Why bother? No one is ever likely to read these anyway... Fizzy Pop, Inc. presents A story by }=]DarkNate Knowledge is Power Book Two: Know thy Self "I hear the voice of my destiny call and I know I must go find my way. The hardest part will be leaving you all an' I'll miss you much more than words can say. (chorus) I'll be only a memory away. If you need me, you can call me any time of day and I'll be there. It's okay. Only a memory away My intuition says something is wrong. My friends said they'd come and say goodbye. Oh I can't go until I know what's going on. I fear there is danger somewhere nearby. (chorus) We've been together through good times and bad you've always been there for me I'll always treasure the best friends I've had eternally (chorus) (chorus)" --"Only a Memory Away" Chapter 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Asuka wasn't sure she wanted to go to school. Not while she lay encircled by the arms of the first male who'd ever shown her real compassion in her entire life. She smiled. Shinji was such a different person than his loser buddies, Jock-boy and Military-nut. Of course, she WAS a little biased. After all, she was in love. Shinji felt her shift slightly in his gentle embrace and whispered, "Finally awake, sleepy-head? We have school today." Asuka sighed. "Do we have to go to school? It seems so pointless." Shinji sat partway up, the covers sliding off his t-shirt, revealing that both of them were still clothed. (I bet you thought they were naked, you perverts--Author) "You know the others will worry if we don't go. It's only been a few days, but it's time we started trying to get back to normal." He spoke, of course, of the last attack on the city. The one where Asuka had been driven to the brink of insanity by her worst memories, forced to the surface by the Angel. Shinji still wasn't sure what the Angel had hoped to do, but it had failed. Asuka was okay. As his redhead tried to snuggle back down into the covers, he shook his head and pulled her up with him as he got out of bed. "Come on, you've got to get up now. Rei can't stall for us any more, and I've got a funny feeling that today will be interesting." Shizuka laughed at the choice of words. "Interesting eh? What sort of 'interesting'?" he asked inside Shinji's mind. In a bizzare coincidence, Asuka echoed the thought mere milliseconds after Shizuka sent it. Shinji grinned. "Just a feeling, that's all. And definitely not what your hentai mind is thinking." Asuka pouted. "Hey, watch who you're calling a hentai. You must have me confused for Kensuke!" Shinji just took her by the shoulders and gave her a push out of the room. He had resolved not to resort to sex until he was sure Asuka wasn't just in it because she was depressed and lonely. So he didn't tempt himself, or her. Sleeping together at night seemed to help with her nightmares, which was the only reason he did it. Shizuka, however, wished Shinji wouldn't let her. He had plans, and he needed access to Rei for them. And he needed to do it without Shinji knowing what he planned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now that things seemed to have calmed down, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei took up one of their beloved past-times, one that had been spoiled by the myriad injuries and disappearances of various members of their crew: their walk to school. Everyone was waiting at their respective corners as the group met up and moved like clockwork. It gave Shinji a feeling of great satisfaction that all of them had managed, at last, to get together in the same place at the same time, whole and healthy. Asuka was chatting away with Hikari and Rei, Kensuke was spouting some new crazy theory on where Eva's came from, and Touji and himself were laughing at the absurdity of said theory. Life was peacful and idylic, like a normal junior-high student's life should be. Shinji took his seat happily once they reached the school, and noticed Asuka being welcomed back. Word of her fight with the last angel must have leaked out, along with rumors she had been injured. The class seemed very happy to see she'd come out of it none the worse for wear. They didn't realize how bad things had been, or they'd have been weeping with relief instead of just laughing. The Sensei came in and began to lecture, and Shinji began to tune out. He kept one eye on Asuka though. Despite how she was acting, something still seemed off about her. "She just came to terms with her past," Shizuka reminded him when the thought reached him. "Of course she'll be different. She still may not even be able to pilot. She still has to FORGIVE her mother before her Eva will start listening to her again." Shinji nodded, sighing. He played idly with the laptop in front of him, and popped up the chat room. Asuka was talking to a couple of other girls who had worried about her, while he found Kensuke holidng a 'private' chat with a few other mecha-heads in the class. He once again thanked his fellow Stooge for getting him the program to scan private chats. He jumped in on the Eva conversation, where the others were comparing an Eva's power to that of a Valkyrie from Macross. Kensuke: The Eva has the VF-1S outclassed in size and firepower, but the VF-1S could easily outrun it, even in robot mode! Matsuro: No way, I have a vid of Unit One running fast enough to break the sound barrier! I shot it during the attack where the Angel fell from the sky. Regura: How'd you pull that off? Matsuro:I was camping up in the hills outside of town, and didn't have time to get to a shelter. Kensuke: Okay, so maybe it can outrun a battloid. But there's no way it could outrun a fighter-mode Valkyrie! Shinji: Actually, without the augmentation pods, doesn't the Valkyrie have a top speed in air of Mach 3? Kensuke: Holy crap, Shinji! How'd you know that? Shinji: One of my teachers had the whole series on tape. I watched it once, and I thought it was interesting. Kensuke: So what's the Eva's top speed? Shinji: No one knows. I hit Mach 1.5 that afternoon, but I could have gone faster on an open plain with no obstructions. Regura: No shit? Matsuro: You're pullin my leg! Shinji: No, really! I was so busy watching out for buildings I couldn't push the Eva any faster or I wouldn't be able to see with the optics. Kensuke: Well, I think my Unit-03 has improved sensors and stuff, so it could probably beat you. Server: 'Shinji' left. Having cleared that up, Shinji turned to check on Asuka again. He really needn't have bothered, he soon saw. Rei was keeping an eye on her, and she was apparently holding a chat of her own with some of the other girls. "I'm glad you made the choice you did, Shinji." Shizuka had sounded pleasantly surprised ever since Shinji had made his heroic rescue of Asuka. Shinji pondered the statement a moment, then asked, "How much longer would she have had to be trapped there?" "A few more hours, I don't really remember." Shizuka sounded flustered. "I was rather upset at the time." Shinji thought that sounded fishy, and said so. Shizuka sighed, "You know I can't tell you who I really am, it could jeopardize my mission. Besides, you wouldn't really like the answer." And with that, Shinji felt the presence withdraw from his mind for a while. Staring down at his laptop screen, he felt more lost than ever. "How am I supposed to know what to do if he won't tell me?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shizuka was, at that moment, checking on Asuka. It was something he'd been meaning to do for a while, but hadn't really wanted to. Now it gave him a reason to avoid Shinji's question. Lately his powers had been getting strong enough to not just look from outside Shinji, but see into the minds of others as well. He knew it had to do with how close things really were to the end, but refused to dwell on it. For now, he deleved into the young woman's mind. It was utter chaos. Visions of her mother, her Eva, and Shinji flew thick and fast. There was a lot of fear, uncertainty, hatred, and despair floating in her, and only a very little happiness. Shinji's little talk had done less than Shizuka had hoped. And yet, Asuka wasn't suicidal. She wasn't acting like a five year old girl, or withdrawing into a shell. Outwardly, she was putting up a brave front. At least she wasn't degrading further. She wouldn't be at top performance, but perform she would. Shizuka flitted back to Shinji's mind quietly, barely alerting his young host/charge to his return. "Now," he thought privately, "There's just the matter of Rei III. I don't have much time." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After classes were done, Asuka, Shinji, and Rei walked home together in silence. Finally, Shizuka took control and said, "So Rei, have you written any more music like that one we played?" Rei, surprised at the question, shook her head. "No, I have not needed to write a piece quite like that for some time. Since that battle, I have not felt the need to preserve my memories in such a way." Shizuka replied with a nod. "Still, you never know, right?" It was enough to start the gears turning, he hoped, as he gave Shinji control again. Shinji, to his credit, didn't stumble as he got his body back under his control, but did question Shizuka. "Something you want to tell me?" "Not really," the mental passenger replied. "Just giving out a general reminder that you aren't immortal. Always made me feel better." Rolling his eyes, Shinji turned to Asuka, who appeared to have paled somewhat. "What's wrong, Asuka?" Asuka stared at him. "I-I don't like it when you do that, Shinji. Rei's the one who's supposed to be all gloomy. You're supposed to help us see the bright side of things!" Shinji laughed. "I just meant you never can tell what's going on in that head of hers. Maybe she'd written something and just not told us because she thought it was bad!" That got Asuka to laugh, which made Shinji breathe a sigh of relief. "Shizuka, you're getting to be more trouble than your worth sometimes." Shizuka made no reply, but Shinji could feel his smile. Throwing an arm around Asuka's shoulders, he said, "Let's go out for dinner, my treat. Then, we can go back to my room and snuggle up under some nice warm blankets." Asuka smiled, but shook her head. "My period starts tonight, and I'll be kinda sick all night. I'll stay in my room. I wish I didn't have to, but I don't want to accidentally puke on you if it's a bad one." Making a sour face, Shinji shuddered. "No problem." Shizuka's smile grew broader. "Perfect timing," he thought to himself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At 3 am, Shizuka detached himself from the sleeping Shinji and scouted the apartment. Rei and Misato were sleeping peacefully in their rooms, while Asuka had a bucket next to her futon and was slightly restless, tossing and turning in her sleep. Quickly getting back to Shinji, Shizuka carefully severed Shinji's connections to his central nervous system, one by one. After five tense minutes, he'd completely blocked Shinji out from his senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight, and removed his motor control from all parts of his body. Then, Shizuka stood up, Shinji's body now his to control for a while. Making his way stealthily to the door to the girls' suite, he carefully slid the partition aside, careful to disarm the bell trap Asuka had installed. His steps took him to Rei's door as silently as a cat. Not bothering to knock, and knowing Rei was fully dressed, he went in and put a hand over her mouth and gently shook her awake. Her eyes opened slightly, then widened as she realized what 'Shinji' was doing. Muflled screams erupted from her mouth, and Shizuka clamped down harder, shushing her. "It's okay, I'm here to talk, nothing more." His voice was subtly different, and Rei caught it. "I'm going to take my hand away," Shizuka said, "but if you scream, I'll shut you back up, and I don't want to accidentally injure you. Even your Angelic strength can't defeat me." Eyes as big as saucers, Rei nodded, and she felt the static crackle of an externalized AT field fithdrawing as the hand pulled back. "You externalized an AT field?" she asked quietly. "Only those with Angels can do that!" Shizuka smiled. "I learned from the best." Then, he quickly turned serious. "Listen carefully, I don't have much time before Shinji might wake back up." "You are not Shinji?" "Not the Shinji you know. More than that I cannot say." Rei was suspicious. "Then why are you here?" Shizuka's face was grave. "I bring you a warning. I am not certain of the exact time, or day, but you are about to die, Rei II." Rei gasped. No one knew that she was the second except the Commander and Dr. Akagi! "Yes, I know all about the Reis, the Nephilim project, the truth of Insturmentality, even the secret of the Evas and Yui's original plan." Shizuka pushed onward. "In the end, the plan fails. I have had a but few moments and all of eternity to discover the faults and try to figure a way to win. For it to work, we cannot lose the work I and Shinji have put into you, Rei II." Comprehension dawned on Rei at last. "You need me to preserve my memories for the new me?" "I know Rei III will recieve a memory transplant," Shizuka told her, "But Gendo will make it incomplete on purpose, to bind her to HIS plan. I cannot simply store your mind and give it to her, my power is not that great. However, you MUST bring yourself back, or the world will be doomed once more. I will not allow the death our civilization to occur a second time." Rei nodded. "That is why you asked me if I had written a new song. To see if I had forseen it myself." "Indeed. But now more than ever, you must make haste. For all I now know, you may have only hours left. Too much has changed already to be sure." Grabbiing pencils and blank sheets, Rei was already composing in her mind. "I thank you for the warning. Shall I include this conversation in my memories?" Shizuka turned to leave. "That is up to you. Are you sure Rei III can handle it?" Rei II wasn't entirely sure she knew the answer to that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shinji awoke somewhat stiff the next morning. Trying to sit up, he found that he moved in fits and starts, like the signal that controlled his muscles was being interrupted. "Shizuka?" "Yes, Shinji?" The voice in his mind sounded nervous. "Did you do something to me? It's kind of hard to move. Almost like I'm not all the way connected anymore." Shizuka checked his connections from Shinji's mind to his nerves, and adjusted a few. "Better?" Shinji moved an arm, and smiled when it was smooth and easy. "Much. What happened?" Shizuka had been trying to figure out an answer all night, and finally said, "You had to go to the bathroom, but you were having a nice dream, so I severed your connections to your nerves so you wouldn't wake up while I took care of things. I missed a couple bits putting them back, that's all." Shinji gasped. "You did WHAT?!" Shizuka sighed. "I've been able to do that forever. It's how I take over from you all the time. This time, I had to disconnect your senses too, so I got a couple things mixed up. I've been cleaning them up all night!" Shinji, not quite pacified, told his passenger, "Well don't do it again. Just wake me up next time." "Sure, whatever." Shinji marched sullenly into the kitchen. Rei was eating a piece of toast and scribbling furiously on a piece of sheet music. He looked over what he could see, and his eyebrows rose in surprise. "This is a very complex piece, Rei." Rei didn't even look up. "Yes, and I have little time to finish it. I will have to remain home from school today to complete it in time." Shinji gave her an odd look. "Why the rush?" Rei stopped, and looked up at him. "I have recieved a warning, and I must act quickly. This is quite literally a matter of life and death. Now please leave me to my work, I have a lot to do." Shinji turned to put some of his own toast in the toaster, and asked Shizuka, "Any idea what that's about?" Luckily, Shizuka didn't have to answer, as Asuka came lurching into the kitchen, green in the face and looking like she'd spent most of the night in discomfort. "I'm not going to school, I'm having a bad day." "Okay..." Shinji was about to ask why she couldn't go to school if she was just a little sick, when she turned and bolted for the bathroom. The sounds of retching were clearly audible. "Why don't we all stay home today?" Shinji asked aloud. "I can keep an eye on Asuka, and Rei can do her work." Misato peered bleary-eyed around the doorjamb. "Okay. I've got the day off anyway. Call yourself in, okay?" Shinji nodded, and dialed the school. "Tokyo-3 Junior High main office, how may I help you?" the secretary on the other end asked. "This is Shinji Ikari. I'd like to call in some absences please." "One moment." There was a sound of typing, then, "Names?" "Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, and Asuka Langley." "Reasons?" the secretary sounded interested suddenly. "You kids always get off on the wierdest things." "Illness. Asuka's very sick, and Rei and I are staying home to nurse her." The receptionist snorted in laughter. "I've heard better, kid. But I've got instructions to let you Pilots off if you get called in for just about anything, so you're lucky. Enjoy your day off. *click*" Shinji sighed. "Just because some kids play hookey, doesn't mean we do." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ By early afternoon, Shinji was wishing he HAD gone to school. Asuka was miserable but getting better, Rei was holed up in her room writing music, and Misato hadn't gotten up until one in the afternoon. Shinji was rapidly becoming a wreck himself. "This is crazy, Shizuka! How can they be so much worse for just a few hours?" Shizuka laughed. "It is your curse to have to deal with this sort of thing. Think of it as practice for parenthood." Asuka came by. She was at least looking her normal color, and her nausea seemed to have gone. She plopped down on the couch next to Shinji, and put her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, Shin-kun." She snuggled in closer to him. "I haven't EVER had a period this bad." Shinji smiled and put a gentle arm around her shoulders. All this familiarity and touching was rather nice, especially since it never led to anything more. "I just hope you feel better soon, Asuka-chan. Between you, Rei, and Misato, I have no idea how I survived this morning." A loud and violent 'thump' told him that hadn't been the best choice of words. The throbbing pain on his head was not foremost in his mind, however, as he sighed. "I deserved that," he said aloud. "Gomen. I didn't mean that like it sounded." Asuka grinned. "It's not my fault, okay? And if you're going to be my boyfriend, you'd better get used to it." Shinji tensed. "What did you just say?" Asuka repeated the phrase back. "If you're going to be my-" She stopped in shock. "Did I just say what I think I said?" Shinji's reassuring hug quieted her down. "I'd be honored, Asuka." She melted into the embrace, tears in her eyes. "Shinji..." They were cut off by the alarm klaxon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rei continued to scribe even as she heard the noise. "It may be too late, but I won't let things end like this." Shinji and Asuka threw open her door, but she ignored them. "Rei, we have to GO!" Asuka yelled. "Who knows what kind of havoc an Angel could be making while you just SIT there?!" "This is more important." Rei barely even heard herself reply. "Only a few lines left..." A fist connected with the wall above her head, but she maintained her calm and kept going. Asuka's roar would have terrified any Angel into submision. "How can a SONG be more important than your LIFE?" Rei, finally finished, traced over the notes one last time. Looking up at the panting Second Child above her, she said simply, "Because my life is already gone. The song is all that will remain." And with that cryptic remark, she pulled off her clothes, revealing her plugsuit underneath. Jogging out the door, she breezed right past the stunned pair of teens, and down the ledge to the elevator. Asuka and Shinji had to sprint to catch her. Unheard, Shizuka whispered to himself, "I hope it was enough. There is but one more task I can do." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Screaming into the car lifts, Misato's car had two struggling teens in the back, each putting on their plugsuits as quickly as they could while trying not to look at the other. By the time they had reached the Cages, all three pilots were clad in their uniforms. Kensuke met them on their way across to the Plugs. "You guys should get housing on base," he said in a condescending tone. "I've been waiting quite a while." Shinji huffed and puffed as they walked. "Why didn't they send you ahead?" "Because they weren't sure I could handle it, and we're already in pretty dire straights." Kensuke looked slightly miffed. "It's just a glowing ring of light, as far as they can tell. I'm supposed to go out as cover for Asuka and Rei." He frowned sadly at Shinji. "Unit One's still in lockdown, I guess." Shinji grimaced, but managed not to sound bitter. "At least it isn't up in orbit where Rei can't hit it this time." Everyone cringed, and Asuka felt herself begin to cry as the memories made themselves known once more. The helplessness, the pain, the horror... Shinji's hand on her shoulder gave her strength. "You can do this, Asuka. You know what to do." She nodded. "I just hope it's enough." They piled into their Plugs, and three of the four Evas rocketed to the surface. On arriving, Kensuke immediately pulled his positron rifle into line with the ring, and began to fall back behind the tall building nearby. Rei began to move cautiously forward, her own more conventional rifle also at the ready. However, Asuka didn't budge. "I can't. I can't. I can't." Over and over, the faint whisper came to Shinji over the private line he'd made to her. Glancing at a datafeed from the Bridge, he frowned. "Shizuka," he asked in his mind, "why is her synch ratio only 0.03 percent?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Up on the bridge, Misato glowered and Ritsuko sighed. "I suspected this," the scientist said. "Her fear is driving her synch rate down so far she can't even move." Misato snapped up the comm unit. "Asuka, what's going on?" The same whispers came to the ear of the bridge now. Misato sighed, and returned the comm. "Bring her back. We don't need to make her any worse." It was Ritsuko's turn to glare. "Why didn't you let me have her checked out? You could have convinced Shinji!" Shinji, having a line to the bridge that Ritsuko didn't know was still active, replied for her. "Because I've been working with her. She's not afraid of the Angel." Ritsuko looked up in sruprise. "And how do you know that?" "She's afraid of her Eva. She doesn't want to end up like her mother." A pause, then with loathing, "Or mine." Gendo's eyes narrowed, but his grin didn't falter. Ritsuko, shocked beyond words that Shinji knew about Unit One's accident, let alone Unit Two's, could say nothing. Before anything more could be exchanged, they were interrupted. By screams. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rei fired desperately into the black snake-like Angel, even as it burrowed into her Eva's core. She could feel it mingling not only with her Blue Giant, but with her own body as well. It was then she knew her end had come. But if fate had a back door, she was willing to fight for it. She began to drag her Eva backwards, away from the city and into the hills. It was hard, but not impossible. Kensuke was firing at the tail end of the thing, but she could tell that it wasn't working. It continued to bore into her, unrelenting. She could feel it trying to speak to her, but she simply blocked it out, and concentrated on pulling herself to a safe distance. Over her radio, she said, "Don't send Unit One, Major. This thing is after Shinji." As the gasps and yells echoed over the comm, she realized she had finally reached the best place she could. And just in time. The Eva ceased to respond to her, and she was forced to face the Angel. It had taken her form as it spoke directly to her mind. "Why do you fight me?" it asked. "I wish to become one with you, to take you from this loneliness." Rei sneered. "Human hearts are more than capable of connection, even though they are separate. I don't need or want you." "But you are not just human. You can feel the Angelic call just as I can." "I can supress it. It does not bother me. I know eventually I will have to return from where I came, but I will fight that day for as long as I can." The Angel smiled. "Why fight the inevitable?" Rei slapped the image. "Because my friends are more important." The Angel glared at her. "They are nothing. Mere humans will never know the wonders of our race!" Rei turned away from the image in her mind, and reached out for the self-destruct on her Eva. "Your race will not survive this war. Humans may have been an Angel once, but they have grown well beyond their former self. For all their shortcomings, they are far better than you can ever be." She pulled the lever. "And Rei will see it happen." An explosion ripped the land under her away like water dripping onto wax paper. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shinji saw the explosion just as his Eva cleared the launch shaft. "Too late." He radioed back to HQ, "I'll go back to the hanger. Do you want to run some tests later and make sure my Eva's clean?" Ritsuko sounded like she was having trouble speaking as she replied. "Just bring Unit One in. And we'll send out a recovery team ASAP. Don't go looking for her yourself, we can't be sure some of the Angel didn't survive." Shizuka sighed. "Rei will be back, Shinji. Not quite the same, but she'll be back. Just like Asuka came back." Shinji slumped into his control chair. "I couldn't even help her this time." "You'll get your chance. Play the song with her when she gets back. In fact, do it as soon as you can. Your future with her might depend on it." Shinji raised an eyebrow as the plug was retrieved. "Wha?" "Sorry, can't say any more." Pouting, Shinji crossed his arms. "I hate it when you say that." Shizuka's voice seemed to carry the weight of a very wise old man. "If I simply told you everything, things would not work. This is better for you, trust me." "And how do you know that?" Shinji growled mentally as he climbed out of his plug and made his way to the locker room. "I may be ready for more than you think!" Shizuka chuckled. "You forget! I live inside your head, Shinji. I know you better than YOU do!" Then, he directed Shinji's gaze to his left. Asuka was sitting on the end of the catwalk, knees drawn up to her chin, tears in her eyes. She barely even glanced at Shinji as he walked toward her. He knelt down in front of her, cupping her chin in his still-damp hand. A soft smile touched his face. "What's wrong, Asuka?" Asuka looked away from him, blushing in shame. "I can't pilot. She won't listen to me." Shinji took her hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Ah, I think I see the problem." Asuka looked at him intently. "Really?" Shinji tugged on her hand, trying to pull her to the locker room. "When we get home, I'll tell you all about it." A worried look crossed his face. "I hope Rei is all right." Asuka hung her head. "Me too. Somehow, I don't think I could get used to not having her around." They arrived at the lockers, and Shinji smiled. "See you on the other side?" Asuka clutched his hand tighter, and pulled him through the door to the ladies' half. "I'd rather not be alone right now." A smile flitted across Shinji's lips as he followed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ An hour later, two sleepy but sated teenagers stumbled out of the lockers, dressed sloppily but presentable. Misato met them outside the doors. "What am I going to do with you two?" she asked with a sigh. "They recovered Rei's Plug. She's in an isolation cell in the hospital, but Ritsuko says she'll pull through." Shinji breathed a sigh of relief. "How soon can we see her?" Misato looked away. "I don't know. Ritsuko said that until she wakes up, we won't know what kind of damage there was." Asuka looked frightened. "You don't think her Eva...?" Shinji shook his head. "No, if she'd been absorbed, we'd already know about it. Her Eva self-destructed. Her plug ejecting must have injured her a lot." Asuka smiled. "Well, she heals fairly quickly. She'll be up and around in no time." Misato motioned the toward the car bay. "There's nothing we can do now, let's go home." Shinji nodded. As the trio started walking, Shinji had an opportunity to set Shizuka's plan in motion. "Say Asuka? Why don't we practice our parts of Rei's new music and surprise her when she gets home?" Asuka grinned. "That's a great idea! I can't wait to see the look on her face." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It turned out, Rei woke up later the next day. Shinji and his two roommates went to see her, and met Kensuke on the way up. "Rei-chan? How are you feeling?" Shinji asked. "Pilot Ikari?" she asked in a very quiet voice. Shinji blinked in surprise. "You haven't called me 'Pilot Ikari' in months, Rei-chan." "I am sorry. I have... some amnesia." Asuka sighed. "Well, at least she's alive. Memories or not, it wouldn't matter. Unit Zero's toast." Kensuke slumped. "They might put her in Unit Three. I'm not exactly a terrific pilot after all." Rei shook her head. "Unlikely, Pilot Aida. I doubt I will be capable of piloting an Eva again." Despite himself, Kensuke smiled. "Good. I like piloting." Shizuka 'frowned'. "Shinji, ask her what she remembers last before today." Shinji, confused, asked the question. "I..." Rei paused, confused. "I am not sure." Shizuka sighed. "Shinji, we need to get her home ASAP. This could be critical." "Shizuka, what's going on?" Shinji asked. "Why has Rei lost all her memories, but she still remembers who we are?" "She'll tell you herself if she wishes to, once she has her memory back. You know I can't." Shinji frowned, then turned to Misato. "Well, isn't she just as likely to get her memory back at home as she is if she stays here?" Misato nodded. "Possibly more. There's a lot of her stuff back in the apartment that might jog her memories." She turned to the pale, bandaged Ayanami. "How about it?" Rei looked confused for a moment, but then, she nodded. "This is logical. But my apartment is very small and I have little furniture." Asuka grinned. "You mean that dump? You don't live there any more. Trust me, your room has plenty of stuff in it." Shinji nodded. "Well Misato? How should we get her home?" Misato grinned. "Ritsuko owes me a favor. I'll get her out of here tonight." Asuka took a closer look at the bandages on Rei's arm. "Is there a reason you're all bandaged up? You look fine." Rei looked even more confused. "I feel fine as well. Nothing appears to be broken. This is all so confusing!" She looked to be on the verge of crying. Shinji took her by the chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "Don't worry, Rei. We'll get you fixed up in no time." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It took some work, a few bribes, and a long sheet, but Asuka and Shinji managed to sneak Rei out of the hospital while Misato ran interference. Kensuke, meanwhile, headed to the apartment as fast as he could to make sure it was still secure. After they got their charge into the car, Misato ducked out and met them. "Rei?" she asked. Rei's voice was muffled by the sheet. "I am here, Captain Katsuragi." Shinji chuckled. "She's a major now, Rei. Remember?" A brief silence came from the sheet. Then, Rei responded. "We had a party for her, didn't we?" Asuka laughed. "I'd say we did!" Misato grinned. "At least we know she's getting some of her memories back." Shinji motioned to the road ahead with his hand. "Let's get going before someone finds out where we are." Misato pulled out with her usual high-speed manuvering, and they rocketed down the road for home. Asuka kept one hand out to help steady Rei, who was still feeling rather weak. Arriving back at the apartment a few minutes later, Shinji clambered out of the car quickly. "You guys help her up the stairs. We know the elevator has a camera, and we don't want them to catch her on tape just yet. I'll go on ahead and help Kensuke out with making sure Section 2 didn't tamper with anything. They're probably watching us anyway, and they already know Rei's out, but we don't want to give them anything more than we have to." Misato grinned. "It's like your some sort of superspy, Shinji! Where'd you figure all this stuff out?" Shinji blushed a bit. "Kensuke's conspiracy theories. He may be a nutcase, but he's still got the right idea." Then he ran up the stairs, leaving the three grinning ladies to laugh at him. He met Kensuke at the door to the girl's apartment. "Well, anything?" Kensuke shrugged. "I checked all the obvious places, and nothing. I also checked the traps on the doors and windows, and none of them looked like they'd been opened. Just to be safe, I covered everything in the girl's apartments with sheets and towels, including the walls and ceilings. It won't stop microphones, but it'll at least keep the visulas off us. We should have a few hours before they really figure out she's here." Shinji nodded. "Great work, Kensuke. With a little luck, that may be all the time we need." Kensuke shrugged, and opened the door as the girls came up the stairs. Taking a pistol out of its hidden compartment in the side table near the door, he twirled it on his index finger. "We expecting trouble?" Shinji nodded. "My father isn't going to take this sitting down. Rei was his most prized posession, the daughter he never had. He's going to be furious when he finds out." Kensuke got the hidden meaning in Shinji's words, and sat down in a chair just around the corner, gun in his lap. "Well, I'll take a nap while you guys do whatever you're up to. Wake me if something important happens." Shinji nodded, and Rei was escorted into the main room of the girls' apartment. Shinji left to grab his cello, and the sheet music they'd stashed in the kitchen drawer. On his return, he saw that Rei's bandages were mostly removed, and Asuka was carefully peeling away the eye patch. A violin and a viola lay on the couch nearby, and some music stands stood in the corner. Shinji went to the stands, arranging them in a circle in the cneter of the room. Another trip to the kitchen for some chairs, and everything was ready. He distributed the copies of the music to each of the stands, and took up his bow and instrument. Rei composed herself in her seat, and scanned over the music as Asuka and Shinji did the same. After a brief nod of agreement, Shinji tapped out a rhythm with his foot, and they began. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For Shinji and Auska, the music was just that: music. Haunting, soft, and slow, but no image accompanied it. Rei was in a whole different situation. The music was like the source of a projector in her mind, replaying memory after memory. As the images poured into her mind, she could feel more and more a sense that something was seriously amiss with her. Finally, as the music drew into a brief surge of sound, then suddenly dies as the song came to an end, a final memory revealed itself to her. Another Rei Ayanami, writing this music. A Rei Ayanami who was not her. A Rei Ayanami who had died. Rei screamed, dropping her instrument and clutching at her head. This time, of her own volition, she remembered being removed from the tank of bodies, being given the injections that were supposed to programm the once soulless shell do function properly with the new soul infused within it. The memories of what she was, what she had been, drowned her in their intensity. The screaming stopped, and she passed out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shinji and Asuka stared at the limp form of Rei, suddenly quite after her outburst. Shinji asked quietly, "Is she okay?" Asuka cautiously crawled over, and felt for a pulse. "She's just passed out. Whatever was going on, it's done." Misato shivered, mostly from fear. "Whatever that music was, it did something to her. Why did she write it?" Rei stirred, slowly picking herself up off the floor. One hand was held to her head, and her eyes were screwed shut as though she was in pain. The others looked on as she grimaced and sat upright again. "That, Misato, was the last desperate cry from a dead girl." Misato looked confused. "But you wrote it, right?" Rei shook her head. "No, I didn't." Asuka raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "But, we saw you writing it! It had to have been you!" Rei picked up her copy of the music, and turned over the first page. "No, I was not the one who wrote this. It was left to me so that I could make her sacrifice worth it." She held up the paper, and everyone could now see the title: "The Memories of Rei II". Shinji seemed to finally understand, as Shizuka's grim laughter echoed in his mind. "Then you aren't the Rei we knew, are you?" The girl known as Rei Ayanami stood up and bowed. "I am Rei III. It is a pleasure to meet you again, for the first time." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bit of a twist there, wasn't it? I was going to end this one differently, but this seemed the appropriate point to stop when I got here. Rest assured, the next one picks up right where we left off, so you won't miss the expressions on everyone's faces. This was a harder chapter to write, mostly because I had to deal with Asuka still not being perfectly all right, find a way to restore Rei's memories quickly and completely, and still make sure she was dead. Luckily, when I did the planning for this one, I had an idea. Now you can see why her talent as a composer was so important way way back in the earlier chapters of Know Thy Enemy. It saved her memories for her. And no, she didn't put in the bit about Shizuka in her melody. She did, however, accidentally trigger memories even Rei II didn't know about, which make the twists even better. As we get closer to the end of this section of Eva, I begin to wonder if I'm really doing the series justice. I honsetly haven't watched any of the episodes in over a year, and I'll probably have to go back and review more about Kaoru for the next chapter. As to the fate of the Angel of Free Will? You'll just have to wait and find out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Episode's Omake sponsored by Dr. Pepper, the Author's drink of choice to clear up morning drowsiness. Asuka was sitting on the end of the catwalk, knees drawn up to her chin, tears in her eyes. She barely even glanced at Shinji as he walked toward her. He knelt down in front of her, cupping her chin in his still-damp hand. A soft smile touched his face. "What's wrong, Asuka?" Asuka looked away from him, blushing in shame. "I can't pilot. She won't listen to me." Shinji took her hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Ah, I think I see the problem." Asuka looked at him intently. "Really?" Shinji tugged on her hand, trying to pull her to the locker room. "She's jealous. I've got you all to myself, and I can do anything I want to you!" Asuka growled. "I will NOT be your plaything, you pervert!" A wall suddenly appeared in Shinji's line of vision, as Asuka hurled him head-first into it. A bloody smear was all that remianed as Shinji's body slid down the steel. Shizuka sighed. "I really need to get that kid's mind back out of the gutter. Back to the drawing board."
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