Alternate Future
By James Lee
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Evangelion are not mine. If they were I
wouldn't be writing fanfiction.
**Spoiler Warning**
Part 7 Minds Eye.
EVA unit 01 advanced towards the wounded angel like a wild
gorilla. The angel tried to fire another blast at the EVA, but the machine
smashed the angels head back down. Unit 01 narrowed it's eyes for
a moment, then began to gorge itself on the 14th angel.
After it had eaten for a while, the EVA looked up with round
glowing eyes. The EVA roared as the armor plates that were also
restraints burst off.
Keele stopped the video. "This was not expected."
"This is insane! None of NERV's EVA units can regenerate
S2 organs!"
"Yes but who would of thought that the EVA could take in the S2
organs in such a way?"
"This is Gendo's doing! It was a mistake giving him NERV."
"Yes, but he's was the only one who could do everything
needed. What's going on in your mind Ikari!?" Said Keele.
"There is not just this to consider. Unit 02 and unit 03 both
received heavy damage and NERV headquarters was almost completely
destroyed. The cost for the damages is in the millions." Said Mr. Blue.
"Gendo's up to something. We should issue an A-801 on
NERV and teach him a lesson."
"No!" Said Keele. "We're not ready yet, the 17th Angel has
not yet appeared. Also only four of the 05 series EVAs are finished."
"So! NERV is down to one EVA."
"Yes, but NERV's pilots are battle harden veterans and there
is something else to consider." Said Mr. Blue while rewinding the
video. Mr. Blue stopped the video where it showed unit 03 launching
an energy ball at the 14th angel. "Who would of thought an AT field
could be used in such a way."
"Yes, if we were to attack now Gendo would probably put
pilot Saotome in unit 01 and send it against us. With his unusual abilities
he could defeat our EVAs. We're going to have to get data on that
new pilot for the dummy plug program." Said Keele.
"Oh how? If Ikari is up to something then he's sure as hell not
going to give us any data or the boy. He'll probably come up with
some excuse not to."
"True. Contact our people inside NERV. Have them arrange
to secure pilot Saotome for the dummy plug program. If they can't
secure the pilot then they are to terminate him."
*****
"It's not working. The EVA is rejecting the eject code." Said
Maya looking at her flashing display. Ritsuko, Misato, and the bridge
bunnies were now in the auxiliary control room. The main control deck
in Central Dogma had been wrecked during the battle with the 14th
Angel. This did not please most of the bridge crew.
"Ohhh the chairs there are too cramp and the controls don't
run smoothly!" Is what Maya had said when they were told of where
they were moving too, and she was right. Having been constructed for
emergencies, the facilities at the auxiliary control room were built for
function not comfort. Also not being used in the ten years since it was
built meant the controls were slightly untuned.
All that however, was unimportant as that the main problem
now was getting Shinji out of unit 01. The unit which had gone berserk
yesterday was now refusing any command codes. All attempts to contact
Shinji had also failed.
"Keep trying." Said Ritsuko knowing it was useless. "What
about the other systems?"
"None of the other systems are working, but we do now have
visual inside the entry plug." Said Hyuga.
"Bring it up." Ordered Ritsuko. Almost the entire control room
gasped when the image of the entry plug came on the screen. The
entry plug looked normal enough, except there was NO Shinji! The only
thing in the entry plug was Shinji's plug suit floating in the LCL.
"What the hell!? Wh-Where's Shinji!?" Asked Misato.
"I was afraid of this." Said Ritsuko. "This is the secret of the
400% sync ratio. The EVA has taken Shinji into itself."
"What you mean taken Shinji into itself!? Where the hell's
Shinji!?" Yelled Misato.
"His body and soul are still in the entry plug. They're just in
a quantum form."
"Your saying Shinji's in a form we can't see?"
"Yes his body has broken into it's base components. It's
become much like the primordial soup that has been was replicated in
laboratories."
"Why the hell did this happen!?" Misato was on the verge of
attacking Ritsuko and demanding that she get Shinji back. Suddenly
the door to the control room open and Gendo walked in-between the
two women. Gendo looked at the screen. He did not, Misato noted,
look happy. *What!? NOW you care for your son!*
As Gendo looked at the plug suit floating in the LCL memories
of another incident entered his mind. He also thought of Yui's request.
That he get to know his son. It now looked like he may have lost his
chance. The NERV commander mentally shook his head. *NO! This
is not 2004!* Gendo turned to Ritsuko. "Recover the pilot." Not
waiting for a response, Gendo turned and left the control room.
Misato blinked. *Doe's he really care!?* She then glared at
Ritsuko. "Well you got your orders! You built that damn thing! You
get Shinji out of it!"
Ritsuko watch as Misato stormed out of the control room and
sighed. After what happen to Ranma yesterday she could understand
her coworker's anger a little. When Ranma's heart had stopped had
been one of the most terrifying moments of her life. It was like a part of
her had also died. Even now she wanted to leave this place and see
how he was doing, but there was work to be done.
*****
A girl in a blue dress with a mallet looked at him frowning.
A tall boy with a bokken charged him.
A girl with long hair and a spatula gave him some food. A pig
with a bandanna bit him. AgirlwithperplehairgloumpedhimAboyinwhite robesandglassesattackedhimApandastolefoodfromhimAgirlwithlong hairinanapronpouredwateronhimAmanwithamustashdenoncedhimA girlwithshorthairtookpicturesofhimAlittlewrinkeledmonkeythrowbombs
at.....
Ranma woke up. Looking around he could see he was in the
infirmary again. Hearing someone come in, Ranma tried to sit up, he
instantly regretted it as a sharp pain in his head voiced it's disapproval
of such acts. *God my head hurts! What was all that? Where those
people I knew?*
"So your awake." Ranma turned to see who his visitor was,
as he did the pain in his head told him not to. Looking at his visitor,
Ranma couldn't figure out whether his pain was right or not. "Asuka?"
"You expecting someone else?"
"I wasn't expecting you, if that's what you mean. Why are you
here?"
"I wanted to ask you some questions. How do you feel?"
"Head hurts allot. Why do you care?" Said Ranma.
Asuka didn't answer him, instead she asked another question.
"What did you do to that angel?"
*So that's why she's here.* Ranma thought, how did he do
that? "I umm I concentrated all ah power into the AT field um at one
point and umm launched it. I don't think I can explain it much better."
"I see. Are there any other "magic" tricks you know?"
"There's one that involves negative energy and another that
works somehow with hot and cold, but I can't figure them out. Listen
my head really hurts. Can we do this some other time?"
Frowning Asuka got up to leave the room. She stopped just
when she opened the door. "Ranma?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you jump in front of my EVA?" Asked Asuka not
looking at him.
"Umm I couldn't just let you get your head cut off."
Asuka turn towards him with an odd look on her face. The
odd look was quickly replaced with a glare. "Your the one who ended
up losing his head! I don't need you to save me from the Angels Ranma!"
Ranma watched as Asuka closed the door. *What was that
about? Did she just call me Ranma?* Ranma found it odd that the
whole time Asuka was there she hadn't called him Hydrosexual. He
also couldn't get that odd look out of his mind and then there was what
she said. For some reason something about Asuka's last statement
bothered him.
*****
"This is what we're going to do." Said Ritsuko typing on a
keyboard. "Using Shinji's pilot data and data on unit 01, we'll have
the his plug suit act as a magnet. We should be ready to do this in
about twenty-eight days."
Maya watched as her hero typed on the keyboard. "That's
incredible ma'am! You came up with this plan all this data in less than
three days."
"Thanks, but it isn't my plan. This is old data from ten years ago.
>From when my mother was in charge." Said Ritsuko, ending the last
statement with a hint of displeasure.
"Ten years ago? You mean this has happen before?"
"Yes. My mother used the plan then to. It's been ten years
but I can still pick her brains."
"So um did it work?"
Ritsuko stopped typing. "No. The pilot was never seen again."
*****
*Where am I? What is this place?* Shinji found himself on a
beach. This striked him as odd being that the last place he remembered
himself being was in unit 01. Strangely enough though, the beach did
look familiar. *I know this place. This is my place. This is my world.*
Thought Shinji as he walked down the beach.
Suddenly Shinji stopped. Something was wrong. He didn't
know what, but he felt wrong about where he was. It looked like the
same beach, but somehow he knew it wasn't. *What is this? I don't
know this? This is wrong! It must be...It must be...*
"The enemy!" Shinji saw the 3rd angel lancing his eye.
"The enemy!" Shinji saw the 4th angel impaling his EVA.
"The enemy!" he saw the 5th angel shooting him. "The enemy!"
he saw Jet Alone on the rampage. "Enemy!" he saw the 6th angel.
"But why do I always fight? Why do we fight?" Shinji suddenly
found himself face-to-face with Asuka. "What are you stupid!? An
unknown enemy is attacking! Of course we have to fight them! Who
cares what they think!? There the enemy!"
"Enemy!" he saw the 7th angel. "Enemy!"8th"Enemy!"9th
"Enemy!"10th"Enemy!"11th"Enemy!"12th"Enemy!"13th"Enemy!"14th
"Enemy!"13th"Enemy!"unit00"Enemy"13th"Enemy!"unit00"Enemy!"
Rei"Enemy!"unit00"Enemy!"Rei"Enemy!"Gendo"Enemy!"Rei"Enemy!"
Gendo"Enemy!"Gendo"Enemy!"Gendo"Enemy!"Gendo"Enemy!"
Gendo...
"YES! He's my enemy!" Shinji found himself face to face
a rather demonic looking Gendo. "You're my enemy! You're the one
who abandon me! Your the who orders me to kill my friends! Why!?"
Gendo turned and walked away. "Don't turn your back on
me! Tell me why!? Why!? WHY!!?"
Gendo's voice came back to him. "If we should fail to stop
an angel. If an angel should succeed in reaching NERV headquarters.
Then all man kind will be destroyed."
"But why did you leave me? For a while I thought you replaced
me with Rei. But if so, why did you order me to kill her?"
"What is more important the life of one person, or the lives of
every man, woman, and child on earth?"
"...." Shinji once more didn't have an answer.
*****
Ritsuko and Ranma were eating in the kitchen. Ranma had
just gotten back from the hospital and Ritsuko decided to take a little
time off to have a celebration dinner with him. Ritsuko was now getting
concerned however. Ranma was eating at a slow pace, which was the
equivalent of not eating for him. He was also very quiet. Ritsuko decided
to find out what was wrong.
"Ranma, are you all right?"
Ranma looked up from his food. "I'm fine."
Having spend so much time with Misato, Ritsuko could tell
Ranma was lying. "Your not eating."
"I'm..I'm not hungry." Said Ranma.
*So he's going to make this hard huh?* "Don't lie to me Ranma!
Your always hungry! Now tell me what's wrong!"
"I..." Ranma looked about ready to yell but instead looked
down. "I should have won."
"You what?"
"That angel. I should have defeated it."
"Your upset because you lost?"
Ranma didn't look at her. "Yeah. I lost and because of that
Shinji might..."
"NO!!" Ranma jumped as Ritsuko slammed her fist on the
table. She could see were this was leading to. "Ranma, Shinji is not
dead. He's just not here. We'll get him back. We have a plan."
"I heard that the last time this plan was tried it didn't work."
"Ranma that was over ten years ago! We know allot more
about the EVAs now than we did then." There was another reason
why it might not have worked, but Ritsuko didn't dare think of THAT.
"If I had won. It wouldn't have to be done period!"
Ritsuko started to worry, she was running out of argument
ammo. She really wished she could talk to Misato right then, but
there wasn't time. Getting up and walking around the table, she knelt
down in front Ranma and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Ranma you did everything you could that day."
Ranma shook his head, tears starting form in his eyes. "I-I
should have done something more!"
Ritsuko grabbed him in a hug. "What else could you have
done Ranma? You saved Asuka's life. You fought that monster with
a damaged EVA. You did something that was thought to be impossible
with an AT field. For god's sake Ranma, you DIED fighting that thing!
You have no idea how scared I was when they told me that your
heart had stopped. Your heart stopped, you stopped breathing, you
were dead for a whole minute." Ritsuko could feel Ranma crying on
her shoulder. Her eyes were beginning to form their own tears. "Ranma,
you can't expect to win every battle."
"B-but w-what kind of pilot am I if I...if I lose?" Muttered Ranma.
Ritsuko hug him tighter. "A human pilot Ranma. A human pilot."
Pushing Ranma away a little, Ritsuko started to dry his eyes.
Ranma shook his head. "I-I wasn't crying."
Ritsuko smiled. "Of course not. Why don't you get some rest.
Think about what happen that day. If there were problems then we
can work to fix them. So something like this won't happen again." Ranma nodded his head and went to his room. After he was
gone, Ritsuko slumped down and sigh. For some reason she felt drained.
She thought about the problems Misato had with Shinji, how she used
to ridicule Misato for having trouble fixing them. She made a mental
note to apologize to Misato some time.
*****
"I know it's in the cage but is it safe?" Asked Misato looking
at unit 01. It's head armor had been removed and bandages covered
the face. The bandages did not however cover the eyes and mouth.
Thus the unit looked like a mummy with a hideous joker like grin and
the eyes of a madman. Misato was sure she was going to be seeing
this thing in her sleep.
"Well it's lock down in the cage and the S2 unit seems to have
powered down." Said Hyuga.
"Yes but unit 01 has moved without power on three different
occasions. Why?" Said Misato as she thought of the times that unit 01
had done so. The first time being when Shinji first came to NERV.
Unit 01's arm had broken free of the cage to protect Shinji from being
crushed by falling debris. The second time had been when unit 01 tore
it's way out of the 12th Angel, after it had supposedly ran out of power.
Then there was this last time, which had lead to their current crisis.
"We can't just judge this situation by it's appearances."
"That's for sure. It's almost as unpredictable as you Major!"
Hyuga laughed at his little joke, but Misato didn't see the humor in it.
"heh eh sorry"
"It's OK. I'm just tired." Said Misato turning to leave. As she
did so she noticed Rei sitting near the entrance to the EVA cages.
Approaching the girl Misato spoke. "Rei? What are you doing here?"
Rei didn't answer, instead she continued to stare towards the
EVA cages. Looking in the direction that Rei was Misato could see
that she was looking at unit 01. Looking back at Rei Misato tried to
reassure her.
"Rei, we'll get him back."
Rei merely nodded and continued to look at unit 01. Misato
patted her on the shoulder and left the cages. *They better get him
back!*
*****
Ranma stood before the door with grim determination. He
felt that this could be the hardest fight of his life. What horrific
attacks awaited him behind that door he did not know. He only felt
that this had to be done.
As to Ritsuko's suggestion, Ranma stayed up most the previous
night thinking about what had gone wrong during the battle. He had
come up with two problems.
One was the EVA itself. Ranma found that his timing in the
EVA was off. It took a while for the EVA to carry out a command.
It was like Ranma was trying to fight with a remote control. He would
give a command to the EVA. Then there would be a delay as the
EVA received the command and acted. To the casual observer this
delay was hardly noticeable, being only a fraction of a second. To
Ranma however it was an eternity.
The real problem with the EVA however was it's effects on
Ranma's senses. Ranma felt that he had a sixth sense. He could almost
feel danger getting close to him. It was this sixth sense that allowed
Ranma to dodge or counter most attacks. In the EVA however, all
of Ranma's senses were hampered. This included his danger sense.
Thus the 14th Angel was able to surprise him and cut off his head.
It was not his problems with the EVA that brought him to this
door however, it was the other problem. The other problem was
teamwork, or lack there of. Ranma felt that if both he and Asuka had
attacked the Angel together. Then they might have defeated it. Instead
Asuka did her own thing and got trashed early on. If she had been with
him when he attacked with the axe then they might have won. The
angel might have been able to stop one attack, but probably not two.
Therefor Ranma felt he had to make some sort of peace with Asuka.
That is what brought him to the door of Misato's apartment.
Ranma thought about what Ritsuko and him had talked about
that morning. When he had told her that he was going to try to reach
some agreement with Asuka, Ritsuko had been estatic. She called
Misato to let her know what was going to happen. She then spent
most of the morning giving Ranma helpful advice on handling the
situation. Most of the advice was along the lines of "Ranma keep
calm and think before you speak/act".
As he stood at the door a large part of him was telling him that
he should leave. That he didn't need to work with any one and that
true men work alone. *Where did that come from?* Another part of
him however told him that there were more important things than his
pride. That what he was doing wasn't some game and that he was defending
Tokyo 3 if not the world. The fact that one of his fellow pilots may
die because of his lack of teamwork, reinforced this thought. Ranma
realized that whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to work
with his fellow pilots and that included Asuka. Particularly given the fact
that she was the only combat capable pilot to work with at the moment.
*Well it's now or never.* Thought Ranma as he reach to push
the doorbell button. He stop when felt a presence coming close.
Looking to the right, Ranma saw a middle aged man walking towards
him. The man had on dark pants and a blue shirt. His hair was long
and kept in a ponytail. He had a smile of his rough and angled face.
Approaching Ranma the man spoke.
"So, you must be Ranma."
"Umm yeah. Who are you?" Asked Ranma. Something about
the way the man was looking at him bothered Ranma. It was like he
was studying him.
"I'm Kaji Ryoji. I've been asked to attend this monumental
event."
"Really? Why?" Asked Ranma.
**FLASHBACK**
"Kaji?" Kaji looked up from his cafeteria breakfast to see
Misato looking at him with a hopeful expression.
"Yes Misato?"
"Umm I have a small favor to ask."
"Well Misato the hotels don't op...OW OW OW Its just a
joke Ow!" Misato calmed down and stop hitting him. "So what do
you need?"
"You know of Ranma Saotome right?"
Kaji took interest. "Isn't he the new pilot of unit 03?"
"Yes. Now you might of heard that he and Asuka aren't getting
along" Kaji nodded. He had heard that Asuka wasn't being very friendly
with the new pilot. "Well Ranma has decide to reach some agreement
with her later on today. I was hoping that you could be there when he
does."
"Oh? Why do you want me there?"
Misato's face started to get a little red. "Well you know Asuka
has had a little crush on you. And I um thought that um..."
"You think that if I'm there she'll behave herself more." Kaji
finished for her.
"Ahh yeah." Said Misato looking a little sheepish.
**END FLASHBACK**
"Let's just say I'm here for moral support." Said Kaji as he
rang the doorbell. A short while later Misato opened the door.
"Oh your here come in." Said the smiling yet tired looking
woman. *This whole thing with Shinji must be getting to her.* Thought
Kaji as he and Ranma entered the apartment. Turning her head Misato
called out. "ASUKA you've got a guest."
"Who is it Misato?" Asked Asuka coming down the hallway
in a tight pair of jean shorts and a small striped T-shirt. Her face lit up
when she saw Kaji, then quickly dropped when she noticed Ranma.
"Please tell me it's not the Hydrosexual."
*Wow she looked so cute there for a while. Those cloths really
do something for her bod.....BAKA that isn't why you're here.*
Ranma cleared his head as Misato and Kaji sat down at the couch.
"Umm Asuka we need to talk."
"Oh and what do we need to talk about?"
"I think we need to stop fighting at least at work."
Asuka narrowed her eyes. "And why should I care about
what YOU think!"
Ranma tried to keep calm. "Asuka whither you like it or not
we're going to be working together. I think it would be better if we
helped each other out."
"I don't NEED your help Ranma!"
Ranma could feel his control slipping. Asuka seemed to want
a fight. "Are you sure? Think about what happen last time."
"Hey I'm not the one who lost his head!"
Ranma lost it. "Oh yeah at least I didn't lose my head doing
something stupid like charging an angel with no arms!"
"He's got a point there." Added in Kaji.
"Shut up Kaji!"
Kaji was taken back. Ever since he'd know Asuka, she had
never snapped back at him. She had been suspicious of him, and upset
with him, but never out right yelled at him. Misato frowned. *Shit!
Asuka must be more pissed than I thought. There goes plan A.* Of
course Misato, being Misato, didn't have a plan B.
Asuka turned back to Ranma. "And so what! You were the
one stupid enough to jump in front of the Angel when it attacked!"
"Well what was I supposed to do huh!? Let that thing cut off
your head! It could have very well killed you! It damn near killed me!"
Yelled Ranma.
"I told you before Ranma. I don't NEED you to save me from
the Angels!"
Ranma stopped. There it was again, that saying that had
bothered him so much back at the hospital. Remembering what Ritsuko
had told him, Ranma began to think. Why did it bother him so much?
A mental light turned on in his head as he got an idea. Calming himself
down, Ranma looked at Asuka.
"Maybe it's not the Angels you need to be saved from."
"Huh?"
"Charging that Angel with no arms. Pretty unbecoming and
stupid for an EVA pilot."
"W-WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"
Both Kaji and Misato gulped. Ranma was now entering a
very live N2 minefield. Criticizing Asuka's looks or attitude was one
thing, but Ranma was now criticizing her ability as a EVA pilot.
Something that was her life and that she took a lot of pride in.
"What were you hoping to accomplish huh!? Your a reckless
pilot. You seemed to have no regard for you life. You're your own
worst enemy Asuka!"
Asuka slapped Ranma, who didn't bother to dodge or stop it.
"Who the hell are you tell me how to pilot an EVA!? Your the LAST
person I need advice from!"
Asuka then turned to leave. Ranma thought about letting her
go, but shook his head. He wanted this resolved now. Grabbing Asuka's
arm, Ranma pulled her back.
"That's another thing! What do you have against me Asuka!?
Ever since I got here, you've treated me like I beat your family. Why
do you hate me so much?"
Asuka pushed his arm off and slapped him again. "I don't
have to tell you why!"
"That's not an answer Asuka." Said Misato. She wasn't sure
what Ranma was doing was wise, but she might as well help him.
Ranma relaxed a little. At least he wasn't doing this alone.
"Stay out of this Misato!" Yelled Asuka she then turned back
to Ranma shaking. "And YOU! You wanna know why I hate you!?
It's because I HATE you! I hate you! I hate Rei! I hate Shinji! I hate
all of you!" Ranma was taken back by Asuka's viciousness. Every
nerve in his body was telling him to turn and run now. He thought
things might get bad, but he wasn't prepared for THIS. It would be
a lot easier to run away now and forget about it. Ranma held his
ground however. Asuka began to reinforce her points by beating her
fist on Ranma's chest. "Shinji's the great third child and Misato's darling!
Rei's the commander own little doll! And your the incredible Hydrosexual
who can change sex and blowup Angels without weapons! Your all so
great! Your all so wonderful! Your all so much better at piloting! Your
all so much better at fighting! Your all so much....much..b-bet..b-better
than me."
Her anger exhausted, Asuka collapsed unto the floor and began
sobbing. Misato was surprised by this turn of events. Although she
knew Asuka could cry, Misato had never seen her cry in public.
Always before Asuka would hide in her room, lock herself in the
bathroom, or go somewhere else where she couldn't be seen. Misato
looked at Ranma, he clearly wasn't ready for this, he looked like he
was ready to bolt. She had to give him credit though, Shinji or any
other boy would have probably hauled ass long ago. Kaji began to
get up to help, but Misato grabbed his arm, pulled him back down,
and with a look told him to stay down. Misato felt that if anything was
to come out of this, Ranma was going to have to do it himself.
Ranma looked at Asuka in shock. *Oh crap! What am I going
to do now!?* Gone was the mean, and angry Asuka that he was use
to. In her place was this crying girl who looked very vulnerable and
hurt. Ranma couldn't but feel that this was his fault. Bending down he
spoke to her nervously.
"Asuka I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to....Please don't cry."
Asuka cursed herself. How could she let Ranma do this to
her. Making her cry in front of everyone. Worse, making her cry in
front of Kaji! She hated Ranma for doing this to her. She hated herself
even more, for letting him do this to her. She wanted to jump up and
scream at Ranma to leave her alone. Her trusted anger was gone
however and Ranma's clumsy comical attempts at trying to cheer her up
were not helping it return. All she could do was mutter out a few words.
"G-Go away. I-I don't want your pity."
Ranma looked at Asuka. Part of him wanted to say "Fine be
that way! Jeez, this is what I get for trying to help!". Asuka's continued
crying however, had defused allot of his anger. Ranma was getting
worried. Misato had told him how much being the best meant to
Asuka, but he had no real idea how much until today. Thinking
desperately, Ranma try to come up with something to help her. Getting
an idea Ranma began to speak.
"Do you think being hateful and mean to everyone will make
you a better pilot?"
"no..I mean YES! I...just leave me alone."
Ranma pressed on. "Have you thought of trying to make
yourself a better pilot?"
"W-What?"
"Maybe you should try making yourself a better pilot. I might
be able to help you."
Asuka sniffed. "What can you do?"
Ranma gulped. "I can try to teach you martial arts. I don't
think I can teach you the fancy moves, I'm not even sure how I do
them. I think I can teach you the other stuff though." Ranma looked
at Asuka, she looked unsure. "Please Asuka, I don't think I hate you
Asuka and I don't want to keep fighting. What do you have to lose."
Asuka thought about what Ranma said. He seemed sincere,
but she did she want his help. But Asuka had always thought she didn't
need anyone. "H-How would that help? Why should I?"
"It could improve your discipline and um help your fighting. Asuka
I-I know you have your pride, I do too. But this isn't some game were
playing. Allot of people are counting on us to defined them. It'll work
better if we help each other."
Could Ranma really help? Asuka didn't know. He did have
a point though, what they were doing wasn't a game. Besides what
did she really have to lose. "O-Okay, I'll try. When do we start?"
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Asuka, he could
tell she wasn't too sure about this. *When should I start?* Thought
Ranma. He doubted that she would like to be seen learning anything
from him, so the school was out. "How about after school at the NERV
pilot fitness room."
Slowly getting up, Asuka just nodded. "Fine. Now if you'll
excuse me. I really like to be alone right now." Asuka turned to head
to her room, but then stopped. Facing Ranma again, Asuka narrowed
her blue eyes again. "Know this Ranma. I'm doing this so I can KICK YOUR ASS!" That said she turned around and headed for the hall.
Ranma almost collapsed, as he watched Asuka go to her
room. He then felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up he saw Misato
smiling.
"You did good, Ranma." *Who knows maybe learning martial
arts from Ranma might get Asuka out that shell of hers.*
"Y-Yeah. I-I guess so." Said Ranma as he turned to leave the
apartment. As he walked down the hall, Ranma thought about Asuka's
breakdown. *What the heck happen to her? Misato said she had
reasons for being the way she was, but what?* What ever it was,
Ranma figured it must have been bad. She had look so hurt and
vulnerable that time. *I just don't know.*
*****
Shinji found himself back on his beach. He started to walk
along the shore. He stopped however, when he came face-to-face
with a smiling and very NAKED Misato. "Hey Shinji! Want to join
with me? To become of one body and one mind. It will be really nice."
Shinji didn't know quit what to do. Having the most popular
and beautiful woman in NERV standing before him naked was enough
to turn him into jello. However something about what she asked
bothered him. Shinji quickly turned left only to be confronted with a
naked Asuka. "Hey Shinji you idiot! Want to join with me? To become
of one body and one mind. It'll be awesome!"
Turning right Shinji saw Rei also naked. "Ikari. Do you want
to join with me? To become of one body and one mind. It will be
very pleasant."
Having nowhere else to go and feeling the need to get away,
Shinji did a 180 and almost ran into a naked Ranma-chan. *RANMA
-CHAN!?* "Yo Shinji! Wanna join with me? To become of one
body and one mind. It will be so cool!"
Shinji now had nowhere to run and was beginning to worry.
The three girls and one woman then merged into one person. The new
woman had Ranma-chan's body, Rei's face, Asuka's hair, and Misato's
height. Despite the fact that there was now only one person with him,
Shinji still couldn't get away. "Hey Shinji! Do you want to join with
me? To become of one body and one mind. It will be so wonderful.
Release your soul."
*****
"OK lets get this started." Ordered Ritsuko. Today was the
day that they were going to try to get Shinji back. Ritsuko looked on
as the bridge bunnies began their jobs. She had been working on this
plan for twenty-eight days and was confident it would work. It had to
work. Failure, Ritsuko felt, would have a negative effect on Ranma
and Misato.
"Putting in first setting.....First setting locked, no faults."
"Putting in second setting......Second setting locked, no faults."
"Putting in third setting..."
"It's rejecting the third setting!" Yelled Maya as she looked at
her red flashing screen. Misato looked at Ritsuko worried.
"W-What does that mean?" She asked.
"It means it isn't working." Said Ritsuko looking down at
Maya's screen. "OK let's reset everything. We'll have the Magi go
over the new data and try again tonight."
"Resetting.....It's not excepting the reset codes!" yelled Aoba
as the room flooded with red warning lights.
"It's beginning the eject sequence!"
"NO! Stop the eject NOW!"
"It's not working! It won't accept the cancel code!"
Ritsuko turned to Maya. "Ignore the third setting! Accelerate
the recovery operation! We have to get Shinji out now before the
entry plug drains the LCL!"
"It's not working!" Yelled Maya as the entry plug began to
twist out of unit 01. Ritsuko looked up. "Don't you want to come
back, Shinji?"
Shinji's dream woman started to disappear as an earthquake
hit Shinji's beach full force. *W-What's happaning!?* Shinji found
himself in the elevator with Rei.
"Why are you here?" Asked Rei.
"I'm here because I have to be here." Shinji felt something
odd about this. Something about Rei seemed wrong, like this person
really wasn't Rei. Strangely though the person seemed familiar.
"Are you happy here?"
"Yes am happy here."
"Why are you happy?" Asked Rei as she continued her
interrogation.
"I'm happy because I have friends here and I'm needed here."
"And that is why your happy?"
"Yes." Answered Shinji.
"What of your father?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I want to know him. Other times
I think he's crulist man on earth. I-I just don't know."
"Do you want to go back?"
"I-I don't know."
Misato watched in horror as the entry plug hatch opened and
the LCL flowed out of it, along with Shinji's empty plug suit. Misato
looked at Ritsuko who just shook her head. "N-No. NOO! SHINJI!"
Misato ran from the control room to the EVA cages. Shinji
couldn't be gone, she refused to believe that. Picking up Shinji's plug
suit, she began crying. "Damnit! Give him back! Give me back my
Shinji!"
"Huh!?" Shinji snapped awake. Looking around he found
himself in a hospital room. Shinji looked up at the ceiling.
"Unfamiliar ceiling."
*Do you want to go back?*
"I-I still don't know? I..."
*There are those that care for you.* The hospital room was
replaced with a blurry picture of a woman in a red coat.
"M-Misato?....Wait it isn't Misato. T-That smell. I know that
smell. That's.....M-Mother?" Shinji now found himself floating in a sea
of green. Lost in this sea, he could hear voices.
"Second Impact has occurred. Must we raise him in these hell?"
"It doesn't matter were we raise him. He'll always be home as
long as he's with me."
"Of course. Your right."
"So have decided yet?"
"Yes I have. If it's a boy Shinji. If it's a girl Rei."
(giggle) "Shinji, Rei good names."
"Mother!" Shinji began to float towards a blue light. As he
approached the blue light became red.
Misato was still crying and holding Shinji's plug suit when she
heard a loud splash. looking up she could see a red glow in the EVA's
core began to fade, but it was unimportant. What was important, was
who was now laying in front of the core.
"S-SHINJI!"
*****
"Well it looks like the restoration of unit 01 should be done
tomorrow." Said Ritsuko riding in Misato's car back to the apartment.
"So, given the power of god, mankind still treats it as matter
of fact." Said Misato, who was driving.
"I should hardly say so!" Replied Ritsuko, she felt that Misato
was wrong thinking she didn't have a conscience. "Speaking of which.
I heard the committee is considering freezing the EVA series."
"The Evangelion Android. It may be on our side but who
knows what lurks in that black box......I'm just glad we got Shinji back."
"No thanks to me. The should probably all go to you.....Hey
wanna go bar hoping tonight?"
"Umm..sorry I can't." Said Misato as she stopped the car in
front of Ritsuko's Apartment building. "I've got things I've got to do
tonight."
"Oh all right." Said Ritsuko as she got out of the car. She
watched as Misato waved good bye and drove off down the street.
"Shinji's just been saved and she's already running off to her lover?
(sigh) Well I guess I can't blame her."
Later that night.
"Ritsuko must think I'm disgusting." Said Misato, laying on
Kaji's chest.
"Giving in to your sexual desires makes you appear normal.
Works well for intelligence. Good deception."
"Oh who are you deceiving NERV intelligence or the commander
and Ritsuko.....or me?"
"No no! Just me." Replied Kaji as he looked at the ceiling.
"You ignore others, but you demand attention. I was right. You
are just like dad." Misato rolled off Kaji and lit a cigarette.
"I didn't know you still smoked."
"I only do after something like this. And ONLY you know.
So here's smoke in your eyes." Said Misato blowing some smoke in
Kaji's face.
"I'm honored."
"So how instrumentality going. Adam can wipe out all life on
earth. If so why's he kept here?"
"Is that why you came to see me?"
"Yes." Misato giggled. "Well maybe not the only reason."
"To be used as my lady's cat paw. I can think of no better
service."
"What is commander Ikari and NERV really up to?"
"I would give any answer to you. But unfortunately I do not
know. To tell the truth, he's kept to himself for the past month or so.
Since the new pilot arrived." Said Kaji as he slide his hand down her
side.
"Hey! You can't dodge my questions by doing that! Mmm Stop!
W-what!? Uhh Don't put strange stuff in THERE! Ahh I-I can't believe
this..." After a few annoying (and somewhat pleasurable) seconds,
Misato got said "strange stuff" out of "THERE". Placing the small red
and white capsule on the night stand, She looked at it. "What is this?"
"It's a gift. The first in eight years." Misato blinked, as Kaji
continued to look up at the ceiling. "and maybe the last."
To be continued.
Coming next:
SEELE makes it's move against Ranma.
AND
People have been asking for it. We'll finally get a look at Nerima, now
that Ranma's gone.
