Angels, Heaven, and Earth by Ken Arromdee Chapter 7 The bell rang, slightly startling Shinji from his reverie. So he had muddled through yet another school day. Not any happier a day than normal, but at least one without Angels, his father, or other disturbances that always made him feel like someone had run over his heart with a steamroller. "Goodbye Shinji. See you tomorrow. I have to go do sword practice" said someone. Akuma's voice, Shinji knew. A friend, of sorts, despite all the doubts. "Yeah", replied Shinji, standing up. He was going to ask Akuma something, but never got a chance to... Oh, right. "Akuma, something I remembered. You were going to ask your parents if we could all come and visit, right? Could you, I don't know, ask them now?" "Sure", answered Akuma. "It shouldn't really be a problem." "He's an Angel", said Asuka as the 'Angel' left. "You shouldn't act friendly to him." Shinji shrugged. "He's going to find out if we can visit his home and meet his family. I don't think Angels do that." "So he'll come back tomorrow and he'll tell you they said 'no'. And you'll believe him. Do you even care?" "No, I don't care, Asuka. What difference is it going to make?" "What if he hurts you? Idiot Shinji, he's an Angel. He isn't going to care about us people out here." "If he doesn't care about us, why should I care about him? I'm just an Eva pilot. I barely have any friends, or family. I'm not trusted with anything. What is there about me that would make him want to do anything to me even if he is an Angel?" "How about the Eva pilot part? Do you know how it feels to say 'I _used to be_ an Eva pilot'? To stand there and watch as the Angels come while you, Shinji, the only verdammt Eva pilot in the only verdammt world, sits there and feels sorry for himself while danger is..." "You never did that", said Rei, approaching Asuka from behind. "Shinji hasn't fought any Angels here since we lost our Evangelion units." "Smart-aleck", said Asuka. "Don't be so literal, Wonder Girl; you know what I meant. You don't need to defend Shinji every time he gets rude." * * * * * "Mom?" asked Akuma. "What is it?" said Ryouko. "I want to invite my friends from school over here and meet everyone. For real. Spaceships, flying, dimensions, the whole thing." "You know, Akuma, it would be a lot of fun, but I've never done that. Ever." "But Mom..." "But what?" "Didn't you ever want to? Come on, Mom, they know about us already. They just know about us in the wrong way. They were watching when I blew that Angel up." Ryouko thought about it. "You're right. I always wanted to go around and tell people 'Ryouko's here, and you can't stop her.' To be known for what I am, not for what Kagato made me and certainly not what I have to pretend to be every time I set foot into Tokyo. Go ahead, have your fun. Be a showoff for once. And maybe I should invite..." "I can?" Ryouko smiled at her son. "Did I ever say you couldn't? Your friends can come whenever you want. Just be careful not to give out any real secrets." Tenchi, who was carrying a bushel of carrots and had stopped to listen, added "If someone on Jurai would know it, it's probably safe to tell your friends." * * * * * "You _what_?" yelled Asuka. "I asked my parents", replied Akuma. Shinji and Rei nodded as he continued. "They said it's okay. What's wrong, Asuka?" "But you can't! An Angel doesn't have parents." "The only one who still thinks I'm an Angel is you", he answered. Which wasn't really true, but was getting closer ever day. "Want to come? It's not a long trip." "Damn you..." said Asuka, and walked away. Akuma shrugged. "She's not coming", he told Shinji. "Let's get Kensuke and Touji and go without her. You don't have anything to do now, do you?" Shinji shook his head. "I am too coming!" Asuka yelled out, running back to the group. "Come on, Ryo-ohki", said Akuma, motioning to a bush. Out of it popped a small furry creature, part cat, part rabbit, with a purplish-red juice stain on its mouth. "Ah, I see you've found something to eat that's not a carrot. Dad would love that." Asuka peered at the creature. Getting a good look, she backed away, her hand raised in front of her, half to point, half to ward it off. "Just _what_ is that... _thing_?", she screamed out. "I've never seen anything like it!" Akuma smiled and said "It's an Angel", not very convincingly. In fact, it looked like he was about to break into complete laughter if Asuka showed any more signs of associating him with Angels. "Don't you ever joke about something like that, Devilman!" yelled Asuka, regaining a bit of her composure when the creature only backed away in response. Kensuke, Touji, and Shinji all laughed, but nervously. Akuma noticed the not-so-well concealed apprehension on the faces of the three. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to scare you. Maybe Asuka, but not you three. I swear that the only time anyone in my family has come close to an Angel is to blow it up. She's Ryo-ohki, a cabbit. She's Mom's pe--" The cabbit squeaked; Akuma corrected his statement to "Uh, she works with Mom", and Ryo-ohki miyaed happily. * * * * * "I can't believe you were going to leave me behind!" yelled Asuka. "Just run off without me, will you? That's not very friendly." "You didn't want to come", replied Akuma. "Aunt Aeka and my sister are both a lot like you. If they get angry you don't cross them and you stay away from them as long as you can." He looked at Rei and added "What do you think, Rei?" After all, Rei always annoyed Asuka, either by outdoing her or by ignoring her... and Akuma wasn't feeling very charitable towards Asuka at the moment. Of course, this could backfire, if Rei took Asuka's side. "Akuma is right", said Rei. Nope, not this time. From Akuma's shoulder, Ryo-ohki added a supportive "Miyah". Akuma noted with satisfaction that Asuka did fume a bit. "Are you teleporting us?" asked Touji. "No, we're going by ship." "We're in the middle of dry land", said Touji. "I don't think that's the kind of ship he means", opined Shinji. "That's right", said Akuma. "How about over there?" he asked, pointing to the west of the base where a post-Impact tangle of vines and shrubs covered a greyish ruin of some type. Asuka shook her head, which Akuma ignored. "Yeah, I think they won't see us too well over there. We won't show up on radar and the concrete will hide us on the ground, so unless anyone sees us at the exact moment we take off...." He jogged towards the ruins, the others following. Asuka stopped and slapped her head. "You have a spaceship", she said. "Of course. What space aliens wouldn't have a spaceship." Akuma saw an expression of terror cross her face as comprehension dawned. "You _mean_ it!" said Asuka. "Of course I mean it." "But you really mean it! You're from outer space and you're going to abduct us! I don't want to go to an alien planet! We'll be far from anything we ever know...." Touji and Kensuke stopped abruptly. Shinji looked at Akuma with suspicion as he too stopped. "A... are you really...?", wondered Kensuke. "We want to stay here on the Earth!" Rei just looked at Akuma; Akuma wondered what she thought. Did it matter to her? And did she trust Akuma? "I don't believe this", muttered Akuma. "I'll tell you where we live. It's over there", he said, and pointed to a mist-shrouded row of peaks far in the distance. "It's around fifty kilometers past those mountains, where the ground gets a little flatter again." The cabbit miyaed in agreement. "We're not going to another planet. You could take a taxi back if you had a big credit card balance. Okay?" Asuka's attempts at further argument stopped when Rei answered "Okay" for the group and Asuka took that as an excuse to stop complaining. Shinji shrugged, as if to say "What can I do?" and they all headed towards the ruins. "Go, Ryo-ohki!" said Akuma, giving her a helpful toss ahead of the group. Ryo-ohki's skin smoothed out, then exploded into spikes as the cabbit grew into a huge spaceship. The vine-covered wall blocked the view from any onlookers at the school, but all of Akuma's group could see quite clearly, and were (except for Rei) standing with their mouths open as if they had never seen a giant organic mechanism before. * * * * * What a place, thought Asuka. It was like some surrealist painting, with strange spheres and with diamonds floating in mid-air bearing the image of furry faces. And the way they got there... they were beamed in. Beamed in, just like in those old Star Trek stories. "Are we there yet?" asked Asuka sarcastically. It made her feel less tense, and besides, if Akuma couldn't take a little joke.... "Hai, want to leave now?" Give me a break, thought Asuka. It was only two minutes. Oh wait... if this was a spaceship and it could travel for light years, then maybe it could have gotten there this fast after all. Oh well, never mind. "Right, get me out of this place!" "You heard her, Ryo-ohki", said Akuma. The ship seemed to respond to his voice, because the world disappeared around Asuka and she found herself in the middle of a small clearing in a forest, along with the other four teens. A short distance away were some green farmlands, a lake, and a house, with more forest nearby. She could smell the fresh air and hear the wind and animals in the forest. And by the looks of it, this was old growth forest. Asuka had never seen a place like this, though she knew that even the climate changes caused by Second Impact couldn't have destroyed all of them. "The gravity seems normal", muttered Asuka under her breath. "What do you think of it, Rei?" asked Akuma. Hmph, thought Asuka, ignoring her. "It's beautiful", said the albino. "I've never seen a real forest." "You haven't?" asked Touji. Rei shook her head. Akuma smiled. "But Aunt Sasami told you about trees, right?" Rei nodded. Akuma's tone made it sound like some kind of joke, but Rei wasn't laughing. Maybe she couldn't figure it out. That was okay; even Asuka couldn't figure it out. "We could have a picnic", said Akuma. "There's plenty of food. Or we could just walk around for a while and see the sights." He pointed towards a hillside. "Over there is the cave where Dad met Mom. The carrot fields are here... we can skip those. But you have to see Grandma's lab. It's the size of a few planets." "Oh, really?" wondered Asuka. Good lord, she thought, the boy's from outer space. He doesn't need to make up nonsense just to impress people. "Yes, really." * * * * * Akuma led the other five teens to the door of his house, and extended a ghostlike hand through the door to unlock it from the other side. "Showoff", mumbled Asuka under her breath as the door opened. "Huh?" said Akuma. "What did I do?" Get a clue, thought Asuka. "Hi... Mom? Dad? Mayuka? Is anyone here?" A woman appeared out of thin air and reached out to hug Akuma. It must be his mother; who else could it be? And her hair looked like a Saiyajin. Asuka was pretty surprised that _this_ suspicion had turned out to be true. "Welcome home", said the woman. "So these are your friends from school?" "Yes, Mom." "Well, nice to meet you all", said the woman. "I'm Ryouko. Make yourselves at home here. If you want me before dinner I'll probably be in the onsen." "Yes, Mom", said Akuma. "And don't drool", Ryouko said to Kensuke. * * * * * Asuka was bored stiff by the forest. It wasn't that long a tour, just a walk down a path, but Akuma kept stopping every couple dozen feet to let Rei look at one thing or another. She was acting like she'd never seen birds, or wildflowers, or even fungus. Wonder Girl was slowing it down for everyone, and so was Akuma, by constantly trying to impress her. Asuka had even considered showing Akuma a great deal of fungus, at a two inch distance, and running away back to the house, but she was stopped by the sinking feeling that if she ran, everyone else would probably let her. She was very grateful when they finally turned back. "So, where to now?" asked Asuka. "We could go for a swim", answered Akuma. "I don't have a swimsuit, Devilman. I don't think anyone has a swimsuit. That's what happens when I visit someone else's house on two minutes notice." "So I'll take you back to get it. That'll be two more minutes." "No thanks. I'm not making this trip last any longer. All the peace and quiet here is driving me crazy. And I don't want to make Misato worry about where we are. Show us everything and then we can go." "If you're going to be like that, I can take you back right now. What do you think, Shinji?" "Umm... uhh..." stammered the boy. "I think Asuka can do what she wants. If she wants to go back there's no need to keep her here." Akuma nodded. "Wait here, everyone. It'll be just a min---" "You don't have to", answered Asuka. "I changed my mind." "What about Misato?" asked Shinji. "Oh, she's probably off drinking somewhere." * * * * * "So isn't this relaxing?" asked Ryouko, lazily floating just below the water's surface, her hair forming a blue tangle around her head. "What do you think of it all, Misato?" "It's amazing how you *hic* built this whole thing... and I love the free sake." "Well", said Ryouko, shrugging and sending miniature waves through the steamy water. "I made the baths using one of my mother's old devices. It seemed like a good idea at the time, so I put it in." She clicked a button, and a plate, carrying two small glasses filled to the rim, magnetically levitated itself out of some hidden place. * * * * * "All right, here's my grandmother Washuu's lab", said Akuma. It looks like a basement door, thought Asuka. "I thought you said it was impressive, Devilman." Touji reached for the knob. "Hold it", said Akuma. "What?" said Touji. "You have to knock first. Always knock first. And by the way, never agree to remove your clothes or participate in an experiment." "You have got to be kidding", said Asuka, as the door opened to a room that was far too lit, and far too large. A redhead woman, wearing a slick white lab coat, pivoted in her seat to greet the teenagers. "Hi guys! Come right on in." "I thought you had to knock first", said Touji. "You were making so much noise that I decided not to bother with trifles", answered Washuu. "Be glad I didn't just drop you on the floor. Now, where shall we start, Shinji?" She pointed directly at him, and Asuka saw his eyes widen slightly. Was she _flirting_ with Shinji? That was bizarre. "You're Akuma's grandmother?" asked Shinji. Washuu grinned at him. "Yup. Don't I look good for a grandmother? Now come on over here and let me..." Shinji bit his lip. But he took a step towards Washuu anyway. Good lord, did the boy have a suicide wish or something? The woman was supposed to be eccentric, so eccentric that Devilman even warned everyone first. Asuka imagined all sorts of twisted and perverted things that the woman might do. Letting her have her way with you would be only slightly less dangerous than stepping in front of a rampaging Angel. Akuma put his hand on Shinji's arm. "Wait." Shinji stopped. "Spoilsport", said Washuu. "What did you want, grandmother Washuu?" asked Akuma. "Oh, there is something else I want, but right now I wanted to see how eager Shinji is to follow orders. You really shouldn't do that automatically, Shinji; if someone asks you to do something, think about it, all right?" Shinji nodded. "Now, about that offer. There's something I'd like to try, and I think it would make you feel better." Yup, definitely flirting. "May I speak to you and Rei in private?" Shinji looked at Akuma and then back at Washuu with skeptical reluctance. "Playtime's over", said Washuu. "I'm not going to take you into another room and hang you on the wall or anything like that; my offer's completely serious." She bent over to whisper something into Shinji's ear. Shinji's mouth fell open and his eyes really widened. "You _can't_!" he said. What perverted suggestion did she give him? "Of course I can. Now, shall we go off to discuss it? You too, Rei?" Shinji nodded, dumbly, and walked off with Washuu. Rei followed along. Asuka looked at the door as it slammed shut, then looked back at Akuma, grimacing. "Beats me", he replied to her expression. * * * * * "That", said Akuma, "is an ecology monitor", indicating a small holographic display. "An ecology monitor?" wondered Touji. "Right. Basically, it sees how the life on a planet is doing. She has five of them, one for each one." Touji reached out to touch the device. Suddenly he was jolted by a small bolt of electricity. "Yoooooow!" he screamed. "Mustn't touch", said Washuu. She had entered the room again with Shinji and Rei, and was holding a small box with a bright red button taking up most of its top surface. From the looks of it, she had pressed the button at the exact moment when Touji touched the display. "Well, was Invincible Shinji hurt?" asked Asuka. "She didn't do anything to me", replied Shinji. He held a hand up to his eyes, which were far too red and wet, to wipe them. "You don't look like she didn't do anything to you. What about her so-called offer?" "I have to ask my father." "Give me a break, Shinji. We know how you and your father get along." "I'm not going to talk about it", said Shinji. "Most of it's private. And Asuka... believe me, you don't want me to tell you." "All right, no need to shout", said Asuka. "You tell me, Rei." Though she expected that Rei would stay silent and smug. She did. * * * * * Akuma led the little group into the living room and made the rest of the introductions. "This is my sister Mayuka", he said. "Mayuka, these people are from school... Shinji, Asuka, Touji, Kensuke." The girl bowed. Kensuke, glimpsing her cleavage, drooled. Asuka guessed that a few inches closer, his nose would have been spurting blood. Kensuke profusely apologized. "Heh, heh." he added with embarassment. "My mother you've met... this is Dad, Great-Grandpa, and Aunt Sasami." Asuka eyed the other people whom Akuma introduced. "Nice to see you again", said Sasami to Rei, and hugged her. Rei smiled at Sasami and hugged her back. "All right", said Asuka. "What's going on here? Half of the people in this family have light blue hair and red eyes. And the way you and Rei are acting... is she some kind of distant relative? And... just _why_ is every woman in this family some kind of gorgeous model?" "I heard you were a bitch", said Mayuka. "Looks like I heard right. We're not related to Rei, and as for looks, you just need to grow so you can fill out your chest. Until then, shut up, okay?" The look on her face was slightly predatory, in a 'don't get in a fight like that with _me_' sort of way. Asuka fumed. But she did shut up. "Hey, everyone", said Sasami, "I hope you'll stay for dinner. It's my day to cook and there should be enough for everyone even with all the guests today." "Is she a good cook or bad cook?" whispered Asuka to Akuma. This was a very vital piece of information. "Good", whispered Akuma back. Sasami smiled friendily, which immediately made Asuka more suspicious of her, if only because few people acted like that without having something less friendly in mind. * * * * * That girl, thought Mayuka as Asuka kept making comments through the meal, seemed a bit like Aeka. But something was wrong; very wrong. Aeka knew when to stop, just like Mayuka did. She'd throw tantrums, but she'd never slack off doing her share of the chores; and when it came time to be with people she was supposed to be polite to, she stayed polite. On the other hand, Asuka just seemed out of control. It was as if yelling was one of the few ways she knew to deal with the world at all. "Asuka?" said Mayuka. "Yes? What do you want?" "I'm sorry if I was a little harsh with you." "What?" "I said, I'm sorry if I was a little harsh with you." "Don't patronize me", said Asuka, and went back to eating, in silence this time. * * * * * So Asuka was wrong, thought Shinji. And he was right to trust Akuma. His family was strange... but he had a family. That alone made him a lot more normal than Shinji, no matter how many alien superpowers he had. "Akuma..." said Shinji a bit wistfully to his friend, who happened to be in the seat right next to him. "Yeah?" "I'm glad your folks let us visit. I'm sorry Asuka was so noisy." "You're welcome", replied Akuma. "I know what you're thinking." "What?" "You're thinking I have it easy." Shinji nodded. "Akuma, the worst thing that happens here is that your sister yells at someone who, I have to admit, deserves it anyway. The worst thing that happens to me is that I get abandoned. Did you know that I once tried to kill myself? I never even had the courage to do that." "Take it easy", said Ryouko. "What do you know about my life anyway?" "Mr. Ikari, I may not be you but I do know what despair is like. I spent thousands of years as a slave, to a man who claimed he created me--if you like comparisons, think of you and your father, but much worse. If I didn't kill myself then, it was only because I couldn't. Believe me, I understand your position." "Go ahead!" exclaimed Asuka. "Tell him to stop whining. Tell Shinji not to be a wimp." "I'm not going to do that", said Ryouko. "You're what?" yelled Asuka. "You, young lady", said Ryouko, "are a guest here. There will be no tormenting of other guests. And Akuma's friend here isn't a wimp. You have this idea that people can just wish themselves out of depression, and that if they don't, they're not worthy of being treated like a person. Nobody is unworthy of being treated like a person, Asuka." As Mrs. Masaki continued, Shinji became more and more perplexed. For some reason, the woman was defending him. Strange. "Do you talk to a lot of people like that?" asked Asuka. "No, I don't. We're a secret. I can't talk to _anyone_ except family. Until now, and I can see where Shinji is coming from far too well. As long as you're in our house, you're going to behave." Shinji half-expected her to shoot a blast of energy at Asuka for a warning shot, but she never did; it never got past the stage of harsh words. "If you keep lecturing me I'm, uh, I'm going to tell my mother." Shinji caught Ryouko's eye and then told her "No. She isn't." And... he probably should, anyway... "Thank you, Mrs. Masaki." * * * * * On the other side of Shinji was Rei. She ate quietly, of course; Rei was like that. She paid little interest in what was around her, and all those around her responded by doing likewise. Except for one. "Did you like the food, Rei?" asked Sasami. This evening was getting even odder, thought Shinji. First, that hug, and now, this. Sasami didn't just want to know what everyone thought of the tempura, she asked Rei specifically. Shinji recalled Rei's explanation of how she had survived the annihilation of Eva Unit 00... Sasami had something to do with it. "It was delicious", answered Rei. That response didn't seem to satisfy Sasami. "How are you?" she asked. "What have you been up to?" "Fine", responded Rei. "And I'm still going to school." The words left her mouth without much feeling, but as she continued to talk, she began to sound more and more normal. "I'm no use to Gendou now. I still clean his office and bring things for him, but I know that I'm not wanted for more than that. He doesn't seem to like me." "Rei", said Sasami, "You're here, you're alive, and that's what matters. About Gendou... you mean more than before, right?" "Yes. He acts like he's lost something. But sometimes he tries to pretend that he hasn't. I seem to scare him." "If you want to leave, Rei, you can always stay here for a while." "I can't leave. I'm going to be there until the end. But thank you for your offer, and for showing me what I could be." Akuma, half-listening, asked "Want to come over some other time when there aren't so many people here? Just to visit, not to stay." Rei smiled, for once. "I'll consider it." * * * * * Returning was another two minute trip for Akuma and Ryo-ohki. He let Touji and Kensuke off at the apartments, and dropped off Shinji and Asuka right outside Misato's. Asuka casually unlocked the door and entered. "Hello!" she shouted, without even checking to see if anyone was behind the door. Of course, there wasn't. Misato had been drinking far too much ever since the space aliens came and Asuka was even beginning to worry that she could do her body serious damage. She was probably passed out on her mattress. Finally, after Asuka had sat down to click on the television, Misato dragged herself out into the living room, drunk again (of course) just as Asuka had expected. "Hi kids..." she mumbled. "Found a real good drinking partner today..." she said as she staggered to the refrigerator. "That's better than drinking alone", said Shinji. Misato pulled out a plate of food and took it to the microwave. Asuka could sniff it as the microwaves reheated... wait! That smell was familiar. "Where did you get that from?" yelled Asuka. "Ry... Ryouko brought me here after I passhed out. She promised to bring shum... something to eat since I missed dinner..." "You were _there_! We were there and you were there and you didn't tell us!" "I was? Oh, did you have fun?" * * * * * Visiting a farm, even one inhabited by space aliens, is not inherently very exciting, but it was enough to raise Shinji's spirits a bit. Until that moment... and now, on top of that, Shinji would have to confront his father again. This had all dropped into Shinji's lap, but the last step was Shinji's and Shinji's alone. He wasn't even sure if he was doing the right thing. "Hey, Akuma?" said Shinji. "Yeah?" "How much can I really trust your grandmother? Do you think that if she says she can do something she'll do it?" "Hm? Sure you can trust her, as long as it's not a joke of some kind. And as for what she can _do_... almost anything. It's about that offer from yesterday, right?" "Right. Exactly." Shinji bent over to whisper into Akuma's ear. "She's going to do that? I hope she knows what she's doing." * * * * * So now was the moment of truth. Shinji knocked on the imposing oak door. "Come in", said his father's voice. But when Shinji opened the door, Gendou's first reaction upon seeing Shinji was to reject him. "Oh, it's you. Come back some other time. I'm busy with some very important work here." Shinji's heart fluttered, but he persisted. If ever he needed courage, the time was now. "This is more important. Dad, I've met the people from outer space, that they say you should know about." "I'm aware of their existence." Gendou motioned towards the door. "It's about Mom. They told me what happened. I know she's not dead." From the look on Gendou's face, Shinji expected his glasses to fall off. Somehow that made Shinji feel better. His father wasn't completely shut off from the world. Things could affect him. "_What_ did they tell you about Yui? Tell me, son. What did they say?" "They said that she's not dead. She's trapped inside Unit 01. That's true, Dad, isn't it? They want to get her out, and they know how to do it." "She... do you believe all of that, Shinji?" "If it wasn't true you wouldn't have reacted like you just did!" "All right. Yes, it's true, Shinji. Understand, I loved your mother dearly. One day she went into the Eva, synchronized to several hundred percent, and never came out. Sometimes I wonder if she meant to be in there. Most of the project was her idea. And inside there, she would be able to participate in it in a way that she couldn't participate anywhere else." "What about Rei? Mom and that Lilith thing, right? And the truth behind the project? You're not saving us from the Angels, you want to beat them to their own goal." "Shinji", said Gendou, "I'm not going to try to lie to you. What you're telling me these people told you is true, but they had no right to say it. Can you honestly say that knowing any of that makes you feel better?" "I..." Gendou was right, after all. "No, it doesn't." "Do you understand now? I needed to keep you away from all the details. It was for your protection. If you knew that your mother was in the Eva, would you be willing to pilot it?" Wait a minute. "If I knew she was in there I'd be trying to get her out. And I'd never be willing to do something that would destroy the world." "And these aliens want to get her out, right?" "That's right." "And in exchange for that? I don't care how generous you think they are." "They want you to end the project. Work with them and fight SEELE." "And if I don't?" "You will. You did love Mom. You told me that before. You won't abandon her, like you abandoned me." "I never abandoned you, Shinji. You ran away, ten years ago." "I was four years old! How could a four year old run away unless his father wants to get rid of him?" "The fact is, I didn't. Now, I'll consider this offer, but you can tell your space people friends that it's not very likely. You don't understand the project, and they don't seem to either. It's an advancement! We're going to evolve the human race to a new level! If they said I was going to destroy the world, you don't know how wrong they are...." Shinji listened to Gendou's rant. It seemed like his father was becoming completely unhinged. Or maybe, his sanity had always been just another lie. For the second time in ten years, Shinji walked away from his father. * * * * * "He said 'no', Akuma." "How could he?" replied the boy. He couldn't talk much, because he was in the middle of a game of Street Fighter 14. Fortunately, his long experience doing things when split in two gave him the training to at least listen to Shinji. "I think I know, Akuma. He says he cared about Mom. I don't think he did. I think he cares about her memory. She died... got dissolved... and then for all this time he built up this big idea about what it really means to honor her and he's going to stick to it instead of helping her for real. If he released her _she'd_ tell him to stop the project. And I've been thinking about something else he said." "Hm?" replied Akuma, sending holographic 3D fireballs into the screen at the computer opponent. "The truth. He said it hurt me to know the truth. He was right, but... hiding the truth just makes it hurt more when it finally comes out. I said I wouldn't ever want to destroy the world. And you know what? He said that I misunderstood it, but not that he wasn't going to do it. He does want to destroy the world. He's insane, Akuma, I finally realized that. It's not worth it to go on living for his approval. I need to do what I can for myself and my friends and the people who all depend on me." Akuma pummelled his computer opponent with Gouki's triple Dragon Punch as he nodded. "I've thought that since I met you, Shinji. You just needed to really realize it." "I know what I need to do now", said Shinji. "Your grandmother said she'd rather use it as a bargaining tool to stop the project, but if that wasn't possible she'd let me try it anyway. She said something about it being personal." "Personal?" replied Akuma while making the motions for a Hurricane Kick. "Something about never wanting to see a mother and son parted." "Ohh... you want to revive your mother all by yourself? You couldn't do it without any orders from Gendou. You couldn't run the equipment and the staff would notice anyone messing with it anyway." Akuma finished a 6 move combo, dizzying the computer player. "I could do it. If I tell Misato and anyone else I need to tell to get permission. Akuma, nobody wants to die. They'll _have_ to agree, they'll have to! If only they knew what my father really wants this project to do.... Besides, Akuma, if I don't, someday your folks are going to come in, appear out of nowhere... and destroy the Eva just to save the world. And if I don't get Mom out of there first she's going to be dead for real!" "I wish you luck, Shinji", said Akuma. Shinji considered that, replaying the words in his mind to look for a strain of sarcasm, but finally understanding that Akuma really did mean it. "Thanks for listening", he replied. "Oh, hey", he added, "you beat someone's high score." "I did? Oh yeah. I didn't notice; it's hard to do two things at the same time _and_ watch the score. I wonder who 'DJC' is?" * * * * * Gendou knew what he would do if he were in Shinji's position. He'd try to revive Yui without permission. Something which Gendou would love to do himself. But the project would have to go on. So there was a simple solution. Shinji would even participate, helping Gendou along without knowing it. If Gendou made the agreement, the aliens would come in, get Yui out, and then immediately destroy the Eva and everything else with full permission. But if Gendou didn't, Shinji would no doubt sneak in himself, do it anyway, and the aliens would continue to wait for whatever reasons--perhaps fear of unknown technology from SEELE, or perhaps just scruples against destroying a base full of people--had kept them from just annihilating everything before. No doubt the boy believed that Gendou didn't want Yui revived. But then, that wasn't the first mistake Shinji had made. * * * * * "Misato?" asked Shinji. "Uh-huh?" "Do you have a minute?" "Of course I have a minute." "I... I need your help... really badly.... It's my mother." "What about her?" "You were there, right? At Akuma's house. You met his mother. How much did she tell you?" "A lot of things." Misato thought Shinji looked awfully agitated, though if he had learned even a fraction of what Misato had learned, it was completely understandable. "Shinji, if you want to know something, just ask." "I need your help to start up the Evas for a test. Only it's not a test. My mother's trapped in the Eva. They can use their outer-space technology to get her out. If we all get together and do it, I... I won't have failed any more." It was more than just understandable. Shinji had just gotten a chance to redeem himself... a complete miracle. He had to give up his passivity and do whatever he could to make it come true. And Misato had to help him. The whole project, she had learned, was a sham. They were killing the Angels... but not to save humanity. Gendou and SEELE were free to start their own Third Impact upon the death of all the Angels... or even by _using_ the death of the last Angel. Misato would eventually do what she could to stop them, but Sasami and the others would have a much easier time doing so. If she helped Shinji now, she might lose her job and her career and have to watch out for her life. But if Gendou's and SEELE's plan was stopped before the Third Impact, the same thing would happen to her anyway, just three weeks later. And if she helped Shinji now, she'd be saving a life, and depending on Yui's condition, she might be striking a real blow against the people responsible for the Impact that killed her father. "I'll do what I can, Shinji", she told him. "I'll need Ritsuko's help, but she already knows the truth. I think she'll help us. Ask me again tomorrow evening. By the way, have you decided anything about Asuka?" "Asuka?" "She doesn't know what really happened to her mother. Did the Masakis tell you?" "Yes, they did. Oh my god I still have to... But... but if I tell her she'll be upset, worse than she is now. But I also don't want to see her live a lie like me... Misato, do you think I should tell her?" "I don't know. I don't know myself, either. Tell me if you ever think of anything, okay?" * * * * * "Ritsuko, I need to talk to you", said Gendou. "I... go ahead" she replied. "You know about the project. I've told you lots of things that I've never told anyone else." "Yes? Commander, I..." "I've told you that when we're alone you can just call me Gendou. Anyway, it's Shinji. He's gotten help from those aliens you met. He's going to release Yui." "You still love her?" "Ritsuko, there will always be something in me that remembers when she and I were together, but I need her for the project. It was a mistake for her to become a component of a machine. I just need you to not interfere, even to subtly encourage whatever he tries." "I understand", said Ritsuko. "I'll do whatever's necessary." Gendou briefly kissed Ritsuko. "Goodbye." * * * * * "Really? She'll work with it?" asked Shinji. "Sure", replied Misato. "Ritsuko said she'd be glad to help. We have access tomorrow at 8 PM until the morning. Is that enough?" "Uhh... I think so. I never did anything like this before...." * * * * * A skeleton crew, barely large enough to do an Eva test, assembled in the Geofront at night. Misato gave the orders, and the staff handled the equipment. Shinji watched. "Shouldn't Shinji be getting into his suit?" asked Maya. "No, not for this test", replied Ritsuko. "We have some special requirements. Shinji's not going to be in this Eva. There are a few additions, but they've already been installed." "Starting..." said a technician. "Mental pattern appearing... separating... what is this?" said another, while Shinji paced. Was this going to work? "This is impossible!" said Maya. "It's not impossible", said Misato. "That's Shinji's mother in there. She was lost inside Unit 01 ten years ago... and now she's been found. With this new technology, it should be possible to disentangle her patterns from the base of the Eva's patterns even though she's been in there over ten years. And Rei provided a copy of her genetic structure." "Pattern separate..." said a technician. Shinji paced even more. "It's working... there's definitely someone in there." "It's working... she's alive!" yelled Shinji. "Not so fast", replied Misato. "We still need more time.... Just a bit longer." Fifteen minutes later, Maya pressed the controls to release and open the entry plug from Unit 01. A woman, looking just like she did in the memories of everyone who could recall her, stepped out wearing the fashions of ten years ago, and a shining metal GEHIRN badge. "Why is she wearing clothes?" whispered Maya. "It's a theory", replied Misato. "The pilot's self-image is capable of creating clothing to correspond to it." "Mom!" yelled Shinji. "It's really you! You look like Rei... but I remember you. You look so familiar. What was it like? Are you okay?" "I'm fine", she said, and walked over to hug Shinji. "I know what's going on, I got it from your mind during all those tests you had inside. I suppose exactly where I am no longer matters, and I suppose it's nice to see Gendou in the flesh for one last time. Even with all that has happened the Complementation project to evolve humanity can still go on...." "The project? But you were trapped in there! I wouldn't have wanted to be trapped in a machine for ten years. Even after Dad did that to you, you still want to finish the project? Mom, please...." "Gendou? No, I trapped myself. It was my way to be sure that the project and myself could not be separated." "B-- but Mom, you couldn't want to destroy the world. You couldn't! You're a good person! I know it, you have to be!" "Don't worry, Shinji, it's not some kind of evil thing. All of humanity will be one, and me, you, and Gendou will all be together...." Suddenly, Gendou opened and stepped in through the supposedly locked corridor door. "Welcome home, Yui." He seeemed genuinely happy, for once. "Nothing can stop us now." "Dad! You knew!" exclaimed Shinji. "Of course I knew", replied Gendou. "Yui was the one that got me interested in the project, not the other way around. Did you really think I wouldn't want her brought back? No, I knew that your alien friends wouldn't bring her back for me without wanting something, but they might bring her back for you. You've been a great help, Shinji." Gendou motioned over to Yui to come to him, and she approached. "No", said Ritsuko. "What?" said Gendou, surprised. "You've loved her. You've always loved her, nobody else. I hate you, did you know that? I hate you and what you stand for and I realized that last night." Ritsuko pulled out a pistol, cocked it, and aimed it towards the two as everyone else watched in astonishment. Yui reached into her own pocket and brought out another pistol, aiming back at Ritsuko. Before Ritsuko could figure out how someone who had just stepped out of an Eva could have a working firearm on her person, Yui had fired. The bullet hit Ritsuko in the chest--Yui was an excellent shot--and blood geysered out. But in Ritsuko's death throes, her fingers convulsed. The gun in her hand went off before she fell to the ground. Gendou, its target at the time, took the bullet in the chest and collapsed to the ground soon afterwards. END CHAPTER 7.