I've actually had this story planned for a very VERY long time and even
wrote it out a couple of times but never really intending to publish it!
But since my brothers and sister got hooked onto it after they heard it,
they like it a lot, so I decided I might as well try and see what other
people think about it!
Disclaimers: the cast of NGE is of course not mine. If it were, I'd make the ending a little different. It belongs to GAINAX and all the other big corporations that own it.
Um. I don't think it has ANY pairings at all. Well, at least, I didn't plan on any other than the normal Misato x Kaji. Okay, now on with the story. ^_^
+...+ means thoughts *...* Author's thoughts [.] change of environment
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------
Finding strength to Live Prologue: Danger
A lone child walks down an empty street with plastic bags of groceries in both hands. His head hangs low on his shoulders, not bothering to look where he was going. There was no point, half of the cities population is gone. Of course, they had good reasons to leave, with their homes destroyed, they had to move to the other cities such as Tokyo 2.
Shinji is left only with the voices of his thoughts and the sounds of trickling water drops.
+Why do I even bother cooking? There's no point.+
Shinji quietly contemplate this question.
It has been 3 weeks after Kaworu Nagisa's death, and Shinji no longer considers suicide as an option of escape. However, life has become so meaningless, even with Asuka and Misato.
+Asuka has been finally released from hospital, that's got to be a good thing. However, she stays in her room all the time, only coming out to eat, to the toilet and the bath; never uttering a single word.+
+She's acting more and more like Rei.+
Shinji switches his attention from worrying about Asuka to the changes in the personality of Rei.
With the death of the last angel, Rei found herself without any purpose of living. She quietly contemplates death. However, ironically, she is the last of her kind, does that mean she cannot be replaced anymore, does that mean she has some worth after all, since she is the only one left. During this mental crisis, she often take trips to the Library, not to read books on philosophy or sociology, instead she reads fictional stories to runaway from her worries. Her favourite stories are those that deal with emotional relationships such as romances.
Without any more angel attacks, Rei started to experience a strange sensation, boredom. And so, she experimented with doing things the normal people do, such as going to the park, learning how to cook and clean up her messy apartment. With everything she did, came the experience of satisfaction and she started to smile more often. Rei no longer calls Misato 'Major' or Maya 'Lieutenant' or even Shinji as 'Pilot Ikari'.
+Misato seems to become even more busy now the city is under construction by orders from the commanders. I wonder what she is doing?+
Misato rarely comes home, and even if she does, it's always late at night. There's no point in preparing her lunch or dinner because she always orders takeaways anyway.
Not only Misato, but everybody seem to be busy, all except the pilots that is. The commanders must be planning some thing.
[In the Commander Ikari's office]
Two forms reside in a silent dark room. One sitting behind an uncluttered desk while the other stands impatiently before the first.
Fuyutski broke the silence with his slightly shocked accusation: "An all out war against SEELE!? Are you sure about this, Ikari?!"
Commander Ikari, the supreme commander of Nerv Central, replied back indifferently: "positive."
"But what would SEELE gain from the total annihilation of Tokyo 3? There are so many innocent people living here!! SEELE wouldn't jeopardise all these civilians, they couldn't!!" Fuyutski denied.
Commander Ikari's monotonous tone answered back: "They gain Adam and Lillith. That is enough for them."
A slight pause ensured, but was finally broken by Fuyutski again. "Is that why you called for the re-development of Tokyo 3. to improve our defence lines against an invasion of SEELE's troops? They won't fall for that and you know it, Ikari!" he refuted the idea.
"All in the name of re-developing the city for future residents. After all, Tokyo 3 currently holds very little population with the recent Angel attacks. But now that all the angels are defeated, the government can't possibly deny our right to rebuild the city. And within that rebuilding package, a large portion of the money goes to development of our defences. As long as our records are kept clean, they would never know where the money had gone to." A very long speech for the Commander of Nerv, though necessary to explain his plans to the still undecided Fuyutski.
+Clever bastard+, thought the second in command of Nerv, Professor Fuyutski.
A longer silence ensured the productive rethinking on Fuyutski's mind, though he couldn't find any more arguments to state forward.
Ikari, taking his silence as acceptance, continued: "However, that is not all of our concerns."
Fuyutski, drifting back to the original topic of discussion replied: "Yeah, who knows what those old men have up their sleeve. We better be careful from now on."
[In the secret Conference rooms of SEELE]
SEELE 05: Ikari is using the redevelopment fund to improve their defences.
SEELE 03: That bastard!
SEELE 01: It matters little what Ikari does. Destiny will not be denied.
SEELE 02: We should deploy the sentinels immediately, before their defences are finished.
SEELE 07: The Eva 5 Series and the angel copies are not yet ready. We will have to improvise.
SEELE 05: What should we do then?
SEELE 04: I have a proposal.
SEELE 02: Then share with us this suggestion.
SEELE 04: Nerv's ultimate weapon are the Evas. But the Evas are useless unless they have pilots. I suggest we take out the hybrid pilots first, especially the pilot of Evagelion Unit one, since it is the most advance and complete model.
SEELE 07: A good proposal, Let's take out all the pilots.
SEELE 01: So be it. It will be done. Ikari, feel the wrath of SEELE for your betrayal.
[Misato's Apartment]
Shinji's voice rang through the deserted hallway of his home: "I'm home!. Not that any one really cares."
Shinji plopped his bag of groceries on the kitchen table and started putting all of them away. He took a small glance at Asuka's room in contemplation.
+I wonder if she is hungry?+
Shinji made a small plate of sandwiches and brought them outside of Asuka's room. He knocked once, no reply. He knocked on the door again, this time louder, but still no reply from the depressed girl.
Shinji called out: "Asuka! Lunch is ready!"
Silence was his answer.
Shinji called out again, wishing for a reply, any kind of reply, even if it was an insult. "Do you want me to put it on the floor?"
Again, all he received was silence.
+Something is wrong. By now, she usually opens the door, grab her lunch and shuts it again. Something is wrong, I just know it!+
Shinji slides the door open slightly, creating a small gap to see through. His eyes widen a little and Shinji slid the door completely open, only to reveal an empty room.
Shinji whispered to himself: "Did she runaway again?... It figures."
He signed and shut the door close slowly. He then tried to shake away his depression and loneliness when a sickening sensation travelled up his spine and made him shiver.
Shinji, eyes wide but still whispering: "No! This isn't right."
Then, a horrific idea entered Shinji's mind and he rushed to the bathroom and slide that door open violently. His eyes bulged and his heart skipped several beats.
Lying in a pool of blood in the bath tub is Asuka's naked body, both her hands has been slit.
"AAAAAASSSSSUUUUUKKKKKKAAAAAA!!!!!"
Shinji immediately rushes to Asuka's side and pulled her out of the freezing cold water that was stained red with her blood. He then grabbed a near by towel, wrapped it around her body then carried her to the lounge. His mind was racing so fast with possibilities of what he should be doing that he couldn't even consciously stop his body from moving. He realised that this was a life and death situation. He cannot make a single mistake. In fact, it seems to him that some one else has taken over his body and not the real Shinji. For the first time in his life, Shinji is not undecisive in what he should do next.
Next, Shinji quickly checked her pulse and breathing. "Still breathing, heart still beating though slow, good."
He picked up the phone and dialled for emergency assistance and then called Nerv to inform Misato of the event. He then tried his best to bandage up the cut on Asuka's wrist as best he could to stop the bleeding. Then he tried to dry Asuka's body and warm it up from being exposed to cold water to long. Within a minute, the ambulances have arrived and they took both the self-inflicted suicide victim and Shinji to the hospital. Siren's were heard as the emergency vehicle rushes through the empty streets. The chaotic sounds reflects Shinji's heart and mind even though he did not show any sign of his childish fears on his face, only displaying a look of worry.
+Asuka! You must live! You don't want to die! Not yet! Not like this! Not like this!+ Shinji continue to silently reassure himself.
[Hospital]
Misato arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. She found Shinji sitting in the lobby with a blank expression on his face. His shirt was stained with Asuka's blood.
+He must still be in shock, poor kid.+
Misato decided not to interrupt him, she ran to the doctor in charge and asked about Asuka's condition.
The doctor replied softly to Misato's concern: "The child's life is not in any danger. And her condition has stabled. It's just that she lost a lot of blood and must stay in the hospital to recover."
Misato sighed in relief: "Thank you doctor. Can I go see her now?
The doctor nodded: "Yes, you may. But she is still unconscious and she needs plenty of rest.
Misato replied firmly: "Understood."
And with that said, the doctor leaves. Misato then turned around and realised that the seat that Shinji had been sitting in a minute ago was empty. She turned her attention back towards the direction of Asuka's room and started walking there.
Misato opened the door to the room numbered 303 slowly and quietly. She saw a figure already seated next to the sleeping yet injured second child. Shinji simply stared quietly at the unconscious girl in which he had helped save with a look of emptiness in his eyes.
+Why?! Asuka, why did you do that? Am I so repulsed that you would rather die than face me? Am I so useless that I can't help you? Am I so unworthy of your time?+
A single tear travelled down Shinji's pale white face and he started out of his musing. He tentatively touched one of these watery droplets and held it in front of him. "Tears?"
+Can I still cry? I haven't cried since Kawuru's death. I though I'd lost all of my emotions by now. Guess not.+ Shinji thought indifferently. +I still care. And because I care, I can feel pain. and I can cry.+
Shinji lowers his head down, his hair covering his dark blue eyes. These same eyes which has seen too much sorrow and pain; the very same eyes that can become cold and expressionless, even with tears flowing out of it freely.
Misato said quietly, as if not to disturb the peace too much: "You did the right thing, Shinji."
Shinji remains silent.
Misato remains silent.
The both remain silent for the rest of their visit.
[On the Other Side of the City]
Rei walks quietly down an empty street with a book in front of her face. She was not looking where she was going but there was no point in doing so anyway. The streets are empty, without cars or people to bump into and she knows this path well since she uses it all the time.
Rei steps off the sidewalk and onto the road, still with the book in front of her. Rei strode comfortably across the road. What she didn't notice was that her enemies had been waiting for her.
Once she reached the middle of the 3 lane road, suddenly out of no where appeared a speeding black Mercedes with dark tinted windows. It was racing at a high speed towards Rei and it didn't slow down at all. Rei only had time to take one glance at the dangerous car and then felt the impact of it ramming right into her.
Rei didn't remember anything after that. She did not remember the tremendous pain she felt when her body was hit by the front of the car, her books flying out of her hands, her body rolling over the car as if in slow motion, nor did she remember the final sharp pain as her head impacts on the ground. The Mercedes car did not stop as it sped away running over Rei's fallen book.
Red blood slowly sips out of Rei's head and stained both her school dress and the cold, hard floor. When it reached the scattered pages of the ruined book, it stained the pages red too.
Within seconds, the security personnel assigned to watched Rei are by her side, checking if she is alive and sending her to the hospital immediately.
[Hospital room 303]
ring. ring. ring.
Misato picked up her cell phone. "Yes. What?!" She shouted. "How did that happen?!" Pause. "Have you contacted the commanders?.. Okay.. Okay.. I'll be right on it."
Shinji stayed in silent curiosity as to what emergency even happened to make Misato turn even paler than she was before.
Misato moved her worried gaze upon him and explained the situation: "Rei. has been involved in a car accident. She is in the emergency room now. I'm going to see her. If you want to come, you can."
Shinji remains silent.
Misato sighed: "It's up to you, Shinji. You decide."
Misato turned around and walked towards the door. She opened it, walked out of the room and closed it quietly, without speaking any further.
Shinji's face is pale and blank, his eyes cold and expressionless, but there is a sheering pain in his heart. Slowly but surely, he uttered one word into the silent room: "Rei."
[Gendo Ikari's Office]
Fuyutski's outraged voice filled the normally quite room: "What happened to Rei?!"
Commander Ikari, though seeming calm, was furiously raging on the inside. "SEELE's doing."
Fuyutski was unable to control his expression behind such a cold façade. "SEELE is directly targeting the Children! Those Old Bastards!" He exclaimed.
Ikari's indifferent voice replied back simply, as if stating the obvious: "Once all the hybrid pilots are dead, there will be no one to pilot the Evas."
Fuyutski took a deep breath, trying to calm down then continued: "Now what do we do? We've already got two of the pilots in the hospital, one in a critical condition. Do we push up security on the last remaining pilot?"
Ikari answered softly: "We are already too late."
Fuyutski blinked at his commander, eyes widening in realisation. He immediately grabbed the near by phone: "Get me Major Katsuragi! NOW!!"
[Hospital room 303]
The door slid open silently. A dark figure entered. Shinji did not notice, and even if he did, he didn't seem to care. All his attention was focused of the sleeping form of the second child. A silence pistol was pulled out of the dark figure's black coat pocket and held directly behind Shinji's head. An evil smile appeared on the dark figure's face. He steadied his aim and finger on the trigger. Click! BANG!
[SEELE SECRET COUNCIL]
SEELE 05: Are all the children dead yet?
SEELE 03: Not yet but they will be soon.
SEELE 07: The first child is in a critical condition but the second is stable.
SEELE 04: It matters little. The second can no longer pilot anyway so we can disregard her.
SEELE 02: Ikari must be feeling the pain of loosing his most precious possession by now.
SEELE 05: But Rei is not dead yet.
SEELE 02: It wasn't Rei that I was referring to.
SEELE 05: I do not understand.
SEELE 01: Indeed. Ikari's ultimate lost is not that of the clone of his wife, but it is his last remaining family legacy.
SEELE 02: His son. Shinji Ikari.
[Hospital room 303]
A figure fell on the floor. Blood flowing freely out of a massive hole on the back of his head, a result from a bullet shot at point blank range.
Shinji looked down emotionlessly on the figure whom just tried to kill him. Then his gaze turned towards Misato who still held her gun, visible fumes still coming out of the gun.
Shinji asked her, though cold in his tone of voice, his eyes plead for an answer: "Why?"
Misato looked sadly back into his eyes, determined: "Because I don't want you to die. Because I still care about you. And you should too."
A small smile appeared on Shinji's pale face. "Thank you."
Misato pulled her gun away and looked back at him, then smiled the only sincere smile in a long time. "You're welcomed, kiddo."
Within a few minutes, the body of the assassin had been dragged away and the blood on the floor cleaned up. Shinji and Misato had also left Asuka's room together, walking towards Rei's new room. Leaving behind a heavily guarded Room 303, with security cameras and security personnel's watching over it 24 hours a day.
Rei had just recovered from her surgery and is now in a stable condition, though unconscious.
Shinji held Rei's pale hands in his own, just as he had done with Asuka, two rooms away. He whispered to the sleeping child: "Rei, don't die. Fight back."
Fighting against tears, Shinji shook his head slightly but continued with a sad smile. "You're only starting to live, to feel, to understand. Don't stop now. Don't let them stop you now. Don't give up, you're not a doll. You're no longer a puppet to be played with and ordered around. You have worth, you're the last and the only Rei Ayanami. You cannot be replaced, not by anyone or anything, because you are you and only you."
Upon the pale girl's features, a small but tentative smile appeared.
Misato nods in appreciation. Shinji has finally overcome his fears over Rei being a clone of his mother. He knows now that she isn't just a clone, or a copy. She is Rei Ayanami, the first and foremost. His words can become her strength, the strength to find herself.
[Gendo Ikari's Office]
Fuyutski sighed in relief. "All the pilots are now secure. SEELE's plan has failed."
Ikari, still unmoved. "Not entirely."
Fuyutski, puzzled by the commander's two word answer, asked back: "What do you mean?"
Ikari answered: "The pilot of Eva unit Two is useless for she is already unable to pilot the Eva, so she is irrelevant. And Rei is currently unable to synchronise completely with Eva Unit Zero. The only card we have up our sleeve is the pilot of Eva Unit One."
Fuyutski, understanding the situation better now, recommended the next actions: "Then we will post triple, quadruple guards around him, including the Major."
Ikari shook his dead in denial, opposing such an undertaking. "No, Fuyutski. Tokyo 3 is no longer a safe place for Shinji." Unconsciously, Ikari had referred to his son as Shinji, not the pilot of Eva Unit One, or as the third child.
Fuyutski confused once again. "Then what do you plan to do? Move him?"
Ikari smiles slightly though it was covered by his folded fingers. His eyes sparkled with hidden amusement behind his dark, cold spectacles.
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Finally! Finished the Prologue. Hopefully, Chapter 1 will be up soon. Please! PLEASE!! Read and Review. I will most definitely post up Chapter 1 but if no one reviews, then I might as well quit. I'm not asking for much. Just 3 will be enough for lil ol me! ^_^ So READ AND REVIEW NOW!!!
Disclaimers: the cast of NGE is of course not mine. If it were, I'd make the ending a little different. It belongs to GAINAX and all the other big corporations that own it.
Um. I don't think it has ANY pairings at all. Well, at least, I didn't plan on any other than the normal Misato x Kaji. Okay, now on with the story. ^_^
+...+ means thoughts *...* Author's thoughts [.] change of environment
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------
Finding strength to Live Prologue: Danger
A lone child walks down an empty street with plastic bags of groceries in both hands. His head hangs low on his shoulders, not bothering to look where he was going. There was no point, half of the cities population is gone. Of course, they had good reasons to leave, with their homes destroyed, they had to move to the other cities such as Tokyo 2.
Shinji is left only with the voices of his thoughts and the sounds of trickling water drops.
+Why do I even bother cooking? There's no point.+
Shinji quietly contemplate this question.
It has been 3 weeks after Kaworu Nagisa's death, and Shinji no longer considers suicide as an option of escape. However, life has become so meaningless, even with Asuka and Misato.
+Asuka has been finally released from hospital, that's got to be a good thing. However, she stays in her room all the time, only coming out to eat, to the toilet and the bath; never uttering a single word.+
+She's acting more and more like Rei.+
Shinji switches his attention from worrying about Asuka to the changes in the personality of Rei.
With the death of the last angel, Rei found herself without any purpose of living. She quietly contemplates death. However, ironically, she is the last of her kind, does that mean she cannot be replaced anymore, does that mean she has some worth after all, since she is the only one left. During this mental crisis, she often take trips to the Library, not to read books on philosophy or sociology, instead she reads fictional stories to runaway from her worries. Her favourite stories are those that deal with emotional relationships such as romances.
Without any more angel attacks, Rei started to experience a strange sensation, boredom. And so, she experimented with doing things the normal people do, such as going to the park, learning how to cook and clean up her messy apartment. With everything she did, came the experience of satisfaction and she started to smile more often. Rei no longer calls Misato 'Major' or Maya 'Lieutenant' or even Shinji as 'Pilot Ikari'.
+Misato seems to become even more busy now the city is under construction by orders from the commanders. I wonder what she is doing?+
Misato rarely comes home, and even if she does, it's always late at night. There's no point in preparing her lunch or dinner because she always orders takeaways anyway.
Not only Misato, but everybody seem to be busy, all except the pilots that is. The commanders must be planning some thing.
[In the Commander Ikari's office]
Two forms reside in a silent dark room. One sitting behind an uncluttered desk while the other stands impatiently before the first.
Fuyutski broke the silence with his slightly shocked accusation: "An all out war against SEELE!? Are you sure about this, Ikari?!"
Commander Ikari, the supreme commander of Nerv Central, replied back indifferently: "positive."
"But what would SEELE gain from the total annihilation of Tokyo 3? There are so many innocent people living here!! SEELE wouldn't jeopardise all these civilians, they couldn't!!" Fuyutski denied.
Commander Ikari's monotonous tone answered back: "They gain Adam and Lillith. That is enough for them."
A slight pause ensured, but was finally broken by Fuyutski again. "Is that why you called for the re-development of Tokyo 3. to improve our defence lines against an invasion of SEELE's troops? They won't fall for that and you know it, Ikari!" he refuted the idea.
"All in the name of re-developing the city for future residents. After all, Tokyo 3 currently holds very little population with the recent Angel attacks. But now that all the angels are defeated, the government can't possibly deny our right to rebuild the city. And within that rebuilding package, a large portion of the money goes to development of our defences. As long as our records are kept clean, they would never know where the money had gone to." A very long speech for the Commander of Nerv, though necessary to explain his plans to the still undecided Fuyutski.
+Clever bastard+, thought the second in command of Nerv, Professor Fuyutski.
A longer silence ensured the productive rethinking on Fuyutski's mind, though he couldn't find any more arguments to state forward.
Ikari, taking his silence as acceptance, continued: "However, that is not all of our concerns."
Fuyutski, drifting back to the original topic of discussion replied: "Yeah, who knows what those old men have up their sleeve. We better be careful from now on."
[In the secret Conference rooms of SEELE]
SEELE 05: Ikari is using the redevelopment fund to improve their defences.
SEELE 03: That bastard!
SEELE 01: It matters little what Ikari does. Destiny will not be denied.
SEELE 02: We should deploy the sentinels immediately, before their defences are finished.
SEELE 07: The Eva 5 Series and the angel copies are not yet ready. We will have to improvise.
SEELE 05: What should we do then?
SEELE 04: I have a proposal.
SEELE 02: Then share with us this suggestion.
SEELE 04: Nerv's ultimate weapon are the Evas. But the Evas are useless unless they have pilots. I suggest we take out the hybrid pilots first, especially the pilot of Evagelion Unit one, since it is the most advance and complete model.
SEELE 07: A good proposal, Let's take out all the pilots.
SEELE 01: So be it. It will be done. Ikari, feel the wrath of SEELE for your betrayal.
[Misato's Apartment]
Shinji's voice rang through the deserted hallway of his home: "I'm home!. Not that any one really cares."
Shinji plopped his bag of groceries on the kitchen table and started putting all of them away. He took a small glance at Asuka's room in contemplation.
+I wonder if she is hungry?+
Shinji made a small plate of sandwiches and brought them outside of Asuka's room. He knocked once, no reply. He knocked on the door again, this time louder, but still no reply from the depressed girl.
Shinji called out: "Asuka! Lunch is ready!"
Silence was his answer.
Shinji called out again, wishing for a reply, any kind of reply, even if it was an insult. "Do you want me to put it on the floor?"
Again, all he received was silence.
+Something is wrong. By now, she usually opens the door, grab her lunch and shuts it again. Something is wrong, I just know it!+
Shinji slides the door open slightly, creating a small gap to see through. His eyes widen a little and Shinji slid the door completely open, only to reveal an empty room.
Shinji whispered to himself: "Did she runaway again?... It figures."
He signed and shut the door close slowly. He then tried to shake away his depression and loneliness when a sickening sensation travelled up his spine and made him shiver.
Shinji, eyes wide but still whispering: "No! This isn't right."
Then, a horrific idea entered Shinji's mind and he rushed to the bathroom and slide that door open violently. His eyes bulged and his heart skipped several beats.
Lying in a pool of blood in the bath tub is Asuka's naked body, both her hands has been slit.
"AAAAAASSSSSUUUUUKKKKKKAAAAAA!!!!!"
Shinji immediately rushes to Asuka's side and pulled her out of the freezing cold water that was stained red with her blood. He then grabbed a near by towel, wrapped it around her body then carried her to the lounge. His mind was racing so fast with possibilities of what he should be doing that he couldn't even consciously stop his body from moving. He realised that this was a life and death situation. He cannot make a single mistake. In fact, it seems to him that some one else has taken over his body and not the real Shinji. For the first time in his life, Shinji is not undecisive in what he should do next.
Next, Shinji quickly checked her pulse and breathing. "Still breathing, heart still beating though slow, good."
He picked up the phone and dialled for emergency assistance and then called Nerv to inform Misato of the event. He then tried his best to bandage up the cut on Asuka's wrist as best he could to stop the bleeding. Then he tried to dry Asuka's body and warm it up from being exposed to cold water to long. Within a minute, the ambulances have arrived and they took both the self-inflicted suicide victim and Shinji to the hospital. Siren's were heard as the emergency vehicle rushes through the empty streets. The chaotic sounds reflects Shinji's heart and mind even though he did not show any sign of his childish fears on his face, only displaying a look of worry.
+Asuka! You must live! You don't want to die! Not yet! Not like this! Not like this!+ Shinji continue to silently reassure himself.
[Hospital]
Misato arrived at the hospital a few minutes later. She found Shinji sitting in the lobby with a blank expression on his face. His shirt was stained with Asuka's blood.
+He must still be in shock, poor kid.+
Misato decided not to interrupt him, she ran to the doctor in charge and asked about Asuka's condition.
The doctor replied softly to Misato's concern: "The child's life is not in any danger. And her condition has stabled. It's just that she lost a lot of blood and must stay in the hospital to recover."
Misato sighed in relief: "Thank you doctor. Can I go see her now?
The doctor nodded: "Yes, you may. But she is still unconscious and she needs plenty of rest.
Misato replied firmly: "Understood."
And with that said, the doctor leaves. Misato then turned around and realised that the seat that Shinji had been sitting in a minute ago was empty. She turned her attention back towards the direction of Asuka's room and started walking there.
Misato opened the door to the room numbered 303 slowly and quietly. She saw a figure already seated next to the sleeping yet injured second child. Shinji simply stared quietly at the unconscious girl in which he had helped save with a look of emptiness in his eyes.
+Why?! Asuka, why did you do that? Am I so repulsed that you would rather die than face me? Am I so useless that I can't help you? Am I so unworthy of your time?+
A single tear travelled down Shinji's pale white face and he started out of his musing. He tentatively touched one of these watery droplets and held it in front of him. "Tears?"
+Can I still cry? I haven't cried since Kawuru's death. I though I'd lost all of my emotions by now. Guess not.+ Shinji thought indifferently. +I still care. And because I care, I can feel pain. and I can cry.+
Shinji lowers his head down, his hair covering his dark blue eyes. These same eyes which has seen too much sorrow and pain; the very same eyes that can become cold and expressionless, even with tears flowing out of it freely.
Misato said quietly, as if not to disturb the peace too much: "You did the right thing, Shinji."
Shinji remains silent.
Misato remains silent.
The both remain silent for the rest of their visit.
[On the Other Side of the City]
Rei walks quietly down an empty street with a book in front of her face. She was not looking where she was going but there was no point in doing so anyway. The streets are empty, without cars or people to bump into and she knows this path well since she uses it all the time.
Rei steps off the sidewalk and onto the road, still with the book in front of her. Rei strode comfortably across the road. What she didn't notice was that her enemies had been waiting for her.
Once she reached the middle of the 3 lane road, suddenly out of no where appeared a speeding black Mercedes with dark tinted windows. It was racing at a high speed towards Rei and it didn't slow down at all. Rei only had time to take one glance at the dangerous car and then felt the impact of it ramming right into her.
Rei didn't remember anything after that. She did not remember the tremendous pain she felt when her body was hit by the front of the car, her books flying out of her hands, her body rolling over the car as if in slow motion, nor did she remember the final sharp pain as her head impacts on the ground. The Mercedes car did not stop as it sped away running over Rei's fallen book.
Red blood slowly sips out of Rei's head and stained both her school dress and the cold, hard floor. When it reached the scattered pages of the ruined book, it stained the pages red too.
Within seconds, the security personnel assigned to watched Rei are by her side, checking if she is alive and sending her to the hospital immediately.
[Hospital room 303]
ring. ring. ring.
Misato picked up her cell phone. "Yes. What?!" She shouted. "How did that happen?!" Pause. "Have you contacted the commanders?.. Okay.. Okay.. I'll be right on it."
Shinji stayed in silent curiosity as to what emergency even happened to make Misato turn even paler than she was before.
Misato moved her worried gaze upon him and explained the situation: "Rei. has been involved in a car accident. She is in the emergency room now. I'm going to see her. If you want to come, you can."
Shinji remains silent.
Misato sighed: "It's up to you, Shinji. You decide."
Misato turned around and walked towards the door. She opened it, walked out of the room and closed it quietly, without speaking any further.
Shinji's face is pale and blank, his eyes cold and expressionless, but there is a sheering pain in his heart. Slowly but surely, he uttered one word into the silent room: "Rei."
[Gendo Ikari's Office]
Fuyutski's outraged voice filled the normally quite room: "What happened to Rei?!"
Commander Ikari, though seeming calm, was furiously raging on the inside. "SEELE's doing."
Fuyutski was unable to control his expression behind such a cold façade. "SEELE is directly targeting the Children! Those Old Bastards!" He exclaimed.
Ikari's indifferent voice replied back simply, as if stating the obvious: "Once all the hybrid pilots are dead, there will be no one to pilot the Evas."
Fuyutski took a deep breath, trying to calm down then continued: "Now what do we do? We've already got two of the pilots in the hospital, one in a critical condition. Do we push up security on the last remaining pilot?"
Ikari answered softly: "We are already too late."
Fuyutski blinked at his commander, eyes widening in realisation. He immediately grabbed the near by phone: "Get me Major Katsuragi! NOW!!"
[Hospital room 303]
The door slid open silently. A dark figure entered. Shinji did not notice, and even if he did, he didn't seem to care. All his attention was focused of the sleeping form of the second child. A silence pistol was pulled out of the dark figure's black coat pocket and held directly behind Shinji's head. An evil smile appeared on the dark figure's face. He steadied his aim and finger on the trigger. Click! BANG!
[SEELE SECRET COUNCIL]
SEELE 05: Are all the children dead yet?
SEELE 03: Not yet but they will be soon.
SEELE 07: The first child is in a critical condition but the second is stable.
SEELE 04: It matters little. The second can no longer pilot anyway so we can disregard her.
SEELE 02: Ikari must be feeling the pain of loosing his most precious possession by now.
SEELE 05: But Rei is not dead yet.
SEELE 02: It wasn't Rei that I was referring to.
SEELE 05: I do not understand.
SEELE 01: Indeed. Ikari's ultimate lost is not that of the clone of his wife, but it is his last remaining family legacy.
SEELE 02: His son. Shinji Ikari.
[Hospital room 303]
A figure fell on the floor. Blood flowing freely out of a massive hole on the back of his head, a result from a bullet shot at point blank range.
Shinji looked down emotionlessly on the figure whom just tried to kill him. Then his gaze turned towards Misato who still held her gun, visible fumes still coming out of the gun.
Shinji asked her, though cold in his tone of voice, his eyes plead for an answer: "Why?"
Misato looked sadly back into his eyes, determined: "Because I don't want you to die. Because I still care about you. And you should too."
A small smile appeared on Shinji's pale face. "Thank you."
Misato pulled her gun away and looked back at him, then smiled the only sincere smile in a long time. "You're welcomed, kiddo."
Within a few minutes, the body of the assassin had been dragged away and the blood on the floor cleaned up. Shinji and Misato had also left Asuka's room together, walking towards Rei's new room. Leaving behind a heavily guarded Room 303, with security cameras and security personnel's watching over it 24 hours a day.
Rei had just recovered from her surgery and is now in a stable condition, though unconscious.
Shinji held Rei's pale hands in his own, just as he had done with Asuka, two rooms away. He whispered to the sleeping child: "Rei, don't die. Fight back."
Fighting against tears, Shinji shook his head slightly but continued with a sad smile. "You're only starting to live, to feel, to understand. Don't stop now. Don't let them stop you now. Don't give up, you're not a doll. You're no longer a puppet to be played with and ordered around. You have worth, you're the last and the only Rei Ayanami. You cannot be replaced, not by anyone or anything, because you are you and only you."
Upon the pale girl's features, a small but tentative smile appeared.
Misato nods in appreciation. Shinji has finally overcome his fears over Rei being a clone of his mother. He knows now that she isn't just a clone, or a copy. She is Rei Ayanami, the first and foremost. His words can become her strength, the strength to find herself.
[Gendo Ikari's Office]
Fuyutski sighed in relief. "All the pilots are now secure. SEELE's plan has failed."
Ikari, still unmoved. "Not entirely."
Fuyutski, puzzled by the commander's two word answer, asked back: "What do you mean?"
Ikari answered: "The pilot of Eva unit Two is useless for she is already unable to pilot the Eva, so she is irrelevant. And Rei is currently unable to synchronise completely with Eva Unit Zero. The only card we have up our sleeve is the pilot of Eva Unit One."
Fuyutski, understanding the situation better now, recommended the next actions: "Then we will post triple, quadruple guards around him, including the Major."
Ikari shook his dead in denial, opposing such an undertaking. "No, Fuyutski. Tokyo 3 is no longer a safe place for Shinji." Unconsciously, Ikari had referred to his son as Shinji, not the pilot of Eva Unit One, or as the third child.
Fuyutski confused once again. "Then what do you plan to do? Move him?"
Ikari smiles slightly though it was covered by his folded fingers. His eyes sparkled with hidden amusement behind his dark, cold spectacles.
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Finally! Finished the Prologue. Hopefully, Chapter 1 will be up soon. Please! PLEASE!! Read and Review. I will most definitely post up Chapter 1 but if no one reviews, then I might as well quit. I'm not asking for much. Just 3 will be enough for lil ol me! ^_^ So READ AND REVIEW NOW!!!