Reika : Convergence of Duality
Prologue : And in Darkness binds them
Written by DJ Lesser
Draft begun : November 10th 2000
Standard Disclaimer : Neon Genesis Evangelion / Shin Seiki Evangelion
belongs to Gainax and other miscellaneous companies. Characters used
without permission.
--------------------------
Shinji clenched his eyes shut in concentration. With a hard yank he
managed to pull the lever free, and the entry hatch popped open beneath
his hands. LCL began draining away from the breach, drenching him from
waist down, but he was oblivious to the fact as his eyes began to adjust
to the dim surroundings of the chamber. After making sure he had a firm
footing, he climbed into the entry plug, only to see an empty seat.
"Rei? Asuka?" he called out softly. Yet the sound of his voice
seemed magnified in the recluse darkness. He strained to listen for a
reply, for any sound, but the only sound that tickled his ear was the
gentle rippling of LCL. He closed his eyes and frowned in concentration,
willing his vision to be adjusted to the darkness before taking another
step in.
There! He released a breath he did not realise he was holding when
he caught sight of a faint, light blue wisp of hair partially submerged
in LCL at the bottom of the entry plug. Crawling towards it, he felt an
impeding sense that something was not right.
Asuka was still nowhere to be seen.
"Rei!" Shinji said, a hint of panic entering his voice. He pulled
her up by her shoulders so that she would no longer be immersed in the
fluid, his movements careful not to aggravate her injuries, if she had
any. Rivulets of LCL trailed down her face and hair.
It was not right.
Rei had short hair...
"Re-?" Shinji's voice strangled in his throat. His breath came in
short, rapid bursts but he could not find the strength to scream. His
eyes became adjusted to the dark at last and noticed everything he had
failed to notice before. The red plug suit, belonging to the Second
Child, that accentuated her curves and her long, slender body. The
feeble light that reflected of her suit painted the waters around her
with a crimson hue.
Her long, fringed masses of pale blue tresses was pulled up and held in
place with white clips, partly hidden in her hair. Her hair was matted
to her forehead by the LCL, but the style was distinctly Asuka's. She
had smooth, flawless pallid skin that belonged to Rei. But her lips, her
full red lips that he had once kissed, that was Asuka's. His mind
couldn't make any sense of it.
"It can't be. It's not true. It can't be. I - I -" he whispered
incoherently as all trains of thought derailed. He could not take his
eyes off her face, could not stop staring, could not close his eyes. His
hands would not respond to him, they still held her by her shoulders,
his grip tightened reflexively around her in reaction to his tension.
His legs would not move, would not run, even though he desperately
wanted to. In a split second Shinji thought he was paralysed, from fear
or from the same spell cast upon her, he didn't know. He wanted to wake
up from this nightmare, wake up to another unfamiliar ceiling, anything
was better than - than - *this*.
She moaned low in her throat and opened her eyes slowly.
Her red, red eyes.
Now he screamed.
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