It's late. I don't feel like even trying. Fizzy Pop, Inc. presents A story by }=]DarkNate Knowledge is Power Book Two: Know thy Self "If I was invisible, Then I could just watch you in your room. If I was invincible, I'd make you mine tonight. If hearts were unbreakable, Then I could just tell you where I stand. I would be the smartest man, If I was invisible... Wait, I already am." --"Invisible", Clay Aiken Chapter 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shinji awoke to a combination of the mental prodding of his guardian Shizuka, and the argument outside his door. "I just want to go and sit with him!" One voice yelled. Another made shushing sounds. "Quite down, you'll wake him up!" The first countered, "Good! He needs to get up and back to living!" A third voice intruded. "I wouldn't be surprised if he just slept forever. His ordeal was quite taxing." Shinji smiled. "Sensible Rei-chan," he whispered. "How long have I been out, Shizuka?" The familiar voice of his mental companion was a comfort to his tangled and fuzzy mind. "You've been asleep for almost two days. But you were trapped for far longer." Shinji was instantly, completely, awake. "HOW LONG?" Shizuka sighed. "A month has passed, Shinji. Yui did not wish you to go easily." The memories of his visions in the entry plug, in that bizarre half-world, came flooding back, like a movie in fast-forward, except that he knew what was happening even at that speed. The jolt of it was almost a physical blow, and he dropped back down, breathing heavily. "That, was not a happy thing." Shizuka agreed. "But we got you out. And just in time. The trials and tribulations are not yet over. For you, perhaps, there will be a respite. But your room-mates are about to face terrors of their own. And we must be ready." Shinji hated it when Shizuka did this. "Care to explain?" "In due time. For now, let us go and see the ones who REALLY brought you back from the dead." Shinji gently planted his feet on the floor, and padded across the soft carpet to the door. Sliding it open, he saw Misato baring the doorway with her arms, Asuka trying to get past, and Rei standing to one side trying to mediate. Asuka's nose was bare inches from his own. He flashed a smile. "It's nice to be home. Is it time for dinner yet? I'm hungry enough to brave Misato's cooking." All three girls just stared at him. Finally, Asuka turned away in disgust. "If he's willing to eat YOUR food, Misato, then he's clearly brain damaged. We better call the doctors." Rei smiled broadly at him, teary eyed. "I am glad to see you are awake and able to make jokes. We were very worried." "I've been out for a month, haven't I? I was stuck in my Eva?" His face showed little concern. Misato blinked, gave him a long look, and finally smiled. "Yes you were, on both counts. But now you're home, Kensuke is all better, and life couldn't be more perfect." "Yes it could," Shizuka said through Shinji. "Asuka doesn't seem to happy." Rei looked in the direction the redhead had gone. "I don't understand either. Perhaps she is overcome with relief. She was most happy for your safe return." Shinji smiled, taking control back smoothly. "I'll just have to talk to her then." He strode down the hall, and knocked on Asuka's door. "Asuka-chan? May I speak with you?" The door opened a slight crack. "What?" Her face showed signs of tears. Shinji smiled faintly. "I just wanted to make sure YOU were okay." "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked flippantly. "Because while I was trapped, I could still see you." Asuka recoiled in fear. "What do you mean?" Shinji pushed the door open gently, and embraced her. "I was so confused. I thought it was a dream, or a nightmare. I thought I would wake up, and everything would be okay." He sniffled, tears coming to his eyes. "But it never ended. It hurt seeing you so sad. It doesn't matter why you were in pain, whether it was me or something else." He looked straight into her eyes. "But I never want you to have to hurt like that again." It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. At that moment, Asuka's soul was laid bare. Shinji could see the anguish, the heartbreak she had felt for the last month. And he could see, faintly, the happiness and relief. But then, anger clouded it all. She shoved him away. "I can take care of myself! I don't need you to protect me! I don't need anyone!" She punched him, hard, in the stomach. Shinji doubled over the fist, his breath gone. He lay there gasping as Asuka stalked off. By the time he could sit up, she had already left the apartment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rei found him there a few minutes later, still sitting where he had fallen. He was looking out the door where Asuka had left, unmoving. "Shinji-kun? Are you all right?" Shinji looked over at her, a haunted, vacant stare. She recoiled, confused at the meaning of the strange gaze. "Asuka." Shinji's lips barely moved, and Rei had to strain to hear him. "She... She hit me. She left. She doesn't care about me at all." Rei knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This last month has been... difficult," she said softly. "Especially for Asuka. She never stopped worrying about you. I practically had to tie her down to make her sleep at night. Now, you are returned to us, apparently unharmed. She does not know how to react, so she does what she does best: lash out." Shinji rubbed his stomach, wincing at the soreness. "Yeah, she's quite good at that." Rei offered him an assisting hand, which he took. Standing, he added in a thoughtful voice, "Just before she punched me, she said, 'I don't need you to protect me.' She got all defensive when I was only trying to help. I wonder why?" Rei shrugged. "I know little of her past. Perhaps something you said touched a nerve, or brought back bad memories. Who can say?" Shinji sighed, and winced as his slightly bruised ribs protested. He went back to his and Misato's half of the apartment suite, and got some ice from the freezer. "I just hope she comes back." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Three hours later, Shinji had just finished making dinner--over protests from Misato that he should be resting--and Asuka still hadn't returned. Shinji was beginning to become worried, but Shizuka seemed to be even more on edge. "What's wrong?" Shinji asked mentally. "You really seem stressed." Shizuka tried to brush it off. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about the future." Shinji shrugged, and served up the simple fried rice and chicken. It was the only thing he could make with the ingredients on hand, so he had made do. As he settled down at the table, he winced and robbed his still-sore belly. "Shinji? Are you okay?" Misato almost leapt over the table she stood so fast. "I'll be okay. It's nothing major." Shinji slouched down, a deep sense of foreboding emanating from his mental passenger. Misato glared at him, then at Rei. Rei knew what her superior wanted, so she explained. "Asuka got upset and hit him. Shinji is fine." Misato's face turned purple with barely-suppressed rage. "Let me know the INSTANT she gets back." Rei nodded, and Shinji just sighed. He shoveled some of his rice into his mouth, intent on eating before things got any worse. "I'm home." They got worse. Asuka stalked into the kitchen, still obviously upset but starting to cool off. Before Shinji could say anything to stop her, Misato unleashed her rage. "How COULD you?!" she yelled, the force in her voice almost a physical blow to the redhead. "Shinji was practically DEAD, and you welcome him back with a FIST TO THE STOMACH?!" Asuka backed up against the wall, and Misato pinned her there with a hand on either side of Asuka's head, not relenting. "I don't know what's wrong with you, Second _Child_, but it's going to stop. Until a month ago, I hadn't EVER seen you two fight. Why the HELL did you pick right *now* to start?" Asuka seemed to wilt under the tirade, but then she glanced at Shinji. He was sitting there, watching, wanting to _help_ her again. She hated that. "Back off, Misato!" she yelled. This unexpected turn made Misato falter, and she stumbled backward from her charge. "You have no IDEA what I've been through! I'm not like him, or Wondergirl! I'm not a little kid you can just intimidate! I'm an ADULT! And I don't have to take that from YOU or ANYONE!" With the last word a scream, she slammed the door to her half of the apartments and stomped to her room. There was a loud 'click' and Shinji knew she'd thrown the deadbolt on her door, something he'd put in for her when they got the other apartment. He sighed. "You didn't need to yell at her, Misato. She was about to apologize." Misato growled. "That still doesn't give her the right to hit you, Shinji." "I know. But if that's what she needed to do to vent her frustration, I'd gladly take the blow." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next day dawned cloudy and dim. Shinji took one look out the back window, and he could feel Shizuka's mood sink. "Another Angel?" he asked his guardian and guide. "Yes. But this time, it will not be you who must face their demons." And that was all Shizuka would say. Shinji shrugged, and prepared breakfast. When Rei arrived, he whispered, "I have a bad feeling about today. Something about this weather doesn't seem natural. Let's keep on the alert for anything odd." Rei nodded. She, too, had the strangest feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like an evil force was hovering just outside her perceptions. Asuka came in, saw Shinji, and turned around. "I'll eat out." the sound of the front door closing was like a slap to Shinji's face. Misato awoke next. Knocking back her morning beer, she groaned as she looked out the window. "We've got a synch test today. Where's Asuka?" "Out." Both pilots looked at each other and smiled at their timing. "Well, I'll call her in a bit. I want to eat first." After a short, quiet breakfast, Misato dialed Asuka's cell. "We have a synch test today. Be at HQ by eleven-hundred." The tiny voice responded with a one-word positive before hanging up. Misato sighed and put the phone back in its cradle. "I wish whatever was wrong with her would just stop." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At precisely 1100 hours Tokyo-3 time, Asuka, Shinji, Rei and Kensuke were all present in the testing bays, clad in their Plugsuits. Kensuke's casts had finally come off, though he was still sore and limped. His Eva was in slightly worse shape, and was still regenerating its core components. Ritsuko had estimated another week, tops, before it was ready. The tests were fairly uneventful. Shizuka didn't even provide a topic for Shinji's concentration, which normally eliminated some of the boredom. When it was over, they gathered in the briefing room to hear the results. "Rei, you're down a point. You need to try and concentrate." Ritsuko consulted her notes, and smiled at Kensuke. "You're up to 30 points, Ida-kun. A bit more and you'll be able to manifest an AT field." She turned to Shinji. "Your score is down fifteen points. You're still well above the AT field threshold, but I can't say we didn't expect this after so long trapped in your Eva." Shinji hung his head and sighed. Ritsuko frowned, and turned to Asuka. "I'm disappointed in you, Asuka. This is the first time Rei has gotten the top score. You've dropped ten points. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you'd better fix it and fast." Asuka growled, then laughed. "At this rate, NERV couldn't defend itself from a swarm of bees, much less an Angel." "Be that as it may-" Ritsuko began, but was cut off. The alarm klaxon had begun to sound. An Angel was attacking. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The whole group rushed up to the bridge, Kensuke lagging just slightly as he limped along, his left leg still giving him minor trouble. Once assembled, they all turned to the main monitor, showing a picture of a large bird seemingly composed of white light. Maya read them the information. "We just detected it in high orbit. It seems to be stationary, but this wouldn't be the first time something that LOOKED harmless turned out to be dangerous." Misato rapidly formulated a battle plan. "Okay, Rei's Eva is still somewhat damaged from the last battle, so she can't go out first. Shinji, you and Asuka will-" Gendo's voice boomed out over the command center. "Unit One is in bakelite lockdown until further notice. We cannot take the risk it will run rampant again with no way of turning off its power." Misato growled and turned to Shinji. "Fine, you stay here. Unit Three is still regenerating, so Kensuke has to sit this one out as well. Asuka, you're point. Try and shoot it down." Asuka saluted and grinned at Shinji. "Consider it done. This will be a piece of cake." She and Rei marched off to the elevators to the cages. Misato looked over at Shinji, who was just standing there. "Shouldn't you be in your Eva so you can monitor your friends?" Shizuka shook Shinji's head. "I will remain here. There's nothing I can do with my Eva impounded. I can worry just as well from the bridge as anywhere else." Shinji asked silently, "Why are we staying here? If we were in the Eva, we could at least talk to them." Shizuka's reply was so mild that at first Shinji didn't realize he had spoken. "Because of all things, this must change." Shinji was about to question that, but was interrupted by Asuka emerging from her lift. "I'm in position," she said over the tac-net. "I'll try to hit it from here." Her first shot was aimed, fired, and was far short. Before she could fire again, a beam of light erupted from the Angel high overhead. Shizuka screamed aloud, "Cut the power to her Positron Rifle!" When Maya didn't respond, he ran over with Shinji's body and slapped in the codes himself. The light struck, penetrating straight through the Eva at the Entry Plug. Asuka screamed. And screamed. And screamed. Her Eva convulsed, pulling the trigger on the rifle as hard as it could. Had the rifle been active, it would have blown several large holes in Tokyo-3. The bridge crew stared at Shinji. Shizuka took over once more, still agitated. "Asuka's been really trigger-happy lately. I didn't want her to fire out of reflex from the hit and damage something. I certainly wasn't expecting THAT!" He pointed at the Entry Plug's internal camera, showing Asuka curled up in a fetal position, holding her head and screaming. "It's raping me! Oh, Gott! It's raping my mind!" Shinji was suddenly given control, and he only barely managed not to stumble. Misato frowned. "Good thinking, Shinji. You spared the city a lot of destruction, even if it was only by luck." Then she looked at the Angel. "Is this serious enough to get Unit One out of storage?" Gendo's voice sounded particularly malevolent. "No. Not until we have exhausted all other options." Misato let an angry growl escape her throat. "Send Rei the JSSDF positron cannon. Maybe that can reach." Shinji mentally asked Shizuka, "What's going on? How did you know Asuka would react like that? What's WRONG with her?!" Shizuka let out a tired sigh. "All her worst memories are being brought to the surface. It's exactly like what you went through in your times trapped in your Eva, battling your innermost fears. Only Asuka can't argue back, only watch." Shinji stared in silent awe and fury as Asuka continued to suffer under the assault of the Angel of Birds. Then, softly, he asked Shizuka, "How do you know that?" "I have seen them. Her darkest secrets. I can link you to her for a while, show you what she is seeing now. But I warn you, This will not be pleasant." In the background, Shinji could sense himself sitting down against a wall, techs scurrying as they fed power to the Positron Cannon in Rei's giant metal-shod hands. "Show me." Shizuka began to replay Asuka's memories in Shinji's mind. Then he took control away, so that no one could hear Shinji's screams. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Asuka was a child again, watching her mother board the giant red robot she had been building for a long time. She knew mommy liked her robot, almost more than she loved Asuka, but that Asuka would always come first. After mommy was inside, she heard a lot of yelling and saw people running around a lot. She didn't understand what was happening. *flash* Her mommy was being dragged out of the robot's white tube. She looked like she was sleeping. Asuka ran to the window to watch, but one of the big people dragged her away and put her in a small room. Her daddy came to get her and take her home. *flash* Mommy was in the hospital. Asuka wasn't sure why. And her mommy was holding a doll with red hair, talking to it. She called it Asuka. She told the doll, "You need to be a good girl, Asuka, or that girl over there won't like you." Her mommy was pointing at Asuka! Asuka was scared. *flash* "Mommy! They picked me to be the pilot!" Asuka ran down the corridors of the hospital, toward her mommy's room. She was so excited. Mommy loved her robot. She would have to be back to normal now! She burst through the doors. Her mommy was hanging from the ceiling, a sheet tied around her neck like a funny necklace. The doll was hanging the same way. Then Asuka saw the blood. She screamed. *flash* At a graveside, with no tears. "I have to be a grownup now. I don't need dolls." *flash* "I can only rely on myself." *flash* "I have to be the best." *flash* *flash* *flashflashflashflashflash* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shinji erupted back to consciousness, bare minutes after he'd started to see the visions. Rei was still trying to hit the Angel with the cannon, but there just wasn't enough power. "The Angel is trying to interface with Asuka's mind directly!" Maya yelled over the din. "We can't get to it!" Misato screamed, tears falling from her eyes. Shinji stood. "Draw all the reserve power!" Ritsuko yelled to the techs. Shinji walked to Misato's side. "We cannot risk Unit One or its pilot becoming contaminated by this mental attack," Gendo replied calmly. Shinji reached out his hand. "Than what can we do?" Misato yelled. Shinji's hand closed around the object he sought. "Even Unit One can't make that shot, Major!" Ritsuko growled angrily. Shinji retrieved his target. "Isn't there something we can do?" Maya wailed. Shinji spoke. "Silence." Every voice on the bridge stopped, every eye turned. Shinji, standing calmly with his feet precisely shoulder-width apart, commanded their attention with his simple, calm proclamation. In his hands, held perfectly steady, he held Misato's sidearm. It was a simple black handgun, normally unremarkable. Except that now, it was in the hands of a fourteen year-old boy. Who's love was in danger. "Shinji?" Misato asked. Shinji turned the gun, walked two steps to his rear. "What are you doing?" Ritsuko questioned His father glared at him, anger present in his features. "Give me the gun, Shinji." Misato's concern fell on deaf ears. Shinji took the gun, and pressed it to his temple. "You will stop playing god right now. You know a way to save her." The safety clicked off. There was a creak as the plastic of the Plugsuit tightened around the trigger. Everyone in the bridge cringed. "Do it. Or Unit One becomes a multi-billion dollar paperweight." Misato took a cautious step forward, to try and stop him, but Gendo spoke. "Very well. It seems you have me at your whim." He keyed the comm. "Rei?" "Yes, Commander?" Gendo smirked in satisfaction. "You will proceed to Terminal Dogma. You know what to do." "Hai." Rei's Eva dropped down the catapult chute, lightning fast. Shinji watched the screen intently, still keeping his eyes on the rest of the bridge. Misato was getting too close. She took one more step and... *BLAM!* A shot struck the deck at her feet, burying itself in the plastic. Shinji put the gun to his head once more as she stumbled and fell backward. His voice was as flat and level as she had ever heard it. "Stay there." Rei reappeared on the monitor. In her Eva's hands was a long red lance, made of two strips of metal that wound around one another, ending in a two-pronged fork. She drew back like the lance was a javelin, and the end wrapped itself into a point. Rei let the Lance of Longinus fly. Shinji put the gun down, but gripped it firmly at Shizuka's urging. The satellite picture showed it all. The lance flew through the clouds, tossing them away and releasing daylight on Tokyo-3. It ripped through the atmosphere like a pullet through wet paper, and struck the Angel. Its AT field evaporated and swirled away as the Lance plowed through without even a pause. The Angel vanished in a flash of light, and the beam holding Asuka captive vanished. Shinji held the gun up. "You will retrieve Asuka," he told the bride crew. When no one moved, he snapped the gun back up to his head. "NOW!" There was a scramble, and teams were sent out to recover her and her Eva. He turned to his father. "I don't care who you think you are. I don't care that you're my superior officer. I don't even care that you're my father. You ceased being all those things when you didn't save her right away." He tightened his finger on the trigger. "Even if you try to hit me with a tranquilizer, I can still pull the trigger. Even if you knock me out from behind, I'll spasm and fire." Gendo resigned himself to this. He had expected as much. "What?" "You will deliver her to our apartment. She is not to be mishandled in any way. No drugs, no handcuffs, no exams. I want her there ASAP. I am going to join her." He turned to Misato. "Give me the fastest transport to the surface at Asuka's position you can. I want to be there when they take her out of the Plug." At a nod from Gendo, Misato gulped and acknowledged. "Follow me. Ritsu, can we put a vehicle other than an Eva on a catapult?" "No, but the emergency vehicle lifts can get you there almost as fast. Your car will be there in thirty seconds." Shinji nodded. "We'll take those then. Come on Misato. I don't want her out there any longer than she has to be." As he left the bridge, Misato two meters ahead of him, Shizuka looked back at Gendo. He had never seen such fury on the man's face. Shizuka smiled to himself in Shinji's mind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ They reached the surface just as Asuka's plug was being lowered to the ground. Shinji walked over to the side of the plug, motioning the others far back from the hatch. He pointed to Misato. "Open it." Misato hastened to do as she was told, taking heat-resistant gloves and unsealing the hatch. Inside, Asuka lay crying. "Help her get out. We're putting her in the car and taking her straight home." Misato half-dragged the incoherent girl out of the plug, and Shinji took one of Asuka's arms with his free hand. She flinched at his touch and he let her go. Misato carried her to the back seat of the car. Shinji climbed in the shotgun seat and said just one word. "Drive." Misato tore away from the area like the proverbial Bat out of Hell, and reached their apartment in record time. Rei was waiting, a NERV jump-plane fading in the sky. She too was still in her Plugsuit, dripping LCL from her hair. "I made them pick me up straight from my Eva. I'll help carry her." Misato and Rei carried Asuka, now quiet and seemingly calm, to the elevator, and into the apartment. Shinji sighed with relief. "Are we clean, Rei? There were no guards around?" Rei shook her head. "None. We're alone." Shinji dropped the gun, kicking it across the apartment floor. "Seal the doors, your apartment and Misato's." Rei pulled the panel off the door buttons on pulled out a wire. Then she quickly marched off to do the same in her apartment. Shinji turned to Misato, his voice gentle. "Let's clean her up, then we can try and help her. Get her some comfortable clothes and put her in my room, please. No calls, no visitors. You and Rei are to make sure NO ONE gets into this house until I say so." Misato stared at the boy she had thought she knew. "What happened to you, Shinji?" Shinji growled. "They hurt Asuka. they could have saved her and they didn't. Now I'm going to heal her." He looked down. "Whether she wants it or not." Misato, awe struck, gently began towing Asuka to the bathroom to clean her up. Rei returned. "The doors are both disabled and locked, and I blocked my apartment's balcony access. Should I do yours?" Shinji sighed, thankful Shizuka's plan to link into the Eva's comm from a distance had worked. Rei's help was going to be invaluable. "No. Get the weapon and watch the doors, but keep out of sight. Asuka may need the fresh air and sun." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ten minutes later, Shinji sat in his room. "How can I help her, Shizuka?" Shizuka gave Shinji a soft 'smile.' "I think you know. You did well enough so far without my help." Shinji smirked at that. "True enough. But I can't mess this up." Shizuka sighed. "I honestly don't know. Maybe you can't. Maybe this is one of those times when no matter what you do, it won't make any difference. But at least you tried, right? We saved the city from being torn to shreds for another day." Before Shinji could reply to that, Misato opened his door. She gently set Asuka on Shinji's bed, and left silently. The redhead sat there, like a doll who's strings had been cut. Shinji banished that image. "Asuka? Asuka, can you hear me? You're safe now. It's okay." "Who the HELL is okay?!" she snarled. Shinji sat down in front of her. In his hands, he held a knife. "Would you rather I just ended it for you? Give you the easy way out? I can, you know." He tested the point of the blade on his finger. A drop of blood welled around it. "Kill me, I don't care." Shinji sighed, and put the knife at his left side. "Since when are you a coward? The Asuka I've known would never back down like this." Asuka wailed, "You don't know ANYthing about me!" Shinji whispered, "I know what it's like to loose your mother." Asuka stared at him, shocked to the core of her soul. "My mother was working on Unit One. I was only five years old." Shinji's eyes clouded with tears, and he threatened to choke, but he continued on with the memory, painful as it was. "She got into the Entry Plug. I was watching from the testing booth. My father was there, too. It was the last time I ever saw him smile. Sometimes I think he KNEW what was about to happen next." "She came out half dead." Asuka supplied the words for him. Shinji shook his head. "No. She never came out at all. The Plug ejected, just like it did with me. The LCL--and her body--poured out. Her soul remained behind." He looked into Asuka's eyes. "Her soul, the part of her that goes on forever, was locked in that damn monster! I SAW her, Asuka. While I was trapped, she told me to stay." Shinji's voice dropped low. "She wanted me to share her death." Asuka screamed, clutching at her head. She made a grab for the knife. Shinji kicked it away, grabbing Asuka's hands. She tried to scratch him, bite him, something! But he had gotten much stronger in his righteous indignation than she in her fury. "I can't explain how," he told her, locking his gaze with her wild, rolling eyes, "but I saw what the Angel showed you. What happened to you was infinitely worse than what happened to me, and yet so much less horrible. You at least had hope. Even soulless, your Mother still cried out for you in some way. Mine was just gone. But in the end, you used that anger and fear to become the best Pilot there is." Asuka moaned, trying to wrench free. "But I'm not! You're so much better, and I HAVE to be the best! Or my mommy will NEVER come back!" Her voice was higher, like she was five again. Shinji shook her forcefully. "The only reason I'm better is because I know one thing, and one thing only." She stopped, staring at him. "I know that my mother loves me more than anything, and no matter what, she won't let me get hurt." Comprehension finally began to dawn on Asuka Langley Sohryu. Shinji went on. "That wasn't your mother who hung herself, Asuka. That was the Eva. It wants you to die, to become part of it. That's why we can pilot so much better than Kensuke, and even Rei. That's why WE will be the best! Because our mothers will protect us! She didn't want you to die, Asuka. She wanted you to LIVE!" The Second Child broke down in tears. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rei sat outside the bedroom, listening. She understood now, what was so different about Shinji and Asuka. She understood, and in understanding was saddened. What they shared was something she would likely never experience. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Misato sat in the kitchen, drinking. Her hardest alcohol was only barely enough to drown the image of Shinji about to kill himself, and she realized that for the rest of her life, she would never be as proud of him as she was right then, standing up to his father. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next morning, Shinji and Asuka emerged from the small bedroom. They stood hand in hand, and Shinji led the way into the sunlit porch. Together, they looked up at the cloudless sky, squinting as they saw a flock of birds fly overhead. Then, they turned to look into each other's eyes. Misato watched them from the kitchen, sleepy and hung over. With all she'd drunk the night before, even Shinji's hangover remedy wasn't enough. Which was why she didn't quite believe it when she saw them kiss. It wasn't a normal kiss. This was the desperate kiss of two people who thought that at any moment, their lives might end. Shizuka, watching from Shinji's mind, breathed a sigh of relief. Asuka seemed to have recovered herself. At least, enough to stay sane. "One down, two to go." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talk about fast turnaround! This one only took two days, start to finish. Just goes to show that when the good ideas come, they come fast and hit hard. Other than "Snowfall," that short Christmas bit piece I slapped together in just six hours, this is the shortest complete thing I've ever done, time wise. As far as size, it's about average for me: 30-some KB, right where I wanted it. Some of the extra line breaks account for the page count, so I try not to use that as a measure. Remember what I mentioned about Shinji's spine in the last Author's Notes? This is what I meant. Love has the strangest affect on some people, and this world's Shinji wasn't exactly spineless to begin with. He's been slowly gaining confidence for this point, and it appears to have paid off. Shizuka's advice, and his influence, have saved Asuka from her deep depression, and revealed the truth of her feelings. Will that be enough? Maybe, maybe not. We shall see. This chapter seemed to write itself. I love it when things do that, because I only have a vague idea of what happens between major points. But this was the one chapter I wanted to write this whole series for, just to save Asuka. But Shizuka said there were TWO left! We know one is Rei, but who is the other? Some will probably guess, and be repulsed, while others will praise me for my efforts. Like Shizuka told Shinji: sometimes, you can't save everyone. But the important thing is to TRY. For now, I see no place where an Omake is appropriate. At least, not in the style I was doing them previously. So this chapter shall go without, unless I can find a good way to do one. Hmm... Scratch that, I just found it. Hehehehehe, I'm such a hentai. OMAKE: Rei sat outside the bedroom, listening. She understood now, what was so different about Shinji and Asuka. She understood, and in understanding was saddened. What they shared was something she would likely never experience. The noises were beginning to disturb her. Taking the pistol, she opened the door and fired two shots into the naked bodies in Shinji's bed. "That should keep them quiet. Hentai." Shizuka gaped at this unusual outburst from Rei, and sighed. "Note to self: sex will not solve Asuka's problems. Back to the drawing board."
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