"SOMEONE STOLE THE BOX!"
Advice and Trust [NGE]
"SOMEONE STOLE THE BOX!"
- Location
- Sweden
Of course! SEELE doesn't want him to not heed the Call, so while everyone is distracted by the attack against Rei, they send someone to steal the Box.
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- Location
- Montclair, California
"Because I'm cheaper than even Mr. Krabs I'll put a 5 on all encompassing rage!"
Ahhh, that makes perfect sense. Thank you.
they send someone to steal the Box.
The fun comes when Kaworu has to explain to the others just what's so important about the contents that the box being stolen is very nearly as bad as Rei passing out.
- Location
- Canada
There's an old Filipino saying: "When the good ones go angry, they're brutal."
Considering that the three outwardly nicest characters in NGE are Kaworu (a bringer of the apocalypse), Rei (another harbinger), and Shinji (The third Horseman of this little group), I'd say it is well founded.
I apologize. I did not mean to come off that way. I was just trying to be helpful... wow it's like my last post on the matter was me dropping it,
I'm sorry.
- Location
- Greater Space City
Just be glad it's just heresy and not Exterminatus.
Sooo. That makes it the third time our fishy gets fried?
Sooo. That makes it the third time our fishy gets fried?
Wasn't planning on it. And we'll just have to see where Stryp goes with Shinji and Rei being related or not. And, if that does come up, their thoughts about it.
So I have NO IDEA wether Shinji and Rei are going to think of each other as siblings! I'm just HOPING for it!
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
In the immediate aftermath of Shamshel, Ritsuko points out that the Angels have a "99.89% match with humans" when showing a DNA breakdown of Shamshel. Which is... kind of insane. Chimpanzees are native to Earth and man's closest biological relative, and they don't have that degree of closeness. The Angels are nearly genetically human, which makes no sense at all in terms of real science. So Rei being part-Lilith, part-Yui DNA is... I don't even know, but Rei is someone both Shinji and Asuka have admitted deep romantic feelings and strong attraction to. Not even the end of the world is going to make them all stop loving one another.
3000+ word update in a bit, as soon as I can hammer out the last part of this last scene.
Preview:
+++
Asuka narrowed her eyes as the Section 2 sedan slid to a stop not by the Emergency Room entrance of the Geofront hospital like she expected, but by one of the elevator access points on the rim of the Headquarters pyramid. She glared at the driver. "This isn't the hospital. The First needs medical attention, why aren't we going there right the Hell now?"
"Orders, Pilot," the black-suited agent replied. "The First Child is to be escorted to Doctor Akagi's secure lab immediately for examination."
Asuka's expression soured further. A barely audible growl emanated from her clenched jaw. Hikari looked none too pleased either, but put a calming hand on her friend's shoulder.
A gurney waited for them by the elevator doors, along with Asuka's least favorite fake blonde. Said doctor was already strapping Rei to the gurney with Shinji and Kaworu looking on as Asuka got out of the second car and stalked up. She pinned Doctor Akagi with a glare that Sachiel would have been happy to wield. "We're going with her," she insisted to the older woman.
Ritsuko's eyebrows went up and she turned her head to the fuming Second Child. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Pilot. The First Child's examination and treatment must be performed in a secure lab. That means not in the hospital, and not with a whole crowd of Pilots along."
Asuka's glare intensified. "Why?" she almost hissed. "Why does Rei's exam have to be so secret? You can and do poke and prod the rest of us, and chuck us into the regular hospital without a second look. You did it to the new fish just a week ago! Why does Rei have to be hidden? What are you doing to her?"
"Asuka."
Asuka's anger evaporated with the single soft sound of her name. She grabbed the delicate white hand that had weakly raised from the gurney. "REI!"
Rei's eyes were barely open, and her grip on Asuka's hand weak, but she was insistent. "Doctor Akagi is the one who needs to examine me now. It's alright. She will take care of me, I promise."
Shinji and Kaworu crowded in close too. "Are you sure, Rei? You don't want one of us to stay with you?" Shinji asked, worried.
Rei managed to barely shake her head. "No. I will be alright."
"Rei, what happened? You passed out and we couldn't wake you!" Asuka pressed. "And now this Hexendoktor wants to shanghai you off somewhere and do Gott knows what to you." Her thumb gently stroked the back of Rei's hand. "We're worried about you." She looked up at the other three all crowded in around the gurney. "All of us."
Rei flicked a momentary glance at Kaworu. "I will be alright, Asuka. Doctor Akagi is… much better about treating me now. I have faith in her."
Asuka darted a look at the fake blonde, who was standing back with a frown. "Du... du bist zu gut zu ihr, Rei. Die hat das nicht verdient, nicht nachdem was sie dir angetan hat. [You… you're too good to her, Rei. She deserves nothing from us for what she's done to you,]" she almost whispered, switching to German. "Aber wir vertrauen dir, von daher... okay. Wenn du sagst dass es in Ordnung geht, dann... wir werden zu Hause warten, okay? [But we trust you, so… alright. If you say it's ok, then… we'll be waiting for you at home, okay?]"
Rei just smiled and closed her eyes again. "Jawhol."
Asuka gave Doctor Akagi one more dark look as the older woman began to wheel Rei's gurney into the elevator. "You'd better treat her like she was made of solid gold, Doctor! You have no idea how much she means to us all!"
Doctor Akagi stiffened and looked back. "Asuka… right now, Rei is worth so much more than I am, I can't even describe it to you," she said carefully. She looked defeated.
"Du hast du Recht, du verdammte Hexe...," [You got that right, you damn witch…] Asuka muttered, keeping up her glare until the doors closed.
+++
3000+ word update in a bit, as soon as I can hammer out the last part of this last scene.
Preview:
+++
Asuka narrowed her eyes as the Section 2 sedan slid to a stop not by the Emergency Room entrance of the Geofront hospital like she expected, but by one of the elevator access points on the rim of the Headquarters pyramid. She glared at the driver. "This isn't the hospital. The First needs medical attention, why aren't we going there right the Hell now?"
"Orders, Pilot," the black-suited agent replied. "The First Child is to be escorted to Doctor Akagi's secure lab immediately for examination."
Asuka's expression soured further. A barely audible growl emanated from her clenched jaw. Hikari looked none too pleased either, but put a calming hand on her friend's shoulder.
A gurney waited for them by the elevator doors, along with Asuka's least favorite fake blonde. Said doctor was already strapping Rei to the gurney with Shinji and Kaworu looking on as Asuka got out of the second car and stalked up. She pinned Doctor Akagi with a glare that Sachiel would have been happy to wield. "We're going with her," she insisted to the older woman.
Ritsuko's eyebrows went up and she turned her head to the fuming Second Child. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Pilot. The First Child's examination and treatment must be performed in a secure lab. That means not in the hospital, and not with a whole crowd of Pilots along."
Asuka's glare intensified. "Why?" she almost hissed. "Why does Rei's exam have to be so secret? You can and do poke and prod the rest of us, and chuck us into the regular hospital without a second look. You did it to the new fish just a week ago! Why does Rei have to be hidden? What are you doing to her?"
"Asuka."
Asuka's anger evaporated with the single soft sound of her name. She grabbed the delicate white hand that had weakly raised from the gurney. "REI!"
Rei's eyes were barely open, and her grip on Asuka's hand weak, but she was insistent. "Doctor Akagi is the one who needs to examine me now. It's alright. She will take care of me, I promise."
Shinji and Kaworu crowded in close too. "Are you sure, Rei? You don't want one of us to stay with you?" Shinji asked, worried.
Rei managed to barely shake her head. "No. I will be alright."
"Rei, what happened? You passed out and we couldn't wake you!" Asuka pressed. "And now this Hexendoktor wants to shanghai you off somewhere and do Gott knows what to you." Her thumb gently stroked the back of Rei's hand. "We're worried about you." She looked up at the other three all crowded in around the gurney. "All of us."
Rei flicked a momentary glance at Kaworu. "I will be alright, Asuka. Doctor Akagi is… much better about treating me now. I have faith in her."
Asuka darted a look at the fake blonde, who was standing back with a frown. "Du... du bist zu gut zu ihr, Rei. Die hat das nicht verdient, nicht nachdem was sie dir angetan hat. [You… you're too good to her, Rei. She deserves nothing from us for what she's done to you,]" she almost whispered, switching to German. "Aber wir vertrauen dir, von daher... okay. Wenn du sagst dass es in Ordnung geht, dann... wir werden zu Hause warten, okay? [But we trust you, so… alright. If you say it's ok, then… we'll be waiting for you at home, okay?]"
Rei just smiled and closed her eyes again. "Jawhol."
Asuka gave Doctor Akagi one more dark look as the older woman began to wheel Rei's gurney into the elevator. "You'd better treat her like she was made of solid gold, Doctor! You have no idea how much she means to us all!"
Doctor Akagi stiffened and looked back. "Asuka… right now, Rei is worth so much more than I am, I can't even describe it to you," she said carefully. She looked defeated.
"Du hast du Recht, du verdammte Hexe...," [You got that right, you damn witch…] Asuka muttered, keeping up her glare until the doors closed.
+++
- Location
- Edinburgh
Well thankfully Rei has regained consciousness, albeit briefly so that is something positive from this. I did think for a moment that Akagi was going to let Asuka/Shinji accompany Rei just for the sake of getting Rei the treatment she needed.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Her being conscious is an extremely good sign, because it tends to demote the worse case scenario to "she has no backup clones."
I have no idea how much of that Ritsuko caught, but Asuka would probably be astonished over how much she would agree with.
It's funny, but I would thought of that as the best scenario.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I guess it's debatable.
You can argue that the existence of spare Rei clones makes it more likely Gendo will treat Rei as expendable.
You can argue that the existence of spare Rei clones makes it less likely that Rei will die.
[shrugs]
My view is that before, the hypothetical worst case scenario was something like "the backup clones got blown up and some kind of backlash killed Rei."
Now the worst case is something like "the backup clones got blown up and somehow this will turn out to be a bad thing."
- Location
- America
The only reason Gendo hasn't just picked up Rei and tossed her into Lilith himself is that he still thinks the Scenario could work. Take that away, and there's little anyone could do to stop him from ending the world tomorrow.
Rei having backup clones was crucial for that reason alone. And another thing. Even with the changes made to the setting, if Rei dies, where do you think her soul would go?
Rei having backup clones was crucial for that reason alone. And another thing. Even with the changes made to the setting, if Rei dies, where do you think her soul would go?
Turing Decidable
𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕗
- Location
- Belgium
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I suspect the fragment she has on loan from Lilith would return to her. Which might get interesting now that she isn't being restrained by the Lance, but then, Lilith has been inactive for billions of years anyway.
Either that or it gets drawn into Unit-00 since it's still around, just like what happened with Kyoko's soul.
- Location
- Voidbetweenstars
If rei has no more clones, then that simply means the character that dies on screen is going to stay dead.
Chapter 10.11
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Well... this got bigger than I expected. As usual. Here's almost 5k words of update. I intend to patch the Christmas Party into canon with the next update, too. Reactions to Rei's collapse, and Kaworu has a bit of a breakdown, revealing some things to Shinji and Asuka.
Aside from @Viper5497 , I've lost track of the newcomers for this update. Make yourself known in a response post, and I'll edit you in here.
Also, this is unbeta'd, so forgive me any typos and such. I wanted to get this one out to you all, since my wifi access is erratic. Greetings from Baghdad.
Art?
Chapter 10.11
Choices and Sacrifices
+++
Shinji's glare looked like it needed a hot cup of coffee in his hand, to stare at the offender hard over. "You have got to be joking."
Kaworu smiled, apparently entirely sincere. "No, I mean it. Have you ever heard a piece make better use of negative sound and spaces?"
"Kaworu-kun, "4' 33" is not music. It's just… nothing."
"I would say it's music, Shinji-kun."
"I do not hear music when I hear it." Shinji's voice was flat, fond, and more than a little exasperated. "I hear nothing at all."
"Sure you do. You hear your breath." Touji could hear Kaworu's patient smile without even looking back. He rolled his eyes. "You hear your friends," Nagisa continued. "You hear people around you and the world, and it takes you by surprise. It makes you hear, truly, how loud you and your world are. That's music to me. Four and a half minutes of it."
"Four and a half minutes of nothing..." Shinji said. "I don't think… huh?"
A red and blue blur came flashing down the hall, passing the boys as they nearly reached the door to the roof staircase. "SHINJIREICOLLAPSEDNURSE'SOFFICECALLMISATONOWNOWNOW!" it shouted as it shot past.
Hikari ran past too, following the red blur as fast as she could. "Touji! Help her!"
"Buwhuh?" Touji responded, but turned to follow his girlfriend. Shinji and Kaworu were already gone.
+++
"The… the tank's security systems were bypassed with a direct tap to the control circuits. No alarms went off until the breakdown had already affected every clone in the tank, and some of the secondary systems began to react to the spike in waste in the filters. I… I haven't been able to check yet, but I don't think there are any… viable ones left."
Gendo's stare was unreadable behind his gleaming lenses. His posture and voice were stiff and harsh, though. It gave Ritsuko chills to be on the receiving end, even knowing the fury it covered was aimed at SEELE. "The SEELE moles that penetrated your labs are all under Inspector Kaji's control now?" he said, angry and calm.
Ritsuko nodded, trying to banish the images of disintegrating Rei clones from her mind. "Yes, sir. Kawamura, Honda, and Watanabe are all confined under Section 2 control. Kaji personally captured Kawamura just before the alarm went off." She looked down at her clipboard. "I haven't been able to do a full check yet, but I think from what Kaji reports the three are saying, they might have tampered with the Dummy Plug software systems too. I… think they might not have gotten to the… already harvested spinal cords and brainstems, but I can't be sure without a physical check. I don't trust the readouts after Watanabe's tampering."
"Find out, immediately. I want to know if we still have any viable Dummy Plug systems at all. SEELE will pay for this," Gendo rumbled. "They have to have used up some of their best agents for this move, but we will not allow it to stop our plans. The Scenario is too close to a successful end." A bare twitch of his head towards her. "You are dismissed, Doctor. Get me those answers on the Dummy Plug system as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
+++
Misato stared hard at her reflection in the glass. Through her transparent image, she could see Kaji questioning Honda in the small interrogation room. The young Lieutenant's former persona of quiet humility was gone, replaced by cool disdain. There was even a note of smug triumph to her curt answers to Kaji's careful, steady questioning.
She wasn't even lying. She was making no attempt to deny that she and the others had sabotaged NERV systems and hacked the MAGI to conceal it, or that they had done so on the orders of SEELE. She showed no fear at all of any consequences, and that did worry Misato.
"Commander Ikari can lock them in a cell until the end of the world on just his word, and she's not even sweating," she murmured to her reflection.
Kaji walked around behind Honda's back and looked at the place where he knew Misato would be watching. He shook his head grimly.
Misato frowned. Ritsuko was being very evasive about exactly what sabotage SEELE's agents had been up to down in the secured areas near her lab. Commander Ikari had been even less informative when he ordered Kaji to interrogate the three spies over the extent and details of their actions.
'How is Kaji supposed to get anything more useful out of them when we can't even be told what happened?' Misato groused. The mere fact that it was something too secret for her as the fourth ranking officer of NERV, and was kept down in Terminal Dogma with Ritsuko's private lab actually put some boundaries on it that she could now make educated guesses about, thanks to the information they'd gotten out of Shinji's mother, but still… She made another mental note to press Rei and Kaworu for more current stuff about SEELE. They needed to know.
Kaji resumed his questioning, but Misato's attention was dragged away by her phone ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, grateful the MAGI could act as a relay for her cell phone even this deep underground. "Major Katsuragi," she answered.
She immediately pulled the phone away from her ear as she was suddenly blasted with loud, rapid German. "Asuka! Asuka! Slow down! I can't-"
Her eyes widened as the Second Child slowed down just enough to rapidly inform her of Rei's collapse. "Shit… alright, listen. I'm down in the Geofront. It'll take me too long to get up there, so I'm going to order the Section 2 squads just outside the school to come pick-.... I don't care if you think they're 'creepy assholes', Asuka. They're close and Rei needs to get moved to the Geofront hospital immediately."
A short, sharp question. Misato nodded. "Yes, of course. Who else?"
Another loud, angry explosion of German. Misato winced and pulled the phone away again. "Asuka, Doctor Akagi is Rei's doctor. She knows more about Rei's health than anyone and you know it."
More angry German, now with added and deep bitterness. "Asuka, if Rei is in medical trouble, you know Doctor Akagi is the one to make sure she's alright," Misato told her firmly. "She will do everything for Rei and you know it."
A pause, and very grudging acknowledgement. "Just stay put and I'll have the Section 2 squad there right away. In fact, you're all coming. There's been an incident down here that shows we've got a security problem, and I want all Pilots brought in as a precaution. Make sure you're all there."
Grumbling acceptance. "We'll talk about it once you're here. Katsuragi out."
+++
Asuka's hand twitched as she watched the Section 2 goons settle Rei into the back of one of their black NERV sedans from the collapsable wheelchair they'd brought to the school. She badly wanted to take Shinji's hand and hold hard, but the knowledge anything she did that looked too actually affectionate in front of Gendo's goons would be reported right to him held her back. Watching Rei, still limp and unconscious, being loaded into the back seat of the car like a doll was an even worse pain.
The Section 2 agent straightened up after buckling Rei in, and looked at the students who'd followed. "Alright, Major Katsuragi has ordered us to collect all Pilots too. So get in the cars," he instructed. "Not you, kid. Just the Pilots," he said to Touji, as he moved to follow along with Hikari. "You stay here."
Touji and Hikari shared a worried look. Hikari gave him a hug and a kiss, but his hangdog expression did not lessen as she got into the back of the second sedan.
Asuka nearly leapt at the chance to make even a little gesture for her bluenette friend. "Alright. Get in the car, baka. We're going with Rei," she snapped at Shinji, doing her best to sound irritated instead of worried. "We'll keep an eye on Wondergirl until we-"
"Please…" Kaworu interrupted from just behind Shinji, himself a bit behind Asuka. "I… may I accompany Ayanami-san? I… I am worried. Please?"
Asuka turned, raising an eyebrow. She knew the Rainbow Trout was sweet on Rei, but this was… new. His voice was far more worried and tentative than she'd heard out of him before. She threw a look at Shinji. His thoughtful expression matched hers. He gave her a small nod.
Asuka looked back to Kaworu. "...I guess I can go with Hikari. You and the new fish keep an eye on Wondergirl, baka."
Kaworu looked fractionally happier, but still nearly ran to the car Rei had been loaded into.
Asuka looked to Shinji again. "Make sure he… doesn't do anything stupid, Third."
Shinji nodded, and made sure to walk past her close enough no one could see their hands brush as he went by.
+++
Kaworu practically jittered in his seat as the car made it's way to the Geofront Train Station. His hands kept making half-motions towards Rei, like he wanted to touch her, but always pulled back before he made contact.
"...ah… Kaworu-kun? I don't think she'd mind if you… um, held her hand or something?" Shinji tried.
Kaworu nearly bounced out of his seat, startled. "I… I… I guess? Maybe? I hope? I… I am just worried. Her A-... um, her… aura feels… disturbed."
Shinji gave his pale friend a confused look. "Her… aura?"
"Um… she just feels… unsettled. Or something," Kaworu said weakly. His hands still kept making uncertain gestures. He finally gulped and took Rei's right hand.
Rei groaned slightly and rolled her head to the right, the first motion she'd made since they got in the car.
Shinji smiled faintly. "I guess that's a good sign." He took Rei's left hand.
Rei sighed and seemed to settle a little. Kaworu's tense expression eased just a tiny bit.
+++
Asuka narrowed her eyes as the Section 2 sedan slid to a stop not by the Emergency Room entrance of the Geofront hospital like she expected, but by one of the elevator access points on the rim of the Headquarters pyramid. She glared at the driver. "This isn't the hospital. The First needs medical attention, why aren't we going there right the Hell now?"
"Orders, Pilot," the black-suited agent replied. "The First Child is to be escorted to Doctor Akagi's secure lab immediately for examination."
Asuka's expression soured further. A barely audible growl emanated from her clenched jaw. Hikari looked none too pleased either, but put a calming hand on her friend's shoulder.
A gurney waited for them by the elevator doors, along with Asuka's least favorite fake blonde. Said doctor was already strapping Rei to the gurney with Shinji and Kaworu looking on as Asuka got out of the second car and stalked up. She pinned Doctor Akagi with a glare that Sachiel would have been happy to wield. "We're going with her," she insisted to the older woman.
Ritsuko's eyebrows went up and she turned her head to the fuming Second Child. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Pilot. The First Child's examination and treatment must be performed in a secure lab. That means not in the hospital, and not with a whole crowd of Pilots along."
Asuka's glare intensified. "Why?" she almost hissed. "Why does Rei's exam have to be so secret? You can and do poke and prod the rest of us, and chuck us into the regular hospital without a second look. You did it to the new fish just a week ago! Why does Rei have to be hidden? What are you doing to her?"
"Asuka."
Asuka's anger evaporated with the single soft sound of her name. She grabbed the delicate white hand that had weakly raised from the gurney. "REI!"
Rei's eyes were barely open, and her grip on Asuka's hand weak, but she was insistent. "Doctor Akagi is the one who needs to examine me now. It's alright. She will take care of me, I promise."
Shinji and Kaworu crowded in close too. "Are you sure, Rei? You don't want one of us to stay with you?" Shinji asked, worried.
Rei managed to barely shake her head. "No. I will be alright."
"Rei, what happened? You passed out and we couldn't wake you!" Asuka pressed. "And now this Hexendoktor wants to shanghai you off somewhere and do Gott knows what to you." Her thumb gently stroked the back of Rei's hand. "We're worried about you." She looked up at the other three all crowded in around the gurney. "All of us."
Rei flicked a momentary glance at Kaworu. "I will be alright, Asuka. Doctor Akagi is… much better about treating me now. I have faith in her."
Asuka darted a look at the fake blonde, who was standing back with a frown. "Du... du bist zu gut zu ihr, Rei. Die hat das nicht verdient, nicht nachdem was sie dir angetan hat. [You… you're too good to her, Rei. She deserves nothing from us for what she's done to you,]" she almost whispered, switching to German. "Aber wir vertrauen dir, von daher... okay. Wenn du sagst dass es in Ordnung geht, dann... wir werden zu Hause warten, okay? [But we trust you, so… alright. If you say it's ok, then… we'll be waiting for you at home, okay?]"
Rei just smiled and closed her eyes again. "Jawohl."
Asuka gave Doctor Akagi one more dark look as the older woman began to wheel Rei's gurney into the elevator. "You'd better treat her like she was made of solid gold, Doctor! You have no idea how much she means to us all!"
Doctor Akagi stiffened and looked back. "Asuka… right now, Rei is worth so much more than I am, I can't even describe it to you," she said carefully. She looked defeated.
"Du hast du Recht, du verdammte Hexe...," [You got that right, you damn witch…] Asuka muttered, keeping up her glare until the doors closed.
+++
"Doctor Akagi."
Rei had been silent once the elevator doors closed, not making a sound until Ritsuko had dismissed the Section 2 guards at the door to her lab. Once inside, Rei had remained quiet, looking like she was asleep. Ritsuko almost jumped when she finally spoke. "Yes, Rei?"
"They're gone, aren't they? My… replacements."
Ritsuko winced. She knew it was futile to try concealing this from Rei. She almost certainly knew the clones had been destroyed even better than Ritsuko did. "Yes. SEELE managed to have three of their moles sabotage several of the tank's critical systems, and disable the alarms so we wouldn't notice until it was far too late to salvage any of them intact." She paused. "I'm… sorry."
Rei stared at the ceiling. "There was just enough of my AT-Field in them to maintain their shape. When that was disrupted, I felt them… dissolve. The sensation was… very strange. My AT-Field is… unsettled. The feeling was enough to knock me out." Rei fell silent again for a moment. "If I die now, I am no longer so simply replaced," she observed quietly.
Ritsuko winced again. "I'm sorry, Rei. I'm… I'm trying to see if I can recover anything from the tank, but the damage was… extensive. "
Rei just stared at the ceiling. "Doctor Akagi, I have a request."
"Anything I can, Rei."
"I have mentioned the Fifth Child is an ally. But Commander Ikari believes us to be implacably hostile enemies. I do not wish him to learn otherwise, so Nagisa-san and I have taken care to give no public sign that we are friendly. This has unfortunately limited our ability to speak freely. Can you ensure the MAGI surveillance of the Pilots' phones is deactivated so that we may at least converse privately?"
Ritsuko pursed her lips. "I'll… try. It's technically not difficult to manage, but I'm pretty sure Section 2 monitors the Fifth Child's phone more closely than the rest of you, for obvious reasons. I'll have to find some way to spoof that."
"Perhaps. But they are almost certainly relying on the MAGI cueing them to look when he makes calls. And how many calls does he even make?" Rei replied. "I… this is important to me, Doctor. He relies on me to help keep him from listening to that part of him that wishes to obey SEELE's plan. If we cannot be seen speaking together, at least we can call. Especially at night. The solitude is not easy on him."
"I'll do what I can, Rei. Now, do you feel strong enough to get into the scanner yourself? I can call Maya to help if you need, and we can lift you together."
Rei struggled, but sat up on her own. "I am… strong enough. The shock was mostly non-physical."
"Do you need any… medication?"
Rei looked at her right hand. She slowly made a fist. "No. I do not."
+++
The Section 2 goons led them to a secured conference room in the NERV pyramid and left them there with instructions not to go anywhere. After a couple of hours of the four remaining Children nervously staring at each other, reluctant to talk much under the listening ears of NERV, Misato finally found time to drop in for a moment. But she was still running around dealing with the incident, and so on Ritsuko's phone-in consultation, Misato sent them home with an increased security detail and told them to see to dinner for themselves, since she wasn't planning to come home until she could bring Rei along.
Hikari bid them a reluctant farewell once they reached the surface, rushing off to meet back up with Touji at the sanctuary of his house. It was a silent and worried trio that made their way home alone to the apartment building that housed all of them.
As they waited for the elevator, Kaworu turned to them. "Can we play something? Please?"
Shinji and Asuka shared a look. Kaworu hadn't said more than a few words since Rei disappeared down into the depths of the Geofront's lower areas, but he'd been growing noticeably more twitchy and anxious-looking. Asuka had even commented on the way his right hand was starting to imitate Shinji's old nervous clenching, but her amusement was minimal. She knew what that meant now when Shinji did it. Seeing it start in Kaworu was not a happy sign.
Shinji shrugged. "I… suppose we can, Kaworu-kun. You ah… need your mind off things?"
Kaworu nodded almost frantically. "Y-yes. And I… really don't want to be alone right now. I-if you don't mind."
The elevator arrived. They crowded inside and Kaworu pressed the button for his floor, tension radiating off his shoulders.
Shinji and Asuka shared another look behind his back. Asuka said, "Ok, grab your violin and come on up. We'll play in Misato's apartment until Misato brings our lost lamb home, alright?"
"Can we play at my apartment?" he countered. "I… have… something I want to show you."
Shinji shrugged. "That's fine. We'll grab ours and be right down."
"Thank you."
+++
Music greeted them on their return: Energetic, almost frenetic violin music. Entering the living room of Kaworu's apartment brought Shinji and Asuka face-to-face with a Fifth Child almost violently playing a complicated piece, his eyes closed and sweat beading his forehead. He had a music stand in front of him with sheets on it, but he didn't seem to be reading them.
He played on, seemingly oblivious to their presence. It was only after the piece had trilled to the last measure and Kaworu's bow fell away that he even opened his eyes and blinked at them. "Ah… I'm sorry, I was… concentrating."
"That was… Locatelli's Caprice in D major Op. 3 No. 23, wasn't it?" Shinji asked. "That's… very impressive, Kaworu-kun."
"The most complicated piece I know," Kaworu nodded. "I… was trying to occupy my mind." He raised his bow hand. It was shaking slightly. "Worked for a few minutes."
Asuka put down her own violin case and frowned at the grey-haired boy. "Alright, talk, Rainbow Trout."
Kaworu blinked at her. "Um?"
"You are more tightly wound up than the strings on that violin, and you've been that way since the nurse's office. We're all worried about Rei, but you… you look like you're about to freak out. Shinji and I have known Rei for months, and love her more than anyone. Why are you so wired? What do you know that we don't?" Asuka crossed her arms and stared at him.
Kaworu looked at the far wall, avoiding Asuka's glare. "I… you love her, I know. I can see it, from both of you. I don't deserve to. But I… need her."
Shinji put his cello down on Kaworu's bare kitchen table and moved to stand next to Asuka. "'Need her'? Kaworu-kun, we… can tell you like her, but… what do you mean? Need her… how? Are you..." Shinji hesitated, looking to Asuka for help. "Are you… and Rei… um…"
Kaworu turned to look at him, a sad smile on his face. "I'm not worth it. She helps me… not be myself."
"Trout, you need to start making a lot more sense, because we are not going to tolerate you not treating our Rei seriously," Asuka said darkly. "You are a perfectly nice guy, and you look plenty 'worth it' to me. What's this 'not be yourself' business?" She looked at him for a moment, considering. "Wäre es besser wenn wir das auf Deutsch machen?" [Would it be better to do this in German?]
Kaworu shook his head no, then sat down heavily into a chair near his music stand. He all but dropped his violin into it's case, then buried his head in his hands. "I… hate what I am. Ayanami… believes I can beat it."
"Beat what?" Asuka pressed.
Kaworu stared at his feet. "...This verges on the things Ayanami and I are still… unready to discuss, so please forgive me. I'm going to have to… be careful to speak around some things. I am...as uncomfortable concealing things as she is, but I think you will understand once we can tell you." He paused for a moment. "You know I am here because SEELE sent me, and that I no longer wish to follow their orders, yes?"
The other two nodded.
Kaworu raised his head enough to smile at them grimly. "Unfortunately, it is not entirely my free choice in that area. SEELE sent me… with a compulsion. Ayanami and I refer to it as 'the Call'. It is this… constant, pressing feeling in the back of my head that I should, that I must fulfill my purpose, go down into the Geofront, and destroy everything. Ayanami is aware of it, and helps me fight it. She… understands what it means to be used like that."
Shinji and Asuka shared a startled look. "Destroy… everything?" Shinji asked. "Kaworu-kun… how would you…"
"You two hijacked an Eva yourself, before," Kaworu said. "Imagine how much damage you could do with one if you were… not intent on protection."
Shinji looked at his hands for a moment, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I see. So… SEELE… sent you to.. Not just be a spy, then? You were supposed to… attack us?"
Kaworu shivered. "Yes." He took a moment. "No, no past tense here. I still am. I… the Call is… always there, whispering I should do it. It's… it's insidious. It feels so right when it speaks... Being around Ayanami… and you both… quiets it. Makes it fade to the background. Friends. Watching you two love each other. All of it helps. But…. her most of all. She understands! Me! She believes I am strong enough to beat it. When she's near, so do I. So today, seeing her like that… I'm afraid of… what I might do without her."
Asuka walked closer to his chair, looming over him. "I want a straight answer from you, Rainbow Trout, so you better be serious here… Do you love our Rei?"
Kaworu looked up at her. "I… don't know."
Asuka did not look pleased at this answer.
Kaworu wobbled. "I don't know! I don't know what that is! I thought I knew! I thought Shinji was someone I could love, coming here! Now I have to...to… admit I don't even understand what love is. I think I love her? I want to hold her, feel her with me, make her happy, protect her and never harm her!" He clenched his hands together. "I want her to smile at me the way you two smile at each other. But then I worry that she's just… being kind to me to help keep me from going down there and destroying everything… And even if she's not, the pressure of that risk is going to poison anything between us."
He slumped in the chair. "I think I love her. I want to. And I hate the part of me that hears the Call and wants to listen. She belongs in this world. I don't."
Asuka and Shinji looked at each other. "Me?" Shinji mouthed to her in confusion. Asuka shrugged, just as mystified. "I guess you're just that damn popular among Eva Pilots, baka mine. I wonder if I need to worry about Hikari getting the hots for you now too." She turned back to Kaworu, examining him carefully. "....She trusts you. And she knows all this, and yet more that we don't. That's good enough. You're hot, talented, willing to go this far for her and us, and you did your best to protect her in that battle. I think you're worthy enough if Rei does, Trout. So SEELE put this thing in your head? And messed with your memories? To make you more liable to follow it, I bet. How can we help?"
Kaworu brushed his hand over his dropped violin. "Music. Friendship. Trust. You have no idea how much watching you two love each other helps, too. And Ayanami gives me more hope than I believed possible. All of that helps. I just hope you're still so good to me after we can finally tell you everything."
"And when is that?" Shinji asked, shaking off his confused speculation on what Kaworu meant about loving him. "You… after all the things we have learned about SEELE and my family's plans, what could you tell us that you're so afraid is worse?"
Kaworu looked him in the eye. "There are two more Angels. After the next one, I think… we should tell you. When there's just the last one left." He seemed calmed by the idea.
"Why then?" Asuka said.
"You'll understand when we tell you."
Asuka didn't look entirely happy, but nodded. "In the meantime… What does Rei think of you?"
Kaworu looked to the side. "She… when I asked her out, she said she would consider it, if we didn't have to hide the fact we're not enemies from NERV. And she… er… gave me… this… box." He started turning red.
"Box?"
Redder and redder. "Um… I… she… please do not tell her this. She… um… gave me a box… of… pictures. Of her. To… keep my mind off the Call, when the nights are bad," he said haltingly, then finished in a rush.
Asuka and Shinji's eyebrows rose. "...what kind of pictures?" Shinji asked, a little pink himself.
"The kind that were… meant for you two. As a gift. Um. She… gave them to me after… a bad night. Er… she also told me not to mention them. Um."
"Let me get this straight. Rei, our Rei, took those kind of pictures… to give to Shinji and I… and then gave them to you… to help you fight SEELE's brainwashing? Have I got all that right?"
Kaworu nodded, looking like he didn't know whether to run and hide, or stay put. Asuka looming over him was a potent argument for the former.
"But she trusts you, likes you, and you think you might love her?"
Another nod, a little firmer.
Asuka stared at him hard. She looked back to Shinji. He met her gaze for moment, then nodded. She turned back to Kaworu. "We love her, and she loves us. You hurt her, and no power in the universe can save you from us, you got it? But if you think you can make our Rei happy…"
Kaworu turned his head away. "I don't deserve her."
Asuka snorted. "And I don't deserve Shinji. But he loves me anyway." Shinji made a protesting sound. Asuka just reached back and took his hand, a smile playing on her lips. "If you think you don't deserve her, earn it, stupid fish."
He looked up at her, almost pleadingly. "What if I can't?"
"Then you better die trying," Asuka said firmly. "No one gets to break our Rei's heart. You think you love her, than you better be 200% serious about it, Trout. You better make her as happy as Shinji makes me."
"You said you had something you wanted to show us, Kaworu-kun," Shinji spoke up. "Ah… it wasn't those pictures, was it?"
Kaworu flushed again. "No. It was… something else." He rose, and walked over to his bedroom. He opened the door, and pointed at the far wall. "I… it's that. I meant it when I said she gives me so much hope."
Asuka and Shinji walked up behind him. Inside his room a collage of more regular pictures dotted a whiteboard, a message written in between the shots.
An array of pictures of Rei Ayanami, smiling, walking, sitting at school, eating lunch, all framed four words.
"'Do it for her,'" Shinji read.
Asuka nodded, satisfied. "Oh yeah… the Rainbow Trout is serious. Good."
+++
Aside from @Viper5497 , I've lost track of the newcomers for this update. Make yourself known in a response post, and I'll edit you in here.
Also, this is unbeta'd, so forgive me any typos and such. I wanted to get this one out to you all, since my wifi access is erratic. Greetings from Baghdad.
Art?
Chapter 10.11
Choices and Sacrifices
+++
Shinji's glare looked like it needed a hot cup of coffee in his hand, to stare at the offender hard over. "You have got to be joking."
Kaworu smiled, apparently entirely sincere. "No, I mean it. Have you ever heard a piece make better use of negative sound and spaces?"
"Kaworu-kun, "4' 33" is not music. It's just… nothing."
"I would say it's music, Shinji-kun."
"I do not hear music when I hear it." Shinji's voice was flat, fond, and more than a little exasperated. "I hear nothing at all."
"Sure you do. You hear your breath." Touji could hear Kaworu's patient smile without even looking back. He rolled his eyes. "You hear your friends," Nagisa continued. "You hear people around you and the world, and it takes you by surprise. It makes you hear, truly, how loud you and your world are. That's music to me. Four and a half minutes of it."
"Four and a half minutes of nothing..." Shinji said. "I don't think… huh?"
A red and blue blur came flashing down the hall, passing the boys as they nearly reached the door to the roof staircase. "SHINJIREICOLLAPSEDNURSE'SOFFICECALLMISATONOWNOWNOW!" it shouted as it shot past.
Hikari ran past too, following the red blur as fast as she could. "Touji! Help her!"
"Buwhuh?" Touji responded, but turned to follow his girlfriend. Shinji and Kaworu were already gone.
+++
"The… the tank's security systems were bypassed with a direct tap to the control circuits. No alarms went off until the breakdown had already affected every clone in the tank, and some of the secondary systems began to react to the spike in waste in the filters. I… I haven't been able to check yet, but I don't think there are any… viable ones left."
Gendo's stare was unreadable behind his gleaming lenses. His posture and voice were stiff and harsh, though. It gave Ritsuko chills to be on the receiving end, even knowing the fury it covered was aimed at SEELE. "The SEELE moles that penetrated your labs are all under Inspector Kaji's control now?" he said, angry and calm.
Ritsuko nodded, trying to banish the images of disintegrating Rei clones from her mind. "Yes, sir. Kawamura, Honda, and Watanabe are all confined under Section 2 control. Kaji personally captured Kawamura just before the alarm went off." She looked down at her clipboard. "I haven't been able to do a full check yet, but I think from what Kaji reports the three are saying, they might have tampered with the Dummy Plug software systems too. I… think they might not have gotten to the… already harvested spinal cords and brainstems, but I can't be sure without a physical check. I don't trust the readouts after Watanabe's tampering."
"Find out, immediately. I want to know if we still have any viable Dummy Plug systems at all. SEELE will pay for this," Gendo rumbled. "They have to have used up some of their best agents for this move, but we will not allow it to stop our plans. The Scenario is too close to a successful end." A bare twitch of his head towards her. "You are dismissed, Doctor. Get me those answers on the Dummy Plug system as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
+++
Misato stared hard at her reflection in the glass. Through her transparent image, she could see Kaji questioning Honda in the small interrogation room. The young Lieutenant's former persona of quiet humility was gone, replaced by cool disdain. There was even a note of smug triumph to her curt answers to Kaji's careful, steady questioning.
She wasn't even lying. She was making no attempt to deny that she and the others had sabotaged NERV systems and hacked the MAGI to conceal it, or that they had done so on the orders of SEELE. She showed no fear at all of any consequences, and that did worry Misato.
"Commander Ikari can lock them in a cell until the end of the world on just his word, and she's not even sweating," she murmured to her reflection.
Kaji walked around behind Honda's back and looked at the place where he knew Misato would be watching. He shook his head grimly.
Misato frowned. Ritsuko was being very evasive about exactly what sabotage SEELE's agents had been up to down in the secured areas near her lab. Commander Ikari had been even less informative when he ordered Kaji to interrogate the three spies over the extent and details of their actions.
'How is Kaji supposed to get anything more useful out of them when we can't even be told what happened?' Misato groused. The mere fact that it was something too secret for her as the fourth ranking officer of NERV, and was kept down in Terminal Dogma with Ritsuko's private lab actually put some boundaries on it that she could now make educated guesses about, thanks to the information they'd gotten out of Shinji's mother, but still… She made another mental note to press Rei and Kaworu for more current stuff about SEELE. They needed to know.
Kaji resumed his questioning, but Misato's attention was dragged away by her phone ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket, grateful the MAGI could act as a relay for her cell phone even this deep underground. "Major Katsuragi," she answered.
She immediately pulled the phone away from her ear as she was suddenly blasted with loud, rapid German. "Asuka! Asuka! Slow down! I can't-"
Her eyes widened as the Second Child slowed down just enough to rapidly inform her of Rei's collapse. "Shit… alright, listen. I'm down in the Geofront. It'll take me too long to get up there, so I'm going to order the Section 2 squads just outside the school to come pick-.... I don't care if you think they're 'creepy assholes', Asuka. They're close and Rei needs to get moved to the Geofront hospital immediately."
A short, sharp question. Misato nodded. "Yes, of course. Who else?"
Another loud, angry explosion of German. Misato winced and pulled the phone away again. "Asuka, Doctor Akagi is Rei's doctor. She knows more about Rei's health than anyone and you know it."
More angry German, now with added and deep bitterness. "Asuka, if Rei is in medical trouble, you know Doctor Akagi is the one to make sure she's alright," Misato told her firmly. "She will do everything for Rei and you know it."
A pause, and very grudging acknowledgement. "Just stay put and I'll have the Section 2 squad there right away. In fact, you're all coming. There's been an incident down here that shows we've got a security problem, and I want all Pilots brought in as a precaution. Make sure you're all there."
Grumbling acceptance. "We'll talk about it once you're here. Katsuragi out."
+++
Asuka's hand twitched as she watched the Section 2 goons settle Rei into the back of one of their black NERV sedans from the collapsable wheelchair they'd brought to the school. She badly wanted to take Shinji's hand and hold hard, but the knowledge anything she did that looked too actually affectionate in front of Gendo's goons would be reported right to him held her back. Watching Rei, still limp and unconscious, being loaded into the back seat of the car like a doll was an even worse pain.
The Section 2 agent straightened up after buckling Rei in, and looked at the students who'd followed. "Alright, Major Katsuragi has ordered us to collect all Pilots too. So get in the cars," he instructed. "Not you, kid. Just the Pilots," he said to Touji, as he moved to follow along with Hikari. "You stay here."
Touji and Hikari shared a worried look. Hikari gave him a hug and a kiss, but his hangdog expression did not lessen as she got into the back of the second sedan.
Asuka nearly leapt at the chance to make even a little gesture for her bluenette friend. "Alright. Get in the car, baka. We're going with Rei," she snapped at Shinji, doing her best to sound irritated instead of worried. "We'll keep an eye on Wondergirl until we-"
"Please…" Kaworu interrupted from just behind Shinji, himself a bit behind Asuka. "I… may I accompany Ayanami-san? I… I am worried. Please?"
Asuka turned, raising an eyebrow. She knew the Rainbow Trout was sweet on Rei, but this was… new. His voice was far more worried and tentative than she'd heard out of him before. She threw a look at Shinji. His thoughtful expression matched hers. He gave her a small nod.
Asuka looked back to Kaworu. "...I guess I can go with Hikari. You and the new fish keep an eye on Wondergirl, baka."
Kaworu looked fractionally happier, but still nearly ran to the car Rei had been loaded into.
Asuka looked to Shinji again. "Make sure he… doesn't do anything stupid, Third."
Shinji nodded, and made sure to walk past her close enough no one could see their hands brush as he went by.
+++
Kaworu practically jittered in his seat as the car made it's way to the Geofront Train Station. His hands kept making half-motions towards Rei, like he wanted to touch her, but always pulled back before he made contact.
"...ah… Kaworu-kun? I don't think she'd mind if you… um, held her hand or something?" Shinji tried.
Kaworu nearly bounced out of his seat, startled. "I… I… I guess? Maybe? I hope? I… I am just worried. Her A-... um, her… aura feels… disturbed."
Shinji gave his pale friend a confused look. "Her… aura?"
"Um… she just feels… unsettled. Or something," Kaworu said weakly. His hands still kept making uncertain gestures. He finally gulped and took Rei's right hand.
Rei groaned slightly and rolled her head to the right, the first motion she'd made since they got in the car.
Shinji smiled faintly. "I guess that's a good sign." He took Rei's left hand.
Rei sighed and seemed to settle a little. Kaworu's tense expression eased just a tiny bit.
+++
Asuka narrowed her eyes as the Section 2 sedan slid to a stop not by the Emergency Room entrance of the Geofront hospital like she expected, but by one of the elevator access points on the rim of the Headquarters pyramid. She glared at the driver. "This isn't the hospital. The First needs medical attention, why aren't we going there right the Hell now?"
"Orders, Pilot," the black-suited agent replied. "The First Child is to be escorted to Doctor Akagi's secure lab immediately for examination."
Asuka's expression soured further. A barely audible growl emanated from her clenched jaw. Hikari looked none too pleased either, but put a calming hand on her friend's shoulder.
A gurney waited for them by the elevator doors, along with Asuka's least favorite fake blonde. Said doctor was already strapping Rei to the gurney with Shinji and Kaworu looking on as Asuka got out of the second car and stalked up. She pinned Doctor Akagi with a glare that Sachiel would have been happy to wield. "We're going with her," she insisted to the older woman.
Ritsuko's eyebrows went up and she turned her head to the fuming Second Child. "I'm afraid that's impossible, Pilot. The First Child's examination and treatment must be performed in a secure lab. That means not in the hospital, and not with a whole crowd of Pilots along."
Asuka's glare intensified. "Why?" she almost hissed. "Why does Rei's exam have to be so secret? You can and do poke and prod the rest of us, and chuck us into the regular hospital without a second look. You did it to the new fish just a week ago! Why does Rei have to be hidden? What are you doing to her?"
"Asuka."
Asuka's anger evaporated with the single soft sound of her name. She grabbed the delicate white hand that had weakly raised from the gurney. "REI!"
Rei's eyes were barely open, and her grip on Asuka's hand weak, but she was insistent. "Doctor Akagi is the one who needs to examine me now. It's alright. She will take care of me, I promise."
Shinji and Kaworu crowded in close too. "Are you sure, Rei? You don't want one of us to stay with you?" Shinji asked, worried.
Rei managed to barely shake her head. "No. I will be alright."
"Rei, what happened? You passed out and we couldn't wake you!" Asuka pressed. "And now this Hexendoktor wants to shanghai you off somewhere and do Gott knows what to you." Her thumb gently stroked the back of Rei's hand. "We're worried about you." She looked up at the other three all crowded in around the gurney. "All of us."
Rei flicked a momentary glance at Kaworu. "I will be alright, Asuka. Doctor Akagi is… much better about treating me now. I have faith in her."
Asuka darted a look at the fake blonde, who was standing back with a frown. "Du... du bist zu gut zu ihr, Rei. Die hat das nicht verdient, nicht nachdem was sie dir angetan hat. [You… you're too good to her, Rei. She deserves nothing from us for what she's done to you,]" she almost whispered, switching to German. "Aber wir vertrauen dir, von daher... okay. Wenn du sagst dass es in Ordnung geht, dann... wir werden zu Hause warten, okay? [But we trust you, so… alright. If you say it's ok, then… we'll be waiting for you at home, okay?]"
Rei just smiled and closed her eyes again. "Jawohl."
Asuka gave Doctor Akagi one more dark look as the older woman began to wheel Rei's gurney into the elevator. "You'd better treat her like she was made of solid gold, Doctor! You have no idea how much she means to us all!"
Doctor Akagi stiffened and looked back. "Asuka… right now, Rei is worth so much more than I am, I can't even describe it to you," she said carefully. She looked defeated.
"Du hast du Recht, du verdammte Hexe...," [You got that right, you damn witch…] Asuka muttered, keeping up her glare until the doors closed.
+++
"Doctor Akagi."
Rei had been silent once the elevator doors closed, not making a sound until Ritsuko had dismissed the Section 2 guards at the door to her lab. Once inside, Rei had remained quiet, looking like she was asleep. Ritsuko almost jumped when she finally spoke. "Yes, Rei?"
"They're gone, aren't they? My… replacements."
Ritsuko winced. She knew it was futile to try concealing this from Rei. She almost certainly knew the clones had been destroyed even better than Ritsuko did. "Yes. SEELE managed to have three of their moles sabotage several of the tank's critical systems, and disable the alarms so we wouldn't notice until it was far too late to salvage any of them intact." She paused. "I'm… sorry."
Rei stared at the ceiling. "There was just enough of my AT-Field in them to maintain their shape. When that was disrupted, I felt them… dissolve. The sensation was… very strange. My AT-Field is… unsettled. The feeling was enough to knock me out." Rei fell silent again for a moment. "If I die now, I am no longer so simply replaced," she observed quietly.
Ritsuko winced again. "I'm sorry, Rei. I'm… I'm trying to see if I can recover anything from the tank, but the damage was… extensive. "
Rei just stared at the ceiling. "Doctor Akagi, I have a request."
"Anything I can, Rei."
"I have mentioned the Fifth Child is an ally. But Commander Ikari believes us to be implacably hostile enemies. I do not wish him to learn otherwise, so Nagisa-san and I have taken care to give no public sign that we are friendly. This has unfortunately limited our ability to speak freely. Can you ensure the MAGI surveillance of the Pilots' phones is deactivated so that we may at least converse privately?"
Ritsuko pursed her lips. "I'll… try. It's technically not difficult to manage, but I'm pretty sure Section 2 monitors the Fifth Child's phone more closely than the rest of you, for obvious reasons. I'll have to find some way to spoof that."
"Perhaps. But they are almost certainly relying on the MAGI cueing them to look when he makes calls. And how many calls does he even make?" Rei replied. "I… this is important to me, Doctor. He relies on me to help keep him from listening to that part of him that wishes to obey SEELE's plan. If we cannot be seen speaking together, at least we can call. Especially at night. The solitude is not easy on him."
"I'll do what I can, Rei. Now, do you feel strong enough to get into the scanner yourself? I can call Maya to help if you need, and we can lift you together."
Rei struggled, but sat up on her own. "I am… strong enough. The shock was mostly non-physical."
"Do you need any… medication?"
Rei looked at her right hand. She slowly made a fist. "No. I do not."
+++
The Section 2 goons led them to a secured conference room in the NERV pyramid and left them there with instructions not to go anywhere. After a couple of hours of the four remaining Children nervously staring at each other, reluctant to talk much under the listening ears of NERV, Misato finally found time to drop in for a moment. But she was still running around dealing with the incident, and so on Ritsuko's phone-in consultation, Misato sent them home with an increased security detail and told them to see to dinner for themselves, since she wasn't planning to come home until she could bring Rei along.
Hikari bid them a reluctant farewell once they reached the surface, rushing off to meet back up with Touji at the sanctuary of his house. It was a silent and worried trio that made their way home alone to the apartment building that housed all of them.
As they waited for the elevator, Kaworu turned to them. "Can we play something? Please?"
Shinji and Asuka shared a look. Kaworu hadn't said more than a few words since Rei disappeared down into the depths of the Geofront's lower areas, but he'd been growing noticeably more twitchy and anxious-looking. Asuka had even commented on the way his right hand was starting to imitate Shinji's old nervous clenching, but her amusement was minimal. She knew what that meant now when Shinji did it. Seeing it start in Kaworu was not a happy sign.
Shinji shrugged. "I… suppose we can, Kaworu-kun. You ah… need your mind off things?"
Kaworu nodded almost frantically. "Y-yes. And I… really don't want to be alone right now. I-if you don't mind."
The elevator arrived. They crowded inside and Kaworu pressed the button for his floor, tension radiating off his shoulders.
Shinji and Asuka shared another look behind his back. Asuka said, "Ok, grab your violin and come on up. We'll play in Misato's apartment until Misato brings our lost lamb home, alright?"
"Can we play at my apartment?" he countered. "I… have… something I want to show you."
Shinji shrugged. "That's fine. We'll grab ours and be right down."
"Thank you."
+++
Music greeted them on their return: Energetic, almost frenetic violin music. Entering the living room of Kaworu's apartment brought Shinji and Asuka face-to-face with a Fifth Child almost violently playing a complicated piece, his eyes closed and sweat beading his forehead. He had a music stand in front of him with sheets on it, but he didn't seem to be reading them.
He played on, seemingly oblivious to their presence. It was only after the piece had trilled to the last measure and Kaworu's bow fell away that he even opened his eyes and blinked at them. "Ah… I'm sorry, I was… concentrating."
"That was… Locatelli's Caprice in D major Op. 3 No. 23, wasn't it?" Shinji asked. "That's… very impressive, Kaworu-kun."
"The most complicated piece I know," Kaworu nodded. "I… was trying to occupy my mind." He raised his bow hand. It was shaking slightly. "Worked for a few minutes."
Asuka put down her own violin case and frowned at the grey-haired boy. "Alright, talk, Rainbow Trout."
Kaworu blinked at her. "Um?"
"You are more tightly wound up than the strings on that violin, and you've been that way since the nurse's office. We're all worried about Rei, but you… you look like you're about to freak out. Shinji and I have known Rei for months, and love her more than anyone. Why are you so wired? What do you know that we don't?" Asuka crossed her arms and stared at him.
Kaworu looked at the far wall, avoiding Asuka's glare. "I… you love her, I know. I can see it, from both of you. I don't deserve to. But I… need her."
Shinji put his cello down on Kaworu's bare kitchen table and moved to stand next to Asuka. "'Need her'? Kaworu-kun, we… can tell you like her, but… what do you mean? Need her… how? Are you..." Shinji hesitated, looking to Asuka for help. "Are you… and Rei… um…"
Kaworu turned to look at him, a sad smile on his face. "I'm not worth it. She helps me… not be myself."
"Trout, you need to start making a lot more sense, because we are not going to tolerate you not treating our Rei seriously," Asuka said darkly. "You are a perfectly nice guy, and you look plenty 'worth it' to me. What's this 'not be yourself' business?" She looked at him for a moment, considering. "Wäre es besser wenn wir das auf Deutsch machen?" [Would it be better to do this in German?]
Kaworu shook his head no, then sat down heavily into a chair near his music stand. He all but dropped his violin into it's case, then buried his head in his hands. "I… hate what I am. Ayanami… believes I can beat it."
"Beat what?" Asuka pressed.
Kaworu stared at his feet. "...This verges on the things Ayanami and I are still… unready to discuss, so please forgive me. I'm going to have to… be careful to speak around some things. I am...as uncomfortable concealing things as she is, but I think you will understand once we can tell you." He paused for a moment. "You know I am here because SEELE sent me, and that I no longer wish to follow their orders, yes?"
The other two nodded.
Kaworu raised his head enough to smile at them grimly. "Unfortunately, it is not entirely my free choice in that area. SEELE sent me… with a compulsion. Ayanami and I refer to it as 'the Call'. It is this… constant, pressing feeling in the back of my head that I should, that I must fulfill my purpose, go down into the Geofront, and destroy everything. Ayanami is aware of it, and helps me fight it. She… understands what it means to be used like that."
Shinji and Asuka shared a startled look. "Destroy… everything?" Shinji asked. "Kaworu-kun… how would you…"
"You two hijacked an Eva yourself, before," Kaworu said. "Imagine how much damage you could do with one if you were… not intent on protection."
Shinji looked at his hands for a moment, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I see. So… SEELE… sent you to.. Not just be a spy, then? You were supposed to… attack us?"
Kaworu shivered. "Yes." He took a moment. "No, no past tense here. I still am. I… the Call is… always there, whispering I should do it. It's… it's insidious. It feels so right when it speaks... Being around Ayanami… and you both… quiets it. Makes it fade to the background. Friends. Watching you two love each other. All of it helps. But…. her most of all. She understands! Me! She believes I am strong enough to beat it. When she's near, so do I. So today, seeing her like that… I'm afraid of… what I might do without her."
Asuka walked closer to his chair, looming over him. "I want a straight answer from you, Rainbow Trout, so you better be serious here… Do you love our Rei?"
Kaworu looked up at her. "I… don't know."
Asuka did not look pleased at this answer.
Kaworu wobbled. "I don't know! I don't know what that is! I thought I knew! I thought Shinji was someone I could love, coming here! Now I have to...to… admit I don't even understand what love is. I think I love her? I want to hold her, feel her with me, make her happy, protect her and never harm her!" He clenched his hands together. "I want her to smile at me the way you two smile at each other. But then I worry that she's just… being kind to me to help keep me from going down there and destroying everything… And even if she's not, the pressure of that risk is going to poison anything between us."
He slumped in the chair. "I think I love her. I want to. And I hate the part of me that hears the Call and wants to listen. She belongs in this world. I don't."
Asuka and Shinji looked at each other. "Me?" Shinji mouthed to her in confusion. Asuka shrugged, just as mystified. "I guess you're just that damn popular among Eva Pilots, baka mine. I wonder if I need to worry about Hikari getting the hots for you now too." She turned back to Kaworu, examining him carefully. "....She trusts you. And she knows all this, and yet more that we don't. That's good enough. You're hot, talented, willing to go this far for her and us, and you did your best to protect her in that battle. I think you're worthy enough if Rei does, Trout. So SEELE put this thing in your head? And messed with your memories? To make you more liable to follow it, I bet. How can we help?"
Kaworu brushed his hand over his dropped violin. "Music. Friendship. Trust. You have no idea how much watching you two love each other helps, too. And Ayanami gives me more hope than I believed possible. All of that helps. I just hope you're still so good to me after we can finally tell you everything."
"And when is that?" Shinji asked, shaking off his confused speculation on what Kaworu meant about loving him. "You… after all the things we have learned about SEELE and my family's plans, what could you tell us that you're so afraid is worse?"
Kaworu looked him in the eye. "There are two more Angels. After the next one, I think… we should tell you. When there's just the last one left." He seemed calmed by the idea.
"Why then?" Asuka said.
"You'll understand when we tell you."
Asuka didn't look entirely happy, but nodded. "In the meantime… What does Rei think of you?"
Kaworu looked to the side. "She… when I asked her out, she said she would consider it, if we didn't have to hide the fact we're not enemies from NERV. And she… er… gave me… this… box." He started turning red.
"Box?"
Redder and redder. "Um… I… she… please do not tell her this. She… um… gave me a box… of… pictures. Of her. To… keep my mind off the Call, when the nights are bad," he said haltingly, then finished in a rush.
Asuka and Shinji's eyebrows rose. "...what kind of pictures?" Shinji asked, a little pink himself.
"The kind that were… meant for you two. As a gift. Um. She… gave them to me after… a bad night. Er… she also told me not to mention them. Um."
"Let me get this straight. Rei, our Rei, took those kind of pictures… to give to Shinji and I… and then gave them to you… to help you fight SEELE's brainwashing? Have I got all that right?"
Kaworu nodded, looking like he didn't know whether to run and hide, or stay put. Asuka looming over him was a potent argument for the former.
"But she trusts you, likes you, and you think you might love her?"
Another nod, a little firmer.
Asuka stared at him hard. She looked back to Shinji. He met her gaze for moment, then nodded. She turned back to Kaworu. "We love her, and she loves us. You hurt her, and no power in the universe can save you from us, you got it? But if you think you can make our Rei happy…"
Kaworu turned his head away. "I don't deserve her."
Asuka snorted. "And I don't deserve Shinji. But he loves me anyway." Shinji made a protesting sound. Asuka just reached back and took his hand, a smile playing on her lips. "If you think you don't deserve her, earn it, stupid fish."
He looked up at her, almost pleadingly. "What if I can't?"
"Then you better die trying," Asuka said firmly. "No one gets to break our Rei's heart. You think you love her, than you better be 200% serious about it, Trout. You better make her as happy as Shinji makes me."
"You said you had something you wanted to show us, Kaworu-kun," Shinji spoke up. "Ah… it wasn't those pictures, was it?"
Kaworu flushed again. "No. It was… something else." He rose, and walked over to his bedroom. He opened the door, and pointed at the far wall. "I… it's that. I meant it when I said she gives me so much hope."
Asuka and Shinji walked up behind him. Inside his room a collage of more regular pictures dotted a whiteboard, a message written in between the shots.
An array of pictures of Rei Ayanami, smiling, walking, sitting at school, eating lunch, all framed four words.
"'Do it for her,'" Shinji read.
Asuka nodded, satisfied. "Oh yeah… the Rainbow Trout is serious. Good."
+++
Ah, so that is what happened. Rei's AT Field wasn't back up to full strength yet anyway, so that disruption likely caused more shock than it would have normally.
Hm, mostly the truth with a little dash of misdirection I think.
This, however, concerns me somewhat. I suspect he's partly harboring a death wish.
Dat reference, and a good one at that. Hopefully his genuine love for Rei and the backing and encouragement of Asuka and Shinji win the day in his fight against the Call.
Great update, Strypgia.
- Location
- Edinburgh
Awesome update, just the perfect amount of WAFF in there, I loved that conversation between the three of them. It's nice to know that Rei isn't too hurt either.
I worry for what will happen after the next Angel is done with but I do have faith that they can all pull through. Kaworu's near confession here has given me that little bit of hope that it'll all be alright
I worry for what will happen after the next Angel is done with but I do have faith that they can all pull through. Kaworu's near confession here has given me that little bit of hope that it'll all be alright
- Location
- Volksstaat Hessen, Deutsches Reich
Kaworu's quantum powers sure are helpful. Or how else can he get Rei pictures from alternate realities?
Hm. So. Kaworu spilled... pretty much. And yes, Shinji is quite popular with the pilots... but so is Rei right now. I wonder how much Shinji and Asuka can piece together from what Kaworu has told them. Though they might be too worried about Rei to meticulously go through what he has said.
Hm. So. Kaworu spilled... pretty much. And yes, Shinji is quite popular with the pilots... but so is Rei right now. I wonder how much Shinji and Asuka can piece together from what Kaworu has told them. Though they might be too worried about Rei to meticulously go through what he has said.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
No backups means no replacements if Rei gets uppity. Problem with that is, Gendo won't be rational if his only key to Yui rejects him. Any rebellion has to be done at the last minute to avoid him snapping and killing her. If he is able to at this stage. After all, Rei does have AT-field shenanigans to ruin his day with.