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Broken Wings [NGE]
- Thread starter Teen Spirit
- Start date
samdamandias
Apprentice Plane Wizard
Feels like Israfel isn't so much trying to kill the pilots as making sure that a fair-ish fight happens. Actually, I don't think Israfel is trying to kill the pilots at all. Which is strange, and should worry people when they realize it.
- Location
- Surrey
Hah! I was right!
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Oh. Oh this could be interesting. Though now I'm wondering if Rebuild Wings might actually be happening and we have a soon to be tangle of 3-4 Evangelion verses meeting.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Rei is going to be very confused once the smoke clears. One minute she's about to blow herself up against Zureal, (irony noted) next minute she's playing Big Dang Heroes. Not to mention all the various shenanigans currently going on.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sadly no one makes "I'm sorry my alternate universe counterpart attacked your city and was about to curbstomp/eat you." cards.
But yeah, it's a big "Umm, what." moment for everyone.
The omake I made a while back. It's in Apocrypha.
RexHeller
Title Incoming. Please Hold.
- Location
- Somewhere else.
Ah, right. I forgot about that.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
I've got to applaud Ria's instincts, here, if not her 'I don't have a plan'. She's desperate to go help, but is stuck by not knowing how Sachiel pulled it off.
Oh, lovely. They should have expected something like that as soon as the cannons began to malfunction. Guess Ritsuko wasn't fast enough at cutting them off.
And now we've got a Rebuild Unit-00 dropping in? Assuming she's not dead in an hour, we're going to meet a Rei who doesn't know anyone. Hrm.
Quoting relevant parts. Okay, looks like we have some theories as to how this happened.
1. Ria did it subconsciously. Somehow.
2. Unit-01 pulled off a miracle without an S2 Engine. Somehow.
3. 12th Angel whose name I can't spell is doing something to prove that he or she isn't on Sachiels' side doing something. Somehow. But the letter mentioned they weren't responsible, so...
All of these things are linked somehow, I'm just not sure how. Any ideas?
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
I doubt Ria did it, but she could sure feel it, which makes me think some sort of super-AT-Field Haxx is going on. So possibly whatever brought the younger Pilots here did it, and my guess on that is still Leliel, our favorite spacetime distortion Angel.
It WAS a fair fight before Israfel crashed the party. Actualy, the Angels had a slight advantage with Iruel screwing with the defense network. Israfel may seem like a pair of Arrogant Kung Fu guys who like their opponents to fight at full strength, but they had no problem participating in a 5 on 2 battle where their side had a clear numerical advantage.
Kaworu: "If my wayward brothers and sisters are going to throw aside their pride so that they may claim a hollow victory, then it seems they have yet to learn their lesson. Class is again in session, meet my new Teaching Assistant, miss Rei Ayanami."
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Now I'm picturing some sort of bizarre High School AU where Y!Shinji and Asuka have to go to school with all the various angels, with Kaworu and Rei serving as the teachers.
Timerider
That guy who really should get out more.
- Location
- The End of the World.
Please don't.
That is too weird even for me, and you have enough on your plate as it is.
Canis
Shoulder Puppy
- Location
- United States
Oh come on, that's completely in line with Evangelion as a franchise and you know it. Hell it's downright tame compared to some of the other stuff that's official.
- Location
- Surrey
Ramiel throws balls of paper marked 'laser' at Kaworu throughout every period.
- Location
- supernatural
After the battle is said and done I wonder how BW!Asuka, Shinji and Ria will react when Rebuild!Rei tells them that her world's Asuka was the one that was injury in the Bardiel... BW!Shinji would not take that well because he would assume that that Asuka injuries are the same as Toji's.
Although part of me wishes that instead of Rebuild!Rei we could have gotten either Mari or Rei from the Ayanami: Vengeance fanfic.
Chapter 10 Part 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Chapter 10: The Ballad of Ayanami
Silence filled the Tactical Control Room. Before them was unmistakably Unit-00 and yet…
"It hasn't had that color scheme since before the refit," Misato muttered. "And yet it has the shoulder pylons."
"It never had that color scheme. Not like that," Akagi corrected.
And there was the missile. The repair work on Unit-00 was almost exactly like the same as what it had during her failed attack on the Fourteenth Angel. But it had been carrying an N2 mine back then, not a missile.
Just when she thought she understood a fraction of what was happening, reality threw Misato another curve ball.
The room snapped back to attention, again becoming filled with the sounds of frantic shouting and furious typing.
The battle outside had frozen, the Angels transfixed on the sight of Unit-00.
"Contact established with Unit-00," Maya said hesitantly.
The line was voice-only.
"Rei?" Misato said hesitantly.
"Colonel Katsuragi," The soft voice was unmistakably Rei's. "I do not understand what is going on. This is not Tokyo-3."
"I'll explain later," Misato replied. "Right now Shinji and Asuka need your help. Drop the missile and engage the Third Angel."
"Understood," Rei replied. "But Shikinami is not the one piloting Unit-02."
Misato glanced at Ristuko in confusion. Akagi could only shrug in response.
"Shikinami?" Soryu questioned.
/
For a long lingering moment, Sachiel stared at Unit-00 as it prepared to engage the Angel. Then the golden Eva took one single step forward.
Unceremoniously, Sachiel dropped Unit-01, letting it fall to the ground.
A fraction of a second later, a spear of light emerged from its clawed hand.
At first it looked like it was preparing to attack Unit-00, but then it angled the spear towards it's own Core.
"No!" Asuka screamed futilely, realizing just what it was about to do. "Not again, you goddamn coward!"
Sachiel drove the spear through it's own Core collapsing to the ground.
The two halves of Israfel briefly looked at each other, the gold half shaking it's upper body before both launched themselves into the air. Going limp right as each reached the apex of their jump, they fell to the ground in a boneless mass.
Just like that, he battle was over. The Angels had retreated. Yet Asuka still felt defeated.
She eyed Unit-00 wearily as it approached Shinji. Whatever that was, that was not the Wondergirl she knew.
Unit-01 struggled to it's knees. The damage to it was extensive. Armor was missing from much of it's head and the left side of it's torso, exposing the flesh of the Eva to the outside world.
"Are you okay?" Asuka asked over the comms. He was still moving, a good sign.
"Rei?" he said weakly.
She looked at the false Unit-00.
"I know," she replied, for lack of anything else to say.
"Shinji," Wondergirl's voice came over the speaker.
"Ayanami!" Shinji replied, mustering every ounce of strength he had left. "It is you, you're here!"
Despite herself, Asuka was almost glad to hear Rei's voice again.
"Shinji," she replied, "Why are you Piloting again?"
Silence greeted her. Ikari had passed out from the pain.
/
A docking bay was a strange place to meet someone, but considering the situation it was the only option open to them. Rei and Shinji were on their way back to WILLE.
Shinji had been injured, not badly, but he was unconscious when medics found him, and would need medical attention as soon as possible.
As for Rei…
Rei. Sub-Director Soryu was having a hard time processing it.
Rei was here, Rei Ayanami was back in the world. That was something she had never even considered. She had never been kind to Rei, not really. She had reminded Asuka too much of a doll and she hated her for that sometimes. Maybe this would be a chance to make things right.
The differences in Unit-00 were raising a lot of questions, but everything they had heard so far made it clear that Rei was Rei. Though some of what she told the WILLE personnel sent to get her was a bit... confusing.
Whatever force was behind the younger Asuka and Shinji being here had sent Rei as well. And just in the knick of time too. They had been losing. Misato would never admit it but Asuka knew the odds were against them at the end. The Pilots had been outnumbered, the defenses had been compromised and turned against them, and the Angels had caught them off guard. Multiple Angels attacking at once had just seemed like an impossibility. It simply had never been done before.
They were incredibly fortunate that the appearance of Rei caused Okito to turn tail and run.
Though Asuka found herself wondering; what or who sent Rei and the young Pilots? Lilith? Kaworu? Another Angel? Leliel had claimed ignorance of it but the word of an Angel was suspect at best, with one exception.
She looked around. Ria was nowhere to be seen. The room had only a few people in it, almost all of them were here for herself and Shinji, who seemed content to hang as far away from entry door as he could and still remain in the room. Ristuko and Maya were by the entrance, waiting for the car with a small amount of medical equipment just in case. Ritsuko looked decidedly uneasy. Toji and a squad of black armored security agents were standing next to Dr.Akagi.
The younger Soryu was walking around, having just arrived a few minutes ago. Her plugsuit still smelled of LCL. Pilot Asuka was making a very pointed effort to ignore her older self and Shinji.
Asuka decided it was best to do the same. If her younger counterpart was still mad over what Shinji told Ikari, well there was really nothing she could do about it?
The notable absence was Misato, who along with Toji's sister had jumped on the first Ambulance heading towards Unit-01.
"So where's Ria?" Asuka asked.
"Hiding in the break room," Shinji replied quietly. "Well, according to her she's resting but she was incredibly nervous."
Asuka suspected she knew why. Unit-00 had been pulled out of battle with Zeruel. The bandages and N2 weapon, even if it was a missile instead of a mine, made that clear.
Was Ria feeling guilty? Out of all the pilots she had probably done the least to Rei, just enduring her attack and moving on, so that couldn't be it. Besides Ria's own feelings on Zeruel's actions were a bit nebulous. Shinji had told her she admitted she didn't even know if she felt guilty about Zeruel's actions in general. Which Asuka found troubling but that was a subject for later.
Maybe she was scared? None of the Angels previously had shown fear of Rei. Then again there was something incredibly off about this whole situation. And she had to watch Okito be an absolute monster, again
"How did she handle it?" she asked, this time more concerned.
Shinji shook his head, his frustration apparent. "We'll talk about it later. Let's just say she was upset."
'Upset' was clearly putting it mildly. Ria had her father's anger issues mixed with something frightening lurking beneath the surface. That was something they would have to reign in one of these days.
He eyed everyone nearby, making sure no one was eavesdropping. He sighed, half in relief, half annoyed at having to be paranoid.
"No one is going to connect Rei to the big giant head, right?" Shinji asked, a new worry suddenly gripping him.
"That thing decayed before anyone but us could get a really good look at it." Asuka assured him.
Thankfully most people's memories of what they saw right before Instrumentality was a blur, a memory drowned out by months and years of forced togetherness. Asuka suspected that if it wasn't, more than a few people would have a rather... strong reaction to Rei's reappearance.
A black car with tinted windows pulled into the bay, drawing everyone's attention. The group pulled as close as they could without actually crowding the car.
The door opened. Out of it stepped two members of security... and Rei.
Asuka had forgotten how inhuman Rei had looked; her incredibly pale skin, her light blue hair that just barely reached her neck, and her red eyes.
Asuka blinked, her mind going back to Okito appearing at her door. He had the same eyes as Rei.
Shinji stiffened at her side, his mind probably awash in old memories of Third Impact.
Rei stared at the group, her face an unreadable mask. She would have been given a preliminary debriefing on the ride over but Asuka doubted that would have been enough to prepare her.
She turned towards the younger Soryu.
"Pilot Shikinami, it is good to see you have…" She paused, looking somewhat confused. "You are not Shikinami."
There was that name again.
"Who the hell is 'Shikinami'?" the younger Asuka questioned.
Before Rei could answer an ambulance pulled up next to the car. Misato about burst out the back, Sakura Suzuhara right behind her, pulling a stretcher. A small cadre of doctors and nurses following her.
The younger Ikari was on the stretcher, bandages covered part of his head and most of his left side. Asuka winced. Seeing the boy like that was hard to bear.
They rushed past, Misato barely pausing to look at Rei.
"Wait!" the younger Shinji shouted. His stretcher suddenly grinding to a halt. He sat up straight, staring at Rei.
For a moment the two simply looked at each other.
"Rei..." he began.
Rei rushed quickly to his side and grabbed him tightly in a hug, a smile of relief across her face.
Shinji froze, unsure of how to react, confusion all over his face.
Asuka stared in disbelief, as did her younger self, who was all but slack jawed at the sight. This was incredibly unusual considering all she knew of Rei. It wasn't that Rei didn't care for Shinji, but this was more expressive than Asuka had ever seen her.
What was going on here?
/
Rei's debriefing only further confused things. She remembered Angels that no one else had ever heard of, while several of the Angels they had fought were unknown to her. And the details of the battles they had fought seemed off. She said that the Pilot of Unit-02 was Asuka Shikinami Langley instead of Asuka Langley Soryu. And she spoke of something called the Vatican Treaty. How she described Second Impact was somehow far more devastating than the already near-apocalyptic event had ever been. Leaving the seas near lifeless and rendering much of the Southern Hemisphere uninhabitable.
Some thought that being sent here had made her mad or scrambled her thoughts. But when they considered how different Unit-00 is, only one conclusion, as absurd as it sounded, made any sort of sense.
Rei, this Rei Ayanami, was from another universe.
They had the other Pilots gathered in Shinji's hospital room. Asuka sat to the right of shinji. The older Soryu and Misato stood in front of them, trying their best to explain the situation.
"But she's still Rei?" Shinji asked.
"Yes," Misato replied, "but she's not quite the Rei we knew."
"Imagine a world where history was a bit different," Asuka explained. "Second Impact never occurred, where Germany won the first world war, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi successfully conquered Korea, and so on and so forth. From what Rei has told us her world was similar to ours but a bit different. The first three Angels were largely the same, though a bit different in appearance and some a bit stronger. But at the same time the Asuka of her universe had different parents or at least a different mother."
Effectively that made this Shikinami person a completely separate individual. Though from what Rei had told her, physically the only difference between the Soryus and Shikinami was a slightly different hair color.
"So could this mean we're from an alternative universe too, instead of time travel?" the younger Asuka questioned.
"Possibly," her counterpart admitted. "Though it's hard to tell. Near as we can tell everything you went through until you were taken here was what we went through. Your Evas are identical to what our Evas were. If there are differences they are too small to notice."
If the two younger Pilots were from another universe, it was really a distinction without much of a difference. Nothing would change one way or another. At best it meant sending them home would be just that much harder.
She looked at the two Pilots. Shinji, bandaged and injured as he was, was troubled. Both overjoyed at Rei appearing and confused by her not being the Rei he knew. To say nothing of the hug.
That hug, that was really unexpected for Rei. It was far more open than she had ever been.
The younger Asuka was putting on a great act of indifference, but she could tell she was worried.
"Rei is alone," Misato stated. "More than you two are. And barring a miracle she's stuck here. So try to be there for her. She needs all the help she can get."
They were not Gendo, whatever Rei was, they would treat her far better than he ever did.
Shinji nodded.
"Wondergirl is still Wondergirl," Asuka added, seemingly in agreement.
/
Shinji found himself waiting outside as Rei was put through another briefing. He hadn't spoken to her yet.
He tried not to think of the last time he had seen her, after she had merged with Lilith and the cloning tanks full of empty copies of her. He tried to think of her as she had been.
"You're the older Ikari, correct?"
Shinji turned to see her standing behind him, still in her white plugsuit. A small plastic bag in her one of her hands.
"Y-yeah," he replied, trying not to swallow his words. "How did the briefing go?"
"It went well," Rei replied in her soft tone. "Though I find the nature of the current conflict rather disturbing."
"I'm sorry you got caught up in this," Shinji said.
She shook her head. "It is no trouble."
Rei reached into her bag. "Here. I was holding onto this but it belongs to you."
She handed him an old SDAT player. His old SDAT. No, no not quite, it was a bit greyer than his.
He stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"Keep it," he insisted. That thing was tied up in a lot of old bitter memories.
"The battle, how did it go?" she asked.
"Pardon?"
"I was in battle with the Angel they call Zeruel before I was taken here. It was just myself and an unknown girl piloting Unit-02. They explained that it wasn't the same battle but you experienced a similar battle with the Angel."
"Yeah," Shinji replied. "It was close but I was able to defeat it in the end."
It felt like he was talking to a ghost.
She frowned. "I'm sorry, I had hoped you would never need to pilot again."
"Oh…" He wasn't sure how to feel about that. "It's alright. I survived."
Where as she didn't, not really. She become something more, and something less. Comparable to a god but where was she now? Where was the Rei he had known?
"Are you happy at least?" she questioned.
Was he? He had Asuka again, he rebuilt things with Ria after so long. But his other self hated him now, and the Angels were lurking around every corner. And yet despite that…
"Yes, I think I am," Shinji replied.
To his surprise, Rei smiled. It was a small one, but sincere. Devoid of any awkwardness nor was it forced. It looked strange on her face, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless.
"I'm glad," she said.
Silence filled the Tactical Control Room. Before them was unmistakably Unit-00 and yet…
"It hasn't had that color scheme since before the refit," Misato muttered. "And yet it has the shoulder pylons."
"It never had that color scheme. Not like that," Akagi corrected.
And there was the missile. The repair work on Unit-00 was almost exactly like the same as what it had during her failed attack on the Fourteenth Angel. But it had been carrying an N2 mine back then, not a missile.
Just when she thought she understood a fraction of what was happening, reality threw Misato another curve ball.
The room snapped back to attention, again becoming filled with the sounds of frantic shouting and furious typing.
The battle outside had frozen, the Angels transfixed on the sight of Unit-00.
"Contact established with Unit-00," Maya said hesitantly.
The line was voice-only.
"Rei?" Misato said hesitantly.
"Colonel Katsuragi," The soft voice was unmistakably Rei's. "I do not understand what is going on. This is not Tokyo-3."
"I'll explain later," Misato replied. "Right now Shinji and Asuka need your help. Drop the missile and engage the Third Angel."
"Understood," Rei replied. "But Shikinami is not the one piloting Unit-02."
Misato glanced at Ristuko in confusion. Akagi could only shrug in response.
"Shikinami?" Soryu questioned.
/
For a long lingering moment, Sachiel stared at Unit-00 as it prepared to engage the Angel. Then the golden Eva took one single step forward.
Unceremoniously, Sachiel dropped Unit-01, letting it fall to the ground.
A fraction of a second later, a spear of light emerged from its clawed hand.
At first it looked like it was preparing to attack Unit-00, but then it angled the spear towards it's own Core.
"No!" Asuka screamed futilely, realizing just what it was about to do. "Not again, you goddamn coward!"
Sachiel drove the spear through it's own Core collapsing to the ground.
The two halves of Israfel briefly looked at each other, the gold half shaking it's upper body before both launched themselves into the air. Going limp right as each reached the apex of their jump, they fell to the ground in a boneless mass.
Just like that, he battle was over. The Angels had retreated. Yet Asuka still felt defeated.
She eyed Unit-00 wearily as it approached Shinji. Whatever that was, that was not the Wondergirl she knew.
Unit-01 struggled to it's knees. The damage to it was extensive. Armor was missing from much of it's head and the left side of it's torso, exposing the flesh of the Eva to the outside world.
"Are you okay?" Asuka asked over the comms. He was still moving, a good sign.
"Rei?" he said weakly.
She looked at the false Unit-00.
"I know," she replied, for lack of anything else to say.
"Shinji," Wondergirl's voice came over the speaker.
"Ayanami!" Shinji replied, mustering every ounce of strength he had left. "It is you, you're here!"
Despite herself, Asuka was almost glad to hear Rei's voice again.
"Shinji," she replied, "Why are you Piloting again?"
Silence greeted her. Ikari had passed out from the pain.
/
A docking bay was a strange place to meet someone, but considering the situation it was the only option open to them. Rei and Shinji were on their way back to WILLE.
Shinji had been injured, not badly, but he was unconscious when medics found him, and would need medical attention as soon as possible.
As for Rei…
Rei. Sub-Director Soryu was having a hard time processing it.
Rei was here, Rei Ayanami was back in the world. That was something she had never even considered. She had never been kind to Rei, not really. She had reminded Asuka too much of a doll and she hated her for that sometimes. Maybe this would be a chance to make things right.
The differences in Unit-00 were raising a lot of questions, but everything they had heard so far made it clear that Rei was Rei. Though some of what she told the WILLE personnel sent to get her was a bit... confusing.
Whatever force was behind the younger Asuka and Shinji being here had sent Rei as well. And just in the knick of time too. They had been losing. Misato would never admit it but Asuka knew the odds were against them at the end. The Pilots had been outnumbered, the defenses had been compromised and turned against them, and the Angels had caught them off guard. Multiple Angels attacking at once had just seemed like an impossibility. It simply had never been done before.
They were incredibly fortunate that the appearance of Rei caused Okito to turn tail and run.
Though Asuka found herself wondering; what or who sent Rei and the young Pilots? Lilith? Kaworu? Another Angel? Leliel had claimed ignorance of it but the word of an Angel was suspect at best, with one exception.
She looked around. Ria was nowhere to be seen. The room had only a few people in it, almost all of them were here for herself and Shinji, who seemed content to hang as far away from entry door as he could and still remain in the room. Ristuko and Maya were by the entrance, waiting for the car with a small amount of medical equipment just in case. Ritsuko looked decidedly uneasy. Toji and a squad of black armored security agents were standing next to Dr.Akagi.
The younger Soryu was walking around, having just arrived a few minutes ago. Her plugsuit still smelled of LCL. Pilot Asuka was making a very pointed effort to ignore her older self and Shinji.
Asuka decided it was best to do the same. If her younger counterpart was still mad over what Shinji told Ikari, well there was really nothing she could do about it?
The notable absence was Misato, who along with Toji's sister had jumped on the first Ambulance heading towards Unit-01.
"So where's Ria?" Asuka asked.
"Hiding in the break room," Shinji replied quietly. "Well, according to her she's resting but she was incredibly nervous."
Asuka suspected she knew why. Unit-00 had been pulled out of battle with Zeruel. The bandages and N2 weapon, even if it was a missile instead of a mine, made that clear.
Was Ria feeling guilty? Out of all the pilots she had probably done the least to Rei, just enduring her attack and moving on, so that couldn't be it. Besides Ria's own feelings on Zeruel's actions were a bit nebulous. Shinji had told her she admitted she didn't even know if she felt guilty about Zeruel's actions in general. Which Asuka found troubling but that was a subject for later.
Maybe she was scared? None of the Angels previously had shown fear of Rei. Then again there was something incredibly off about this whole situation. And she had to watch Okito be an absolute monster, again
"How did she handle it?" she asked, this time more concerned.
Shinji shook his head, his frustration apparent. "We'll talk about it later. Let's just say she was upset."
'Upset' was clearly putting it mildly. Ria had her father's anger issues mixed with something frightening lurking beneath the surface. That was something they would have to reign in one of these days.
He eyed everyone nearby, making sure no one was eavesdropping. He sighed, half in relief, half annoyed at having to be paranoid.
"No one is going to connect Rei to the big giant head, right?" Shinji asked, a new worry suddenly gripping him.
"That thing decayed before anyone but us could get a really good look at it." Asuka assured him.
Thankfully most people's memories of what they saw right before Instrumentality was a blur, a memory drowned out by months and years of forced togetherness. Asuka suspected that if it wasn't, more than a few people would have a rather... strong reaction to Rei's reappearance.
A black car with tinted windows pulled into the bay, drawing everyone's attention. The group pulled as close as they could without actually crowding the car.
The door opened. Out of it stepped two members of security... and Rei.
Asuka had forgotten how inhuman Rei had looked; her incredibly pale skin, her light blue hair that just barely reached her neck, and her red eyes.
Asuka blinked, her mind going back to Okito appearing at her door. He had the same eyes as Rei.
Shinji stiffened at her side, his mind probably awash in old memories of Third Impact.
Rei stared at the group, her face an unreadable mask. She would have been given a preliminary debriefing on the ride over but Asuka doubted that would have been enough to prepare her.
She turned towards the younger Soryu.
"Pilot Shikinami, it is good to see you have…" She paused, looking somewhat confused. "You are not Shikinami."
There was that name again.
"Who the hell is 'Shikinami'?" the younger Asuka questioned.
Before Rei could answer an ambulance pulled up next to the car. Misato about burst out the back, Sakura Suzuhara right behind her, pulling a stretcher. A small cadre of doctors and nurses following her.
The younger Ikari was on the stretcher, bandages covered part of his head and most of his left side. Asuka winced. Seeing the boy like that was hard to bear.
They rushed past, Misato barely pausing to look at Rei.
"Wait!" the younger Shinji shouted. His stretcher suddenly grinding to a halt. He sat up straight, staring at Rei.
For a moment the two simply looked at each other.
"Rei..." he began.
Rei rushed quickly to his side and grabbed him tightly in a hug, a smile of relief across her face.
Shinji froze, unsure of how to react, confusion all over his face.
Asuka stared in disbelief, as did her younger self, who was all but slack jawed at the sight. This was incredibly unusual considering all she knew of Rei. It wasn't that Rei didn't care for Shinji, but this was more expressive than Asuka had ever seen her.
What was going on here?
/
Rei's debriefing only further confused things. She remembered Angels that no one else had ever heard of, while several of the Angels they had fought were unknown to her. And the details of the battles they had fought seemed off. She said that the Pilot of Unit-02 was Asuka Shikinami Langley instead of Asuka Langley Soryu. And she spoke of something called the Vatican Treaty. How she described Second Impact was somehow far more devastating than the already near-apocalyptic event had ever been. Leaving the seas near lifeless and rendering much of the Southern Hemisphere uninhabitable.
Some thought that being sent here had made her mad or scrambled her thoughts. But when they considered how different Unit-00 is, only one conclusion, as absurd as it sounded, made any sort of sense.
Rei, this Rei Ayanami, was from another universe.
They had the other Pilots gathered in Shinji's hospital room. Asuka sat to the right of shinji. The older Soryu and Misato stood in front of them, trying their best to explain the situation.
"But she's still Rei?" Shinji asked.
"Yes," Misato replied, "but she's not quite the Rei we knew."
"Imagine a world where history was a bit different," Asuka explained. "Second Impact never occurred, where Germany won the first world war, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi successfully conquered Korea, and so on and so forth. From what Rei has told us her world was similar to ours but a bit different. The first three Angels were largely the same, though a bit different in appearance and some a bit stronger. But at the same time the Asuka of her universe had different parents or at least a different mother."
Effectively that made this Shikinami person a completely separate individual. Though from what Rei had told her, physically the only difference between the Soryus and Shikinami was a slightly different hair color.
"So could this mean we're from an alternative universe too, instead of time travel?" the younger Asuka questioned.
"Possibly," her counterpart admitted. "Though it's hard to tell. Near as we can tell everything you went through until you were taken here was what we went through. Your Evas are identical to what our Evas were. If there are differences they are too small to notice."
If the two younger Pilots were from another universe, it was really a distinction without much of a difference. Nothing would change one way or another. At best it meant sending them home would be just that much harder.
She looked at the two Pilots. Shinji, bandaged and injured as he was, was troubled. Both overjoyed at Rei appearing and confused by her not being the Rei he knew. To say nothing of the hug.
That hug, that was really unexpected for Rei. It was far more open than she had ever been.
The younger Asuka was putting on a great act of indifference, but she could tell she was worried.
"Rei is alone," Misato stated. "More than you two are. And barring a miracle she's stuck here. So try to be there for her. She needs all the help she can get."
They were not Gendo, whatever Rei was, they would treat her far better than he ever did.
Shinji nodded.
"Wondergirl is still Wondergirl," Asuka added, seemingly in agreement.
/
Shinji found himself waiting outside as Rei was put through another briefing. He hadn't spoken to her yet.
He tried not to think of the last time he had seen her, after she had merged with Lilith and the cloning tanks full of empty copies of her. He tried to think of her as she had been.
"You're the older Ikari, correct?"
Shinji turned to see her standing behind him, still in her white plugsuit. A small plastic bag in her one of her hands.
"Y-yeah," he replied, trying not to swallow his words. "How did the briefing go?"
"It went well," Rei replied in her soft tone. "Though I find the nature of the current conflict rather disturbing."
"I'm sorry you got caught up in this," Shinji said.
She shook her head. "It is no trouble."
Rei reached into her bag. "Here. I was holding onto this but it belongs to you."
She handed him an old SDAT player. His old SDAT. No, no not quite, it was a bit greyer than his.
He stared at it for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"Keep it," he insisted. That thing was tied up in a lot of old bitter memories.
"The battle, how did it go?" she asked.
"Pardon?"
"I was in battle with the Angel they call Zeruel before I was taken here. It was just myself and an unknown girl piloting Unit-02. They explained that it wasn't the same battle but you experienced a similar battle with the Angel."
"Yeah," Shinji replied. "It was close but I was able to defeat it in the end."
It felt like he was talking to a ghost.
She frowned. "I'm sorry, I had hoped you would never need to pilot again."
"Oh…" He wasn't sure how to feel about that. "It's alright. I survived."
Where as she didn't, not really. She become something more, and something less. Comparable to a god but where was she now? Where was the Rei he had known?
"Are you happy at least?" she questioned.
Was he? He had Asuka again, he rebuilt things with Ria after so long. But his other self hated him now, and the Angels were lurking around every corner. And yet despite that…
"Yes, I think I am," Shinji replied.
To his surprise, Rei smiled. It was a small one, but sincere. Devoid of any awkwardness nor was it forced. It looked strange on her face, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless.
"I'm glad," she said.
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- Location
- Australia, mate
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Well, at least this kind of confirms that whatever is doing the grabbing of other Evas, it's on WILLE's side, if it intervened so hard when it looked like they were about to lose.
A bad imitation, Asuka.
Boy, is Rebuild!Rei going to be confused by this Asuka. She's not much like the one she knew...
Just accept the Rei hugs and enjoy them, Shinji. Although, yeah, that's a pretty unmistakable sign to everyone this is not the Rei they remember.
You said it, Asuka...
"Uh, I was literally ripping it's face off when I ran out of power, so my mother and I had to go crazy, rip it to pieces, and eat it's heart. Then I got stuck in the Core for a month. It was a shitty month."
Awww....
- Pronouns
- He/Him
*Ria Hiding behind Shinji/Asuka*
"Tell her I'm friendly!"
Assuming she's willing to acknowledge her feelings like that. She is still dealing with the other Asuka and Shinji getting back together and she had, intentionally or otherwise, kind of friend zoned Y-Shinji pretty hard.
