ran up to the front doors of Pete's and flung the doors open, sweeping the alley with her shotgun. Even from the front doors, she easily spotted a row of fresh bullet holes in the wall, as if someone had been tracking a moving target as they fired… but there was no sign of either the shooter, or the intended victim. Moving quickly, Misato made her way to the back of the bowling alley, finding the door swinging back and forth on its hinges… but looking out into the night, she could not see any trace of another living being.

Whatever happened here, it looks like I missed it! she decided, keeping her shotgun at the ready and jogging quickly back to where she had left Alicia, only to find the woman, "Gone. Damn it!" Misato kicked angrily at an empty beer can, sending it end over end down the street. "`Oh come walk with me why don't you?'" she muttered darkly, glancing around at the empty street.

With a heavy sigh, she pulled out the photograph, glancing at it in the flashlight's beam.

"The lighthouse, huh?"

With a final shake of her head, Misato started off towards the lighthouse, praying that if the elegantly clad woman was insane… that she at least had it together enough to help her find Shinji.

TBC