Evangelion and their characters are owned by GAINAX 

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		EVA: FALLEN ANGEL


version 1.02
by Mekat 

Eva Caelum
www.geocities.com/evacael/

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Chapter 4: Little white lies / Echo of memory

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In the last chapter Kaji and Misato are witness to a mass purging of 
SEELE agents by an unknown sniper. SEELE however realizes that this 
was a work of OMBRA, an organization they themselves founded but was 
supposedly disbanded ten years ago.

Kaji in the meantime also decides to quit his career as a spy whilst 
he was still ahead, but his choice came a little too late as no less 
than four SEELE agents are sent to terminate him. Fortunately for 
him, Angela saves him from retirement and proceeds to send him off 
to Canada and then Switzerland, to Antrum-4, one of several OMBRA 
controlled underground bases.

Shinji defeats the 14th Angel; Zeruel. This however, comes at a high 
price as Shinji is now in a coma, resulting from a massive feedback. 
In the battle, Asuka found herself humiliated by Shinji as he saves 
her from her own foolishness. But at the end of it, Hikari confronts 
Asuka, and helps her see how wrong she was in blaming others. Asuka 
also comes to realize that she has a better reason to pilot Eva 
rather than the one she has been using for years now.


What are OMBRA's plans? Will Shinji recover from his severe 
injuries? Will we find out yet the truth about Conrad? Will we find 
out who wields the power of OMBRA? Will I ever shut up and just get 
to the point?

Some answers are yes and some are no.


Year 2005

Italy, the town of Ardea

It has been two days after the convoy ambush now. Angela had found 
an old abandoned house on the borders of the town to shelter in. For 
two days now, she has hiked from the ruins of the city of Latino, 
thirty-three kilometers away, carrying with her the small child. She 
wiped a cold sweat off her forehead as she glanced out of the window 
out to the sea. The redness of the setting sun filled the room. She 
still remembered when only five years ago, she wouldn't have been 
able to see the sea from here.

The child lay at a corner, in a makeshift bed made out of rags. He 
was asleep now, but she still remembered when he first found out 
from her that his mother and father were dead. He'd cried himself to 
sleep then. That was only on the first day though, he still did that 
even now, but at lest he left it until they were settled down in a 
place for the night. During the daytime, he'd hike along side her in 
the easy parts, whilst during the hard parts she would carry him on 
her back. Luckily, he wasn't heavier than the backpack Angela was 
trained to carry over long distances. Angela stood up from the old 
creaking chair and settled her H&K LR Sniper Rifle by the wall as 
she stretched to get rid of all the aches and pain. She winced as 
she still felt the pain from her bandaged face. The cut the SEELE 
agent had made on her face hadn't been too deep, she could still use 
her left eye, but there would definitely be a permanent scar there. 
It was a strange sight, herself in a country-style dress she stole 
off a laundry line a near Latino, whilst her face was bandaged like 
she'd been in a brawl, and of course, she was still wearing her 
steel-capped army boots. No wonder that old store-keeper in town was 
looking at her funny, it couldn't be helped though, she had to go in 
town for provisions and she certainly couldn't go wearing black army 
fatigues covered with blood. It was a good thing that she always 
kept some money with her even when she went out on missions.

Tomorrow they would try to reach what was left of Ostia, a whole 
twenty-five kilometers away, from there they would bypass Rome and 
head up to lake Bracciano. She knew that SEELE would not give up on 
their search, she'd already had to avoid several searching teams. If 
SEELE was powerful enough to enlist her help through the UN, then it 
meant that reporting them to the UN would be out of the question. 
The airports of Rome would be obviously guarded, so they were also 
out of the question. They would not expect her to head further north 
by foot. She had some contacts at Bracciano, whom she hopes will be 
able to help them evade the SEELE agents. In truth she could have 
made it much further than this alone, but the child slowed her down 
a lot. More than once she had thought to leave him to one of the 
families inhabiting the area, but she had made a promise to take 
care of him to his dying mother, and anyhow, she knew they would 
have found him eventually if she would have done that. Angela turned 
over to the boy and exhaled, she resigned herself to the fact that 
she had made a choice, the right one, and was now stuck with the boy 
whether she wanted it or not. She kneed down over his sleeping form, 
lowering a hand to brush aside some of his hair.

Angela: Why...? Why do they want you dead?



Year 2015

Tokyo-3, NERV ward

Asuka sat silently in a chair besides the unconscious Shinji. She 
looked up from her book and gave a quick glance across the bed. She 
was still there, exactly in the same position she was before. Rei 
was seated similarly in chair on the other side of the bed. She too 
was reading a book and hadn't looked up from it for over an hour 
now. It was a little unnerving in the way she could seem so shut off 
from the world, however, Asuka now knew that contrary to what she 
had previously thought, Rei took in everything that happened around 
her.

She had first protested when Hikari had first dragged her here. She 
couldn't bare to watch Shinji like this, knowing that at any given 
time, it could be her in the bed rather than Shinji. The book Asuka 
was reading had been already here when she arrived. She didn't know 
who'd left it there, but it seemed like the only thing that she 
could do to fight off boredom. Not long after, Rei had made an 
appearance. Entering the room, she glanced over to Asuka one to 
simply acknowledge her presence, then sat down and begun reading her 
own book that she had brought along. They'd been sitting here ever 
since, watching over Shinji. Asuka was worried that Rei would ask 
her what was she doing here, but she never did, it was almost as if 
she already knew, although even Asuka, couldn't force herself to 
accept the real reasons.

Suddenly Rei lifted her head and turned to face the door. Asuka was 
about to ask what was wrong when the door opened with a small hiss. 
Misato entered the room trying to keep a straight face, but both 
girls could see that she was not bring pleasant news.

Asuka: ...

Rei: ...

Misato: Asuka... Rei...

Asuka: H...how is he Misato...?

Misato: I just came from talking with Ritsuko, she said that he 
sustained severe damage to both his brain and nervous system. 
However, we can repair the damage and have him up and about in a 
week...

Rei ( knowing better ): But...?

Misato ( nervously ): But... we aren't able to repair all the effected 
cells and he might retain some damage on his brain and nervous 
system...

Asuka: ...

Misato: Asuka, you better go home now, you too Rei, it's getting 
late.

Asuka: But...

Rei: Yes Major...

Misato: Come on, Asuka, you can come back some other time.

Asuka: ...



Switzerland, Antrum-3

Kaji entered a large room, which seemed to be the command center of 
this large complex. Several technicians were working on various 
things at their posts. Some turned and had a good look at the new 
comer, but generally though, they ignored Kaji's presence. Danielle 
indicated to him to follow her. After only a minute they reached an 
observation post, from which the entire command center could be seem 
from. Already there, were two men and a woman. The woman was lean 
and of average height, seemingly in her late twenties. The two men 
were both in good shape and surprisingly fairly young. One of them, 
black hair, pale green eyes, was obviously a scientist of some sort 
as he was wearing a lab coat similar to the ones Ritsuko always 
wears. The others were dress in a similar style the rest of OMBRA , 
and if their color coding was anything like NERV then other man was 
their security chief. He wasn't too tall, but he had a constitution 
of a barrel in Kaji's mind, he had brown hair and black eyes. If 
they did use the same color scheme, then that would make the woman 
their Commander? How can someone so young in charge? Now that he 
thought about it, she seemed strangely familiar. 

Danielle: Mr. Rouji Kaji, I'd like you to met Dr. Peter Mitcham our 
resident head research director. This is Lieutenant Colonel Kelven 
Aleksandrovich, our security chief. And of course, Commander Loren 
Boucien, she's the boss around here.

Then it hit, the name, the face, the... body... Standing at five foot 
four, black hair and black eyes, the woman now standing in front of 
him was one he once knew very well.

Kaji: Loren?!! Is it really you!?!

Loren: Oh hi Kaji, long time no see...

Dr Mitcham seemed like a pleasant man as he smiled and shook Kaji's 
hand with a firm grip. Colonel Aleksandrovich, however, maintained a 
poker face but shook his hand too none the less. When it came to 
Commander Boucien, Kaji hesitated a little, it was hard to believe 
that this woman, only a little younger than he was, had so much 
control of such a powerful organization. He decided at that moment, 
that he had made a serious mistake in his career choice. Sensing his 
hesitation, Loren looked at him quizzically, but reached out and 
shook his hand with a smile on her face. 

Loren: What's the matter Kaji? Something wrong?

Kaji: Oh... nothing... it's just that... you're... you're their 
Commander???

Loren: Ah... yes, that tends to puzzle some people even around here.

Kaji: It's been... quite a while...

Loren: It's been over ten years, last I saw of you was when we 
finished high school.

Kaji ( grinning the usual 'Kaji' grin ): Ermmm... hey... weren't you 
going to be an artist?

Loren: Well... I met the right people and just fell into this 
position. By the way... why don't you drop by my office later so we 
can catch on some of the old days...?

Kelven ( in monotone ): I see you two know each other pretty well...

Both Danielle and Peter were groaning whilst sporting the 'here she 
goes again...' look.

Kaji in the meantime found himself horrified at the prospect that he 
would be now working for his high school 'girlfriend'. Not to 
mention the fact that she hadn't changed a bit, as happy and smiling 
as ever, which could only mean that she must have kept the other 
side of her personality too. He hoped to god that this wasn't the 
case.

Peter: Well, if you don't mind now, Loren, I must be getting back to 
the labs now. The first trial for Project-023 is on in fifteen 
minutes.

Kaji: Project-023?

Peter: Oh don't worry about it, maybe I tell you some other time. 
Well, I really must get going now... pleasure to meet you Mr. Rouji.

Kaji: Err... yes... see you around Doctor...

Loren ( suddenly all serious ): So Kaji, you did a smart thing in 
deciding to join us.

Dear god... it's the other side of her personality he thought, this 
version of Loren could give Gendo a run for his money. If it weren't 
for the fact that he was once in love with her more happy carefree 
side (and the matter that she was great in bed), he wouldn't have 
even touched her with a ten-foot pole. He was in fact, in a way, 
quite scared of her. Primarily due to the fact that she was, in all 
honesty, born with an utter lack of conscience. She did have the 
ability be kind and gentle, but at the same time, be as cunning and 
manipulative as any man could get and she wouldn't see anything 
wrong with exploiting anything to her advantage. She had no qualms 
with killing someone if their death were to serve a purpose. Now 
that he though about it, she was like a young, female, version of 
Gendo with some actual charisma. It now occurred to him that Loren 
had probably been hired on the basis of this (in his mind) very 
disturbing quality.

Kaji: I take it I don't get much of a choice in the matter.

Loren: Do you have a choice? Let's see... SEELE wants you dead. NERV 
wants you dead. You stay with us. You stay alive. It's as simple as 
that.

Kaji: ...

Loren ( smiling ): You have your own part to play Kaji in our 
organization now. Kelven will brief you on your new role, now if you 
will excuse me, I have matters to attend to.

Kaji turned to face the OMBRA security chief. It seemed to him that 
Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandrovich was the same type of person that 
would be employed in NERV's Section two. Now that wasn't something 
out of the ordinary. But Loren... what was there to say? Nothing could 
have prepared him for her.

Kelven: Come with me.

Danielle: That it then, I guess I'll be seeing you around.

Kaji: Yeah, see you around...

Oh well, he thought, I guess it's better than the alternative...



Commander Ikari was seated in the dark confines of his office, 
standing next to him as always, was Sub-commander Fuyutsuki. 
Currently, the Commander was going through the reports of the recent 
battle. The costs and expenses to repair all the damage caused was 
tremendous. The Evangelions especially, were heavily damaged, though 
their regeneration would have to be prioritized. Silently, Dr. 
Ritsuko Akagi entered the office, bring in further reports.


Ritsuko: Well, this is the last of them.

Gendo: I trust you have already begun the regeneration process.

Ritsuko: Yes, all three units will be operational in four weeks. Of 
which the most heavily damaged is Unit-01. All the circuit nodes in 
Unit-01 will have to be completely striped and rewired, they are too 
far damaged to repair at all. Unit-00 will be fully repaired in a 
week. Unit-02 will take about two.

Fuyutsuki: How are the pilots?

Ritsuko: Both the 1st and 2nd are uninjured. The 3rd however, has 
suffered severe trauma and is now in a coma. He will be out for 
about a week, but it is unsure on how long will it takes for him to 
fully recover or whether he will be able to pilot again.


Gendo: You will train the 4th in the eventuality that the 3rd will 
not be able to perform anymore.

Ritsuko ( thinking ): All ready to discard Shinji when he's not 
useful anymore I see.

Ritsuko: Understood.

Gendo: You are dismissed.

Without another word, Ritsuko depart the room. The two that 
remained, stayed silent for another few minutes till one of them 
finally decided to speak his mind.

Fuyutsuki: Ikari, about that situation before the 14th Angel...

Gendo: Yes...? 

Fuyutsuki: Angela Lervino... you know something about her that I 
should know about?

Gendo: ...

Fuyutsuki: I can tell that you know her or at lest, about her...

Gendo: There is nothing that you need to know.

Fuyutsuki ( in an obvious tone of total disbelief ): I see...

Gendo: ...

All of a sudden, the Supreme Commander of NERV released a sigh, 
something that was considered a rare event by those most around him, 
but served to relieve them with the fact that he was indeed after 
all, only human. It did however signal something that the Commander 
rarely did. He was reconsidering...

Fuyutsuki: ...?

Gendo: Federico Lervino.

Fuyutsuki: ...??!

Gendo: He was the lead man responsible in designing the Geo-front. 

Fuyutsuki: Her father?

Gendo: Yui knew him... she... approached him to lead the project.

Fuyutsuki: ...

Gendo: He was terminated after completing his project to prevent 
outside knowledge of this installation's total layout.

Fuyutsuki: ?!?

FLASHBACK

Milano, Italy, 2000

It was a typically a hot summer night in the city of Milano. At a 
large villa out of on the borders of the city, was party was in full 
swing. The atmosphere was one of happiness. Friends of the family 
and relatives helped celebrate the completion of Ferderico's largest 
architectural project. It was not long from since the party had 
started when a large black limousine pulled up in the driveway. 

Yui: Come on, can you at lest act nice for once?

Gendo: ...

Yui: Well... fine... do what you want but at lest please promise me you 
won't go and pick a fight again will you? Please...

Gendo: ... I...

Yui ( in a sweat irresistible voice ): Please... for me?

Gendo: ...alright... I promise...

Yui: Good! Now there, you see... you can be nice when you want to...

Gendo: ...

The couple then walked slowly into the interior of the villa, where 
they promptly find another pair awaiting them in the reception area. 
The two in question are Federico Lervino and his young daughter, 
Angela who was at the time, only fifteen.

Federico: Yui! It's good that you could make it! I was afraid that 
you would not have been able to come after all...

Yui: Oh I'd never miss your party for the world Federico! The least 
I could do for an old friend. And who is this pretty lady?

Federico: Ah this is my darling treasure, my daughter Angela.

Angela: Father! Stop that you're embarrassing me!

Federico: But I'm only speaking the truth dear, you are the most 
precious thing to me in the world. Anyway, Angela, say hi to an old 
friend of mine.

Yui: Please to met you Angela.

Angela: Please to me met you too ma'am.

Yui: Oh please! Just call me Yui...

The young teenager brightened up into a smile, already making up her 
mind that she was going to like this young woman. She continued on 
being as happy as ever, never really paying much attention to the 
man behind Yui.

Federico: Angela dear, why don't you go off and help your mother, 
I'm sure she had something you could help out with.

Angela: Si papa... see you later Yui...
( Yes dad... )

Yui: See you later Angela...

The three adults watched quietly as the girl headed off to find her 
mother.

Yui: Cute kid...

Federico ( turning back ): Yes... she means the world to me...

Finally, Federico became aware of the man standing behind Yui.

Federico: And who is this?

Yui: Oh! This is Gendo Rokubungi, my fiancé...!

Federico: Ahhh! Congratulations! I didn't know you were engaged!

Yui: Oh yes! We're going to get married very soon! Sorry for not 
introducing him before sooner, he can be very shy at times...

Gendo: ...

Federico: Don't worry about it! Well then, pleased to meet you Mr. 
Rokubungi.

Gendo: Pleased to meet you...

Federico: Well then...! Please, make yourself at home...



Federico walked quickly along the dark back streets of the old city. 
He was headed towards his office. He had been given a call and was 
asked to see to some files at once in his office. He was a little 
annoyed at the being woken up well past midnight. But there wasn't 
much he could do about it, he was being paid handsomely for his 
work, enough to settle his family for life. A little longer, he told 
himself. A little longer and he would not have to work on anything 
but what he wanted for the rest of his life.

It had been a whole year since Yui had purposed the project to him, 
he happily agreed to it, being that they had known each other for 
many years now. He was worried however about that man that 
accompanied her to the party. Her fiancé. There was something about 
that man he just couldn't put his finger on. That man had a 
darkness, which followed around him, like a shadow. But if he could 
make Yui happy then he would be happy for her.

All of a sudden he heard a soft tapping of footsteps behind him. 
Startled, he spun around quickly. There was a tall figure of a man 
stood not too far from him, having just revealed himself from a 
corner. It did not take him long to recognize who it was though. 

Man: If you resist, then we will be forced to involve your family.

Federico: ...

Without speaking a word, the man withdrew a small pistol from 
beneath his trench coat. In the silence of the night, the man took 
careful aim, as if he wished to keep it neat with a single shot. He 
could have quite easily taken the shot by now, but it seemed as if 
the man was waiting for something. Federico was unimpressed. He now 
understood the reason why the man was here. He was glad though, that 
they decided to keep this between him and them only, and not involve 
his family. Poor Yui, she had pretty much signed him on for his own 
death sentence without knowing it.

Federico: So...?

Man: ...

Federico: ... I should have known...

Man: ... yes...

Federico: I guess, you probably do this often don't you?

Man: No.

Federico: Oh, so you just normally just intimidate and threaten 
people right?

Man: If the occasion calls for...

Federico: ... you're going to make it look like an accident?

Man: A mugging.

Federico: Ah... yes... of course... well... I suppose it's not negotiable...?

Man: No.

Federico resigned himself to the fact that, whatever he did at this 
point, wasn't going to save him. By not resisting, he would at lest 
save the ones he loved from the same fate. For some reason, even 
though the man in front of him was obvious a cold and ruthless 
killer, he knew he would keep his word. After all, why bother with 
his family if they had no knowledge of the Geo-front's plans?

Federico: Very well... I hope at lest that you'll take good care of 
Yui.

Man: I will.

With those last words. The trigger was pulled. The gun went off. 
Muted by the silencer mounted in front of the barrel. At that 
moment, with a single shot, Federico Lervino ceased to be.

Lowering his pistol, and concealing it back into his trench coat, 
the man waked over to the prone body and proceeded to relive the 
dead man of any valuables. He then silently departed back into the 
shadows from which he appeared.

END FLASHBACK

Fuyutsuki: Yui never found out...?

Gendo: Of course not. Otherwise she would never have forgiven me...

Fuyutsuki: But Yui should have figured it out sooner or later...

Gendo: She never did. Even if she had known, the order came directly 
from SEELE.

Fuyutsuki: That's not a very good excuse and you know that...

Gendo: It matters not anymore.

Fuyutsuki: How about the girl, Angela... does she know you did it?

Gendo: If she did, I would already be dead.

Fuyutsuki: ...




About a week later

Tokyo-3, NERV ward

Asuka and Hikari walked into the NERV ward side by side. Throughout 
the whole of last week, Asuka had come to visit Shinji once in a 
while after school, but every time she came, Rei was already there. 
Asuka vaguely suspected that the 1st child was there everyday. Every 
time Asuka wanted to come, she had to ask Hikari to accompany her, 
she absolutely refused to come alone, almost as if she was scared to 
be alone with him. Wonder girl sure didn't count as company. She 
cursed herself for becoming so weak. What was she afraid off? What 
was it that made it so hard? After all, what could he do to her, he 
was still unconscious.

Asuka stepped in cautiously just as the automatic door was fully 
opened. Her eyes were lingering on the floor as she entered the 
room. Suddenly she heard a gasp from behind coming from Hikari, this 
caused her to lift her head in surprise, only to come straight into 
eye to eye contact with Shinji. He was standing next to the bed only 
a couple of meters away. He looked ill, drained of life, sunken 
cheeks, lips unnaturally thin. But worse of all were his eyes, they 
seemed dead, they seemed to have lost any shine, any brightness, 
leaving only faded darkness. She failed to suppress a gasp herself, 
being stunned into a frozen state. No one moved for minutes until 
finally Shinji approached her. Asuka's mind was racing, what was 
happening? She kept on asking herself. It didn't take him long to be 
standing straight in front of her. Asuka kept on watching him, as if 
she was watching a film, this couldn't be really, this couldn't be 
the Shinji she knew. Before she realized it, she found him stroking 
gently across her cheek with his hand. His skin felt warm against 
hers, so unlike what he looked like. An unexpected display of 
affection from him, the one who she begun to care about. She felt 
blood rushing towards her cheek as she felt violated in some unknown 
way, as if with that simple touch he had reached into the depth of 
her soul and felt the secrets she had kept there. To make matters 
worse, she felt as if at the same time it was reassuring her that it 
was alright, that it didn't matter. But it did, why couldn't he see 
that, why couldn't he just stay away like everyone else? It soon 
became unbearable for her any further, even though part of her 
welcomed his touch. She wasn't ready for this. She wasn't ready to 
accept that he could care for her as much as he did. So she did the 
only thing she could think of. She slapped him, hard.

Asuka: Baka hentai!

But he did not even let out a cry as he fell back. She noted that 
she was now breathing heavily, having slapped him harder this time 
than ever. She couldn't think of anything clearly, her mind was a 
jumble of thought, this was not what she expected when she thought 
of coming to visit him this morning. This was not what she thought 
she'd do to him first thing he recovered from the coma. Asuka could 
easily sense the horrified look on Hikari's face even without 
looking behind her.

Shinji finally let out a small groan as he sluggishly cumbered onto 
his hands and knees. Slowly, he got up again, contrary to what Asuka 
was expecting. Asuka was suddenly afraid. Though she was not proud 
of what she had just done, the Shinji she knew would have simply 
cowered into a corner and started whimpering. In less than a minute, 
Shinji was back on his feet and facing Asuka again. This back 
straight and head up facing right back at her. His left cheek now 
sporting several bleeding cuts. Asuka became suddenly all too aware 
of the warm liquid dripping off her nail. She could now see in his 
eyes, a locked mixture terrible melancholy and strangely a look, 
which displayed an all too obvious haughty challenge towards her.


Hikari: S...Shinji? Asuka stop this!

It was too much for Asuka to handle, her natural instinct was to 
hurt him again, until he stayed away. Her arm rearing backwards for 
another strike. However, before she could do anything else, a pale 
arm grabbed her's. She turned around in surprise, finding none other 
that Rei. The 1st child had been in the room all along, having never 
spoken up or intervened until now.

Rei: It will not make much difference...

Asuka: ...!?

Hikari: ...?!

Rei: You attempt to push him away with pain...

Asuka: That pervert touched me!

Hikari: Asuka! Stop that! He's finally opening up to you.

Rei: Part of you cherishes that. But you cannot bring yourself to 
return his affection. 

Asuka now noticed that the outside of Rei's lips had curled up into 
what seemed like a smile. The doll was mocking her.

Rei: ...however... this time you cannot push him away...

Asuka ( turning to face Shinji ): Why!? Why is that!?

Rei: Because... he cannot feel any pain anymore.

Shinji: Almost correct...

Everyone suddenly turn to face Shinji who finally decided to speak 
after all this time.

Gently he reached for Asuka's hand and brought it up to his battered 
face. Asuka felt reluctant but did not make any attempt to stop him. 
He pressed her hand against his right cheek rather than his left to 
not mark it with his blood.

Shinji: I...I can't feel anything... anymore.



Kensuke: What do you mean he can't feel anything anymore!?

Kensuke was seated in his place at class the next morning. She 
stared incredulously at Hikari who had given him the news.

Hikari: Shhhh!! Keep it down, Shinji doesn't want everyone to know.

Kensuke: But...! But..! 

Hikari: You remember how he went into a coma because of the feedback 
right? Well, apparently although they managed to regenerate most of 
the damage, his entire sense of touch was burnt out completely. He 
can't feel anything touching him, he didn't even feel Asuka slapping 
him... he says it's like being permanently numb all over but even 
worse than that.

Kensuke: Wait a minute! Asuka slapped him!?

Hikari: Yeah, she didn't take it too kindly when Shinji tried to 
touch her cheek...

Kensuke: How could she!? After what he's done!

Hikari: I know, but she can't help it. I know she really like him 
even though she can't bring herself to accept it.

Kensuke: Nice way of showing it.

Hikari: ...



Misato: Can't you do anything?!

Ritsuko: I warned you that there was the possibility that he might 
have some permanent nerve damage.

Misato: Yes, but not loosing his whole sense of touch!!!

Ritsuko: I admit that I should have expected it, but there is 
nothing I can do about it! We simply don't have the technology 
necessary to regenerate all the dead nerves.

Misato ( spitefully ): Oh great, you can spend millions to 
regenerate a lost arm off an Eva but you can't help him...

Ritsuko ( annoyed ): There is quite a difference... between both the 
physiology and scale of the two in question, Major.

Misato: ...

Ritsuko: I know how you feel Misato, you're worried about him. I am 
too, but taking it out on me is not going to help.

Misato: ... S...sorry...

Ritsuko: Don't worry about it. I would however, suggest you keep a 
close watch on him. People who loose one or more of their senses 
tend to feel either a lot of anger or depression following the 
incident. Knowing Shinji, he would be the depressed type.



As usual in a dark room

SEELE 13: What is this all about?

SEELE 06: We have been informed that Ikari has refrained from taking 
direct action towards Angela Lervino, and to add insult to injuries, 
Lervino has intercepted our agents when they were about to eliminate 
Rouji Kaji.

SEELE 01: Therefore we have taken the liberty to take a more direct 
action towards OMBRA's interference...

SEELE 04: Are you intending to eliminate Lervino?

SEELE 01: No.

SEELE 13: Then what is it that you are planning?

SEELE 01: Very simple, we strike back at OMBRA.

SEELE 13: ...?

SEELE 08: But how? We do not know the location of any of their bases.

SEELE 11: Nor do we have much information on their active agents...

SEELE 02: A few hours ago, we have successfully located one of their 
bases.

SEELE 09: ?!?

SEELE 07: When do we strike?

SEELE 01: The operation is being carried out as we are speaking.

SEELE 07: Wait a minute! How come we were not informed of this?!

SEELE 09: That's right!

SEELE 02: It does not matter any more anyway. As of today, OMBRA is 
short of one base.

SEELE 06: Who is conducting the operation?

SEELE 01: The man who will carry out the destruction of OMBRA's base 
is a trusted agent.

SEELE 13: ...

SEELE 08: One man?

SEELE 06: Who is he?

SEELE 01: Lloyd Dexter.

SEELE 13: Isn't he unstable? The man's an animal, he enjoys killing...

SEELE 01: He is loyal.

SEELE 07: Lloyd Dexter is a madman, how can you be sure he will not 
turn on us eventually.

SEELE 01: For now, all that matters is that he gets the job done.



Shinji sat on a grassy hill outside the borders of Tokyo-3. He 
watched in silence as the sun begun to set in the distance, the red 
haze running across the horizon and filtering over the landscape. He 
came here to escape the eyes of others. He came here to be by 
himself, to embrace the loneliness that now consumed his heart and 
soul. This was how he felt. This was how he lived. He retraced his 
mind back to what had occurred since his awakening.

Misato tried to be the pillar of strength as always, but he could 
see through her. She was ready to break.

Asuka has been avoiding him...

His inability to play his cello as well as he used to, due to being 
unable to 'feel' the notes. Of course, that still left him with the 
one of the things he could still feel: The feeling of uselessness.

 Then there were the eyes of everyone who knew, pitying him, as if 
he'd lost his soul or something.

Close enough, though, it might as well as have been his soul that 
he'd lost in that battle. True, Asuka now couldn't hurt him like she 
used to, but now she'd always run off whenever he'd try to talk to 
her. And somehow it hurt just as much as feeling both his arms 
ripped off in the battle with the 14th. Leaving him just as badly 
off if not worse that before. He had been crying earlier, but he 
barely acknowledged it. Now he couldn't cry anymore, he was too 
tired. There were no more tears left.

He didn't feel that he could face anyone anymore. He had lost part 
of his ability to 'connect' with others. At lest down to a more 
personal level that is. He laughed gently at the thought. He 
wondered if he'd started to act like Ayanami. Maybe that's how the 
others were perceiving him lately. He was so distant from the rest 
of the world, as she was. But he couldn't help it. Everything just 
seemed all so pointless now.

Voice: Ikari

Shinji: Huh?!

He quickly turned around and immediately found the source of the 
voice standing not to far behind him.

Shinji: Oh it's you Rei...

Rei: ...

Shinji: What are you doing here?

Without a word, she walked over to him and sat down next to him.

Shinji: ...

Rei: I was looking for you.

Shinji: Did my father order it?

Rei: No.

Shinji: Figures. As if he would care.

Immediately after the words came out, he suddenly remembered what 
happened last time he talked badly about his father to Rei. He 
braced himself for the slap that was to come...

But none came.

Rei: He does not need me to look for you. Section two knows where 
you are, always.

Shinji: ...

Rei: I came... because I wanted to speak to you.

Shinji: Why...?

Rei: You feel that you have lost part that bond that links you to 
others. That you, are unable to connect with someone as strongly as 
you might wish.

Shinji: ...

Rei: You did lose part of the bond. But you should not let that 
establish itself as the end to all. Life... goes on. There are other 
reasons... and maybe one day... you will be glad...

Moments past as Shinji contemplated what she tried to tell him. 
Then, he begun to laugh, it was a soft carefree laugh, which came 
from the heart. There was no mockery, there was no spite, only plain 
amusement. Rei watched him, seeming that she almost expected it.

Shinji: ...Rei... if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were 
trying to cheer me up...

Rei: Maybe I am.

Shinji: Rei... you have changed...

Rei: So have you.

Shinji: Why are you here Rei?

Rei: Because... I care...

Shinji: ...!?!

To his complete surprise, the gentle blue haired girl who now sat 
next to him now wore a small smile on her face. At the same time, 
she was staring straight into his eyes, as if to see his reaction to 
her words. Then she leaned on him, her head on his shoulder. Shinji 
almost pulled a way for a moment, but she had latched on to his arm 
firmly. Seeing this, he begun to blush, whilst part of the old 
Shinji made an appearance. He was nervous, constantly fidgeting, and 
totally clueless of what to do next.

Shinji: R...Rei? I can't...

Rei: I know. It is pilot Sohryu is it not? But for now please...

Shinji: ...

Rei: Please... just once... let us share this moment.

Shinji ( calming down a little ): ...O...okay...

So it was that the two pilots watched sun set in the horizon. 
Neither spoke a word, both possessing a mutual understanding that 
there was a need for none. At lest for the moment. As the night 
descended, the coldness could be felt but only one of the present, 
but she dispelled it by snuggling closer to her counterpart. Even 
though Shinji couldn't feel it, Rei now felt the closest to anyone 
she'd ever had. The warmth radiating from Shinji's body kept her 
comfortable and at ease. At the same time, Rei's actions and 
movements seemed to calm Shinji, relaxing him.

Rei: I have watched you from afar for so long...

Shinji: Is that why you never speak much...? Not coming close to 
anyone? Because you watch from afar...?

Rei: I observe much that is around me... I used to not understand 
people...

Shinji: And now you do?

Rei: I little... but I realize now that it is impossible for one to 
fully understand what drives another, that is because of the very 
fact that we are individual beings...

Shinji: What made you realize that?

Rei: I do not know, but you were certainly part of the reason.

Even though he knew Rei better than most, Shinji still had never 
known that Rei felt so strongly for him. He cursed himself for being 
so clueless. It pained him to know that she has given up her hopes 
of ever being with him so that he could go after the one he truly 
hoped to be with. And at the same time he knew that she didn't 
really go along with Asuka very well, which probably made it harder 
on her. But will Asuka ever open up herself to him, he wondered. 
What if she never will? Then Rei would have given up on him over 
nothing... But it wasn't nothing, even if he gave up on Asuka right 
now, he would never forgive himself for not trying for the rest of 
is life... Rei knew that. 

It wasn't as if he didn't feel anything for Rei. It was just that he 
couldn't forget about Asuka. But he went along with it none the 
less, leaning his own head against Rei's. It was the first time he'd 
ever been this close to a girl and didn't feel the need to run off 
and hide in the deepest darkest hole in the earth. Close enough to 
smell the fresh scent of her hair. Lavender. Of course. Nothing else 
could take off the stench of LCL like Lavender.

Enraptured in the moment, Shinji's mind suddenly decided to go out 
for a walk, ignoring his extremely timid nature. He was doing what 
was to be expected from a 'normal' boy for once. Being led by his 
hormones. Shinji lowered his head even further... Until he reached 
Rei's lips and kissed them. This action lasted for definitely more 
than a minute, part of Shinji deciding that it 'felt' right, and the 
other part afraid of what might happen when he finally pulled away. 
He felt both light-hearted and deeply depressed at the same time, it 
was the first time he had the courage to make an advance on a girl 
but he was unable to directly feel the kiss. He moved slightly away 
from her as soon as the kiss ended.

Shinji: I'm sorry...

Rei: ...

Shinji: I can't...

Rei: I... you do not have to be sorry...

Shinji: ...

Unfortunately the quiet moment amongst the two was not to last, as 
Shinji became aware of another presence behind them. He hastily 
turned around just in time to see a white-faced Asuka standing at 
the edge of the foliage, without even an insult, she spun around and 
disappeared quickly into the tree line.

Shinji: Asuka!! Wait!!!

He didn't even remember getting up when he was already chasing after 
her. However, he could not move quite fast, due to the fact that he 
had yet to fully recover from his ordeal with the 14th Angel. In 
fact he was out of breath after only the first dozen or so meters.

Rei: Ikari...! Shinji...! Stop!

Shinji frozen as the blue-haired pilot called out to him with his 
first name. He stopped and turned around quizzically as she caught 
up with him.

Rei: Shinji, please... I will go after her...

Shinji: Huh?

Rei: Please... you must be fatigued... you are still not well, you must 
go home and rest... I will find Asuka...

Shinji: But... I have to explain! I have to talk to her...

Rei: I will do that, I will tell her the truth. Whether she wants to 
hear it or not.

Shinji: Rei...

Rei: Trust me...

Shinji: You're not going to hurt each other are you?

Rei: No.

Shinji: ...

Rei: ...

Shinji: ... Ok... I trust you Rei... but you must promise me to try and 
keep out of a fight with her... I don't want to of the most important 
girls in my life hurting themselves...

Rei ( slightly blushing ): I promise... now please Shinji, go home and 
rest.

With those words, Rei rushed off in the direction Asuka has run off 
to. Quickly fading from Shinji's sight as the darkness of the forest 
engulfed her petit figure.

Seeing there was nothing more he that he can do, Shinji turned 
around and headed home. Part of him scared to death of loosing Asuka 
forever, though at the same time he trusted that Rei would keep her 
word, or so he hoped...



Ten minutes later...

Asuka: Huff huff huff...!!!

Asuka had finally decided to stop when she broke out of the forest 
and found herself in a wide-open field. If she had not been so upset 
she would have marveled at the beauty of the night sky, the stars 
could be clearly see, there was not a cloud in sight. There she 
collapsed, weeping sorrowfully into the palms of her hands. Her 
heart was full of sadness and at the same time anger. Anger at being 
betrayed like that, and with that doll too. It was all too clear in 
her mind now that she'd lost him, that she was too late now...

Rei: You should not have run off like that...

Asuka spun around immediately, recognizing the voice, the anger 
flare like nothing before, she was practically on the verge of 
physically attacking the other girl.

Asuka: What are you doing here bitch! Have you come to gloat!?

Rei was noticeably out of breath, having struggled to catch up with 
Asuka, but still, her face betrayed no emotions. Although currently 
attempting to clear her eyes of her tears, Asuka noticed this. Even 
though she knew it was to be expected of Rei, she was still thought 
that she would do more than just stand there and breath heavily. She 
shivered as she suddenly felt a strong cold breeze pass by them.

Rei: We need to talk...

Asuka: ...?!



Roughly 5,500kms away
The Hawaiian islands

After Second impact, what remained of the privately owned island of 
Niihau or better known as Kauai was sold to a little known 
pharmaceutical company named OBERON under the pretenses that they 
would were establishing a new medical research center. The island 
was renamed Paniau after it's only mountain peak, of which now forms 
most of the island which was still above sea level.

What is a little bit less known was that OBERON is one of many 
puppet companies under the control of OMBRA. Paniau was the site of 
one of the most advance medical research center in the world, but 
was also the site of Antrum-6, a massive underwater complex of which 
the world had never seen. Here, OMBRA was able to research and 
develop technologies related to the ocean. Its residents comprise of 
some of the best in the fields of marine biology, marine 
engineering, or even undersea geology. However, one of the most 
important roles of Antrum-6 was as a launching base for a mass 
mining operation of the sea floor. Officially, sub-oceanic mining is 
prohibited by international laws unless a permit was approved and 
the facility periodically inspected by UN officials. But since 
Antrum-6 officially did not exist, there was not a need for one. As 
such, Antrum-6 provided over twenty-five percent of all the raw 
materials for OMBRA's manufacturing plants. 

The massive complex was connected to the research center on Paniau 
by a tunnel, which extended over thirty kilometers further out into 
the ocean depths. It sustained a permanent population of 1,200 men 
and women from all over the globe. At the same time, like all the 
OMBRA bases, Antrum-6 was design to be a formidable fortress. Formed 
out of interconnecting hab-domes, Antrum-6 sported twenty meters 
thick walls reinforced by ceramics and an interweaving lattice made 
out of the latest in carbon polymers. A hidden fleet of armed ships, 
VTOLs and submersibles were ready to respond to any treat, not to 
mention the arsenal of surface to air missiles and torpedo 
launchers. All in all, Antrum-6 was well protected by anything but 
the most determined assaults. However, this was not going to be the 
enough.

It took a lone man, to infiltrated Antrum-6, killing mercilessly 
everyone in his way. His aim, the geo-thermal power plants that 
supplied the base with power. It had taken him only a hour and forty 
minutes, by then he had already departed from Honolulu on a flight 
to New York, but not before detonating enough concentrated C5 on the 
vents to permanently turn the lights off for the entire base. Even 
the back-up generators failed, them too having been tampered with by 
the same man. Suddenly, due to the act of a single saboteur, the 
multi-billion dollar fortress became totally defenseless. The 
observation satellites were cut off, their advance detection gears 
rendered useless. Not before long, two unseen crafts far above, 
dropped their payload of a N2 mine each, which each honed onto 
specifically targeted co-ordinates.

Both N2s detonated simultaneously from opposite flanks of Antrum-6, 
the blast itself instantly pulverizing twenty percent of the base, 
however it was the shock waves, which were to do most of the dirty 
work. An invisible wall of water rippled across the ocean, crushing 
every living thing in its path, any undersea drivers unlucky enough 
to be nearby were turned into jelly, their bones and organs crushed 
to a pulp. Even the massively thick walls buckled under the force, 
the tinniest crack was enough to cause the water pressure to flatten 
the man-made structure. Finally, the battered walls of the hab-domes 
gave away and imploded one by one, their occupants perishing along 
with their life's work. Of the population of 1,200 men and women, a 
measly two dozen survived the strike. As a finishing touch, the N2 
mines also created devastating tsunamis, which proceeded to wash 
away the surface facility on Paniau therefore killing nearly 
everyone there too. The tsunamis then went on to strike several 
nearby-populated centers, where many more thousands were killed or 
rendered homeless.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

END CHAPTER 4

---------------------------------------------------------------------

*Author's corner*

Another chapter done and just before the writer's block kicked in. I 
might take a while to finish the next chapter but I hope that I'll 
be able to finish that soon.

< Special bonus short story >

Misato dragged Shinji along the corridors of NERV HQ in an attempt 
to reach Unit-01. However, she found it increasingly difficult as 
more and more of the JSSDF forces swarmed ever more into the base. 
It didn't help that Shinji was acting more of a wimp than he usually 
does.

Out of nowhere, a five-man squad of JSSDF Black Ops suddenly 
appeared and quickly surrounded them.

Soldier 1: Drop it.

His orders were backed up by several nasty-looking guns.

Misato, seeing no way out of it dropped her gun. Hoping that they 
would at least spare Shinji.

Soldier 1: We got them, what do we do now?

Soldier 2: HQ says to waste them...

Misato: Nooo!! You don’t need to kill him!

Soldier 1: Sorry Ma’am, orders are orders.

Misato hugged Shinji firmly, instinctively trying to protect him 
even though she knew that it was a futile act.

Before any of the soldiers could even point their guns at Shinji and 
Misato. A wild spray of bullets hit one of their numbers. Fired from 
an unseen assailant, the armour-piercing rounds easily tore through 
the body armour the man wore. Misato took the opportunity to grab 
Shinji and her gun, carrying off both behind some crates.

The firefight was quick and bloody, the JSSDF Black Ops squad 
loosing against their attacker’s elevated position. After things 
quieted down, Misato poked her head from behind cover to find all 
the soldiers had been taken out. Clambering down from a steel ladder 
was a grey-haired middle-aged man.

She didn’t recognize him from security, she did however notice that 
he was wearing some sort of one-piece environmental suit. Strangest 
part of all was the fact that he was obviously American.

Man (muttering to himself in english): Damn it, why does this always 
happen to me? I'm getting too old for this shit...

Man (noticing Misato poking her head from behind her hiding place): 
Oh Major Katsuragi! Are you are alright?

Misato: Well, yes, thanks to you...

Shinji, was as oblivious to this as he was when the soldiers were 
about to shoot him.

Man (indicating towards Shinji): He doesn’t look like he’s having 
much fun.

Misato:  No... he's a little shaken... Errr... may I ask you a question?

Man: Sure Major... go ahead...

Misato: Well, it’s just that I’m normally familiar with all of NERV 
security, especially with non-Japanese personnel. How come I’ve 
never seen you around before...?

Man: Ahh... yes... that might be because I’m not security...

Misato: ?

Man: I’m a senior researcher in the Physics department.

Misato: You’re a white coat?!
(White coat = Scientist)

Man: Errr... yeah?

Misato: You’ve gotta be kidding me! You just took out five Black Ops 
at the blink of an eye and you’re a white coat!

Man: Well... you see I happen to have had some experience in this 
field...

Misato: What, you mean this happened to you before?!

Man (chuckling softly): Oh yeah, but that was back in American 
though, nearly twenty years ago, but that was in my younger days.

Misato: ...

Man: Well, I was working a this place, and we sorta had an accident. 
I won’t go into much details but I will say that the big boyz in 
Washington weren’t too happy about it so they sent a whole army to 
wipe the ‘evidence’.

Misato: How’d you get through that?

Man: Too long to explain, maybe later...

Misato: Oh, right! Shinji we have to get going! Move!

Man: Good luck to you Major! I’ll go and see if I can clear out some 
scum around Command.

Misato: Good luck to you too... Mr...?

Man: Freeman. Gordon Freeman.

< End of Special bonus short story >

Note: For those of you who didn’t get it, the short story was a 
Eva / Half-life crossover. It was stuck in my head so I just had to 
do it ok?! @_@ Please don't flame me for being inaccurate, it's only 
a fun thing I did ok?


Coming up next: Chapter 5: Past regrets / Meeting hearts. What will 
happen between Shinji, Rei and Asuka? Will Angela ever find out 
about Gendo’s little secrets? What will Kaji’s fate be ‘under’ the 
command of his ex? Stay tuned if you want to know!

Many thanks to my pre-readers (yes I now have more than one!!!!):

Axel Terizaki
Zoe Symons
Juan Luis Carrasco
Brad S. Battles


Anyway, enough talk... must go back to playing FF6 now... 
cya...

    Source: geocities.com/evacael/Fics

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