SINKING IN TO THE VIOLENT TIDE

Misato watched the lift move as Mari was brought up slowly to unit 02 entry plug she was practically dancing about she could see her from the lower testing bay window were unit 02 had been moved to. Its arms and chest had been restrained but not its hands and legs the idea was if the test went wrong, they could get the plug out quickly and open it before the Evangelion broke loose.

She pressed the console so she could hear her voice. "Okay Mari, get in." She heard Mari's voice come back over the speaker. "This is so exciting." Maya breathed in deeply. "Yeah so exciting like we don't know how this will turn out, I've said to Ritsuko before that this is dangerous and she always ignores me, plus I should be with Asuka now not here." Makoto looked at his console. "None of us want to be here, we've all ridden this horse before and it always ends with a painful kick to the nuts."

Shigeru turned the lights on below which flooded the bay revealing unit 02. "Yeah well no one cares about what we say, when the top heads are talking." He looked at unit 02's green eyes. "I just know its going be a lot worse this time I can feel it." Misato turned to Maya. "How is Asuka? I heard yesterday was very bad." She had gone to the hospital wing after Asuka's grandmother had left but Asuka had been sleeping so she had just left her alone. Maya breathed in painful. "Yes it was bad yesterday she was very out of it but today will be much worse."

She turned meeting the dark haired woman's concerned gaze. "Her left eye is ruined, it's never going to see again and if she does it will be nothing but a blur." She shook her head sadly. "She could have a robot replacement but I don't see her doing that, plus the technology still isn't perfect it's just too new and not tested well enough and you need medication just so the body doesn't reject the eye and it's not always successful even with the medication. Her other option is stem cell surgery but with eyeballs is still not very successful because it doesn't make a perfect iris pattern copy and it could cause her problems in the future as some of Nerv's doors are iris code locks and the match has to be perfect and a wrong iris code means she'll probably get locked out accidentally or set of alarms and again she'll have to take medication for the rest of her life and for some people it causes illness and it makes them sick."

Kaji looked up slightly from his holographic desk. "Asuka won't want the stem cell replacement because she won't want medication that might make her ill." Misato looked down sadly. "When I get a chance I'll talk with her maybe I can talk her in to robotic option."

She looked up watched as huge clamps were put on to the entry plug which had been attached to cables which led in to an inner bay the idea was that the workers could use these massive cables to pull the entry plug out and pull it in to a open bay above. Rei looked down from the window high above with Shinji the others weren't allowed to watch only them they could hear both Mari's voice and Maya's voice over the intercom in the room bellow them. "She's such a fool we all know how this will turn out."

Shinji looked up he could see his father and Ritsuko standing looking down from a higher level well out of the danger zone he felt his hand form a fist. "Our father doesn't care I mean I don't understand it, is he trying this because he wants to replace Asuka on the program with Mari?" Rei looked out through the thick glass. "We both know that he has always wanted interchangeable units but it has never worked and all of his experiments have been failures. I've heard Ritsuko also wants to create a duel piloting system but all of her trials and tests with fake pilot dummy plugs have been just as terrible." Shinji folded his arms. "He'll probably say that this experiment today was all for the good of the war."

Rei shook her head. "Everything he does is just to better him self its just we are the ones who suffer to see his twisted dreams for filled, I mean when I have been in the hospital wing he never visited me." She breathed in deeply. "He didn't visit you ether." She looked down sadly. "This test is going to be a mess just like the other one." Shinji eased up his hand. "I would have taken that test Rei I was happy to take it." Rei shook her head. "You can't always protect me Shinji but I know now that I did that test for all the wrong reasons." Shinji looked at her for a long moment before speaking. "In what way?" Rei breathed in painfully. "I just wanted to prove myself I thought father might take more notice of me but I never even got his attention." She pushed her short hair back. "I wanted to prove that I was brave like you and Asuka and not just a mark's woman." Shinji put his hand around her shoulder. "You have nothing to prove to anyone Rei least of all me or Asuka you're as just as brave as we are." Rei looked down sadly. "No I'm not Shinji and that's the problem, you two when it counts are always in the right place at the right time you have a controlled berserk mode and Asuka uses beast mode quite often, I have never even used the beast mode because it terrifies me so much."

She eyed unit 02 two whose green eyes were now glowing. "I also believe that they brought in Mari because her hit ratio is far better than mine and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. I think they want to replace Asuka as well, this is what this test is all about because they already feel that she's not going to recover from this incident."

Mari eased herself slowly in to the pilots seat she sat back feeling the seat slowly adjust to her legs as Asuka was slightly smaller than her so her legs were seated differently she looked up as the door was closed and locked and everything turned to pitch black. "Ready." Maya's voice came over the com. "Entry plug inserted, filling with LCL." Mari felt the liquid as it poured out filling the inside which was still dark. She opened her mouth letting it in shuffling uncomfortably as the weird sensation vanished as her lungs got used to the liquid which was helping her to breath. She couldn't see anything Maya's voice came again. "LCL filled Evangelion working normally, no anomalies, could the pilot please speak?" Mari looked up. "Testing…testing can you hear me out there?" Maya's voice came again. "Yes preparing you now for full activation, please stand by."

Mari looked up as every screen around her lit up as red code ran through them." It stopped as everything faded away and outside appeared. She looked around as a very familiar smell hit her nose. "Smell's like Asuka in here." Maya's voice came again filled with confusion. "Please clarify that comment." Mari breathed in deeply. "It smells like Asuka, Asuka always stinks of sunflowers, what's wrong with you people don't you ever smell it on her, it's really intense?" Misato's voice hit the air. "No we don't." Her voice came again. "Please begin the test and raise the left lower arm." Mari took hold of the controls. "You know if this test is successful maybe you can paint this ugly beast pink, it would look far better in pink than this crappy red colour."

Misato's voice hit the air though she could hear the anger in every word. "Please get on with the tests Mari this unit is not yours, its Asuka's and this is no more than a test." Mari began to shift the controls which were surprisingly stiff raising the lower left arm. "You know you guys really need to fix these controls their really fucking stiff." Maya's voice came again. "Unit 02's inner controls were tested two days ago the specialists said they were to loose from over use and from being pulled around violently so they corrected them." Mari started to move the huge fingers. "Yeah well for me it's really feels really stiff, you might want to send the specialists back in here when I'm done, to fix it."

8

Ara slowly unwrapped the thick bandage around Asuka's left eye which had now healed fully she already knew what the result was but it would be really heart breaking news for this young woman and she was not Maya. Maya knew how to handle Asuka she didn't and she wished she could be here right now to tell her because she was dreading the reaction. Though Asuka wasn't out of it like she had been yesterday she was very downhearted and depressed which had to be because of the pain and inability to really move her now healed legs with out incredible pain. She caught sight of the left eye which had a scar running through it, it had gone a cloudy while the pupil had gone white though it was clear that she could open and close it and move it around. Asuka looked up slightly. "I can't see anything." Ara took in a deep breath bracing her self. "I'm sorry Asuka but your eye took way to much retina damage." Asuka looked down feeling her insides twist up painful. "You're meant to be the doctors you're meant to fix this kind of thing."

Ara looked at her for a long moment. "We still might be able to save your eye Asuka." Asuka put her hands together not buying her words for a second. "No you can't that's the whole problem isn't it? Because we both know the next steps it's ether a robotic eye which might be rejected by my body or a stem cell one and from what I've heard stem cell surgery on eyes has been an utter failure and the medication makes most people ill." She looked around with her good eye. "Frankly I'd rather keep the worthless eye than go down ether of those paths." Ara breathed in personally she had expected more shouting, more anger but there was nothing just sadness. "The media will probably like it they'll call it a war wound."

Asuka picked up the mirror looking at her scared left eye which was deeply cloudy. "It's not even a war wound, it's a mark of someone else’s contempt and hatred for me." She put the mirror down. "Guess Mari finally got what she always wanted which was to see me broken and ruined on the outside as well as the inside." Ara folded her arms. "Your not ruined Asuka, you have a long life to lead as an Evangelion pilot, loosing an eye should not effect your ability's as you don't need perfect vision as the controls can compensate for any problems in vision you'll only have to work on getting around a left eye blind spot."

Asuka eyed her for a long moment before speaking not caring that her voice was thick with bitter sarcasm. "It may have escaped your notice but I can't even walk right now, I don't see myself walking over and sitting in an entry plug." Ara breathed in deeply. "Tomorrow you will start walking Maya has arranged that already for you and it will be hard for you Asuka but maybe you being you, you'll enjoy the challenge." Asuka looked down sadly. "I doubt that."

Ara moved over to her bed side pushing the desk over so she could see the walkman. "Your friends Rei and Shinji were here yesterday they left you their walkman they thought it might make you feel better." Asuka looked at the old walkman which was very old and very much a collectable now she looked down realizing that she had no real memory of them or yesterday it was all a horrible blur of images that didn't make any sense. "I don't remember them being here." Ara shook head sadly. "You were somewhat out of it Asuka, they were very kind to you and after they left your grandmother and Misato visited you but you were asleep." Asuka put a hand on her face. "No offence but can you please leave me I just want to be alone for a while."

Ara looked up slightly. "Of cause if you need anything just press your buzzer okay?" Asuka nodded watching as she left, she eyed the things in on her table she picked up the action figure of herself dressed in red in some strong stance with both eyes gleaming. She felt the rage before she could stop it, she knew even before she threw the packaged toy that it was the wrong action but it just reminded her off the fact that she didn't have two eyes or even that plug suit anymore. She watched as the action figure smashed in to the wall close by hitting the floor intact due to the boxing she couldn't really stop the tears as they came from both eyes, she should have known when this happened that it would be the outcome, she had tried so hard to mentally prepare for it but it made no difference what so ever.

She had no idea where Maya was but she wished she could confine in her unlike Misato she felt she could just talk to her. She was the first person in her life to call her out on her bad behaviour and she'd been the one person who had forced her to confront her sexuality when she just hadn't wanted to. She leaned forward putting her head on the table wishing that today she had not woken up to this.

8

Mari looked around her. "How is my sync ratio?" Maya's voice hit the air again. "Holding no problems, please raise the other arm." Mari smirked so much for Rei's opinion, she was doing perfectly okay she watched as the other arm moved as she closed the fingers. "I really don't get what you people are all so worried about I'm having no bad reaction from this." Clearly Rei was just weak and pathetic personally she had never understood her. Why Rei was on the program anyway? She was so stand off from the others even in battle and she was forever being protected by her brother. She was always behind the lines in simulations forever going by the rules and being a good polite well mannered woman.

It was just no way to fight your battles but she was there just like Shinji because she was the director's daughters there was no other reason for her to be here and unlike her Shinji at least had courage. Even if Asuka had come on to her years ago, she just didn't see why she would even bother Rei wasn't that much to look at either.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She eased up her hand looking at the monitor everything was working fine. She leaned back she would love to be able to use this unit in its beast mode form it would be something else and it wasn't like Asuka was ever going to pilot again anyway she was crippled. She knew that, that was why she was sitting in here now because the director saw that Asuka was now a wash out and they needed a better replacement which was her. She could do anything Asuka could do and she would prove today that she had what it took to pilot this animal. She lowered both hands and then raised them. "You know I really don't get what all the fuss is about, if you release the arm locks I can raise the arm fully."

Misato's voice hit the air. "That's not part of the test Mari and your not over the four minute danger zone, Rei began to experience things before this." Mari turned seeing the timer behind her which was counting up to three minutes. "Oh come on this is stupid I'm at three minutes, release the locks!" She breathed out feeling a strange sensation of tightness in her chest but ignored it as she moved her hand up adjusting her red glasses. "I can control Asuka's hunk of fucking junk so release the locks!"

"Die with me."

Mari felt her body tense in the seat as everything went cold and the hairs on the back off her neck stood up. "Hey who ever just said that? You know it's not funny to pull that ghostly voice kind of shit right now!" Misato's voice hit the air. "No one said anything Mari." Mari looked around her nervously. "I heard something, plus can you raise the temperature in here its freezing." Maya spoke the confusion in her voice. "The temperature is normal if we raise it we could hurt you."

Mari looked around as the voice came again. "Die with me!" She breathed suddenly feeling very nervous. "Who ever it is that's making that voice could you please cut it out, I feel like I'm in a horror movie or something!" Maya's spoke the concern in her voice. "Mari you need to calm down your heart rate is rising." Mari felt her whole body shiver as the voice came again but this time it was filled with pure hatred. "You're not my daughter, you're the other girl." Mari hands let go out of the controls on their own as what felt like an agonizing weight hit her chest she couldn't breathe it was like crushing sensation like a python had wrapped its coils around parts of her body.

She opened her mouth as a rush of LCL came out along with the full contents of her stomach. All of the screens around her suddenly went black as they filled with red waves of light and the pain became worse as her hand was suddenly twisted in the opposite direction like someone was trying to break it, her head was suddenly filled with images that she couldn't make any sense off.

White rooms blending in to one another and noises and voices screaming and so much pain she didn't hear self as she began to scream. Misato looked up as all at once as the sync broke and the room descended in chaos as Mari's heart rate soared through the roof followed by her scream of pure agony. "Eject her!" She watched as unit 02 suddenly moved violently struggling inside its restraints as it's mouth opened followed by an inhuman roar as the huge human teeth revealed themselves, she knew this shit was coming but seeing it play out still angered her.

Shigeru looked up typing faster. "The pilot won't eject! I'm running all the codes now and the entry plug just isn't coming free, it's stuck." Misato turned sharply. "Turn off its S² Engine!" Makoto typed feeling the frustration mount they had been able to eject Rei when this had happened the last time so why wasn't it working now with unit 02? He typed in the codes activating the shut down. "It will take four minutes to power down in this fully operational state it's not like the other tests we do above ground where the pilot's controls are shut down." Misato moved over to his desk. "Power it down now I don't care about the time!"

Rei looked down in horror as unit 02's arm began to bend one of the arm restraint as it fury and anger took over she could hear Mari's screaming from inside along with her begging for to them to get her out as the huge cables pulled taught as the workers on the other side of the bay tried desperately to yank out the entry plug with there machinery. There was a grinding sound as it began to come free but it was to late as unit 02's arm smashed fully free of the restraint as it grabbed the chest clamp wrenching it off in one go followed by its other arm coming free. Its huge feet walked forward as one of the red hands moved to its head as it roared again making its pain known.

The entry plug was suddenly thrown out full force causing it to smash into the wall behind as the LCL inside sprayed out everywhere. The cables started working instantly pulling it up in to the huge bay as the workers yanked open the door as they ran inside grabbing Mari pulling her free only for a red fist to collide with the side of the bay opening smashing the side of it apart as the workers tried to desperately get away. The huge hand found its way the bay opening as it tour up the bay's floor as the workers picked up the unconscious Mari running with her towards the exist door. The unit turned its head towards them as it started to walk forward towards their window. Maya's voice came filled with panic. "Get away from the window both of you!"

Rei felt Shinji's hand as he grabbed her arm pulling her back the units hand came close to the window but didn't break it instead it leaned in closer looking in more with keen interest its other hand came up as it pressed against the windows other side wall. The four huge green eyes looked in as it head leaned in even closer but it made no violent actions. The glowing in the eyes went black as the S² Engine shut down completely and its body slumped forward caused the bottom jaw to hit the glass cracking it.

Misato's voice hit the air filled with panic. "Rei, Shinji are you okay?" Shinji moved over to the table close by pressing the speaker com button. "We are both fine, it didn't attack us, it was acting more curious." A second voice from the inner bay spoke. "The pilot is alive but her heartbeat is very shallow, it looks like she was almost asphyxiated, it's like someone tried to strangle her." There was a long pause. "We are sending her to the lower medical wing level right now." Shinji looked up at the now turned of unit 02. "Why didn't it attack us?" Rei looked up in confusion. "I don't know, when I was in unit 03 it attacked anyone and everything in the bay I thought unit 02 would do the same." Shinji put his arm around her. "I'm just glad your okay."

Misato put a hand on her face pressing the com so she could speak to the team on the other side privately. "Please ensure that Mari is not put anywhere near Asuka in the hospital wing and no one tell Asuka that this just happened or that anyone was testing her unit, today is not a good day for her." She sat back in her chair.

"What a fucking waste of my time." Kaji looked up at the upper window where Ritsuko and Gendo were looking out the anger in both there faces at the test's failure. "Well at least they can't blame us for this, we all said it wasn't going to work, we were all against it from the start." Misato put her feet up on the desk folding her arms. "And now we have another pilot in the hospital wing." Kaji shrugged as he looked up. "Well at least she's not dead." Misato turned eyeing him. "You're not helping!" Maya eyed the now shut down unit as she started running the data. "I don't get this though, it attacked the bay but not where Rei and Shinji were standing, I mean it was leaning in to look at the window like it was really curious."

She carried on looking at the data. "It's creepy, for a minute it was acting like it was alive but it makes no sense their not alive." Shigeru put a hand on his beard. "Could it have been trying to correct the pilot sync you know because Mari is the wrong pilot so it was using Asuka's back up data in the entry plug software to correct itself?" Maya breathed in deeply. "Yeah but that would still mean it was relaying her emotions and its impossible they are not meant to relay the pilots emotions and feelings with out the pilot being plugged in, I'll have to have the specialist team run a full diagnostic on its central core and entry plug. It has to some weird feed back loop error from Asuka's last training run did she protect Rei or Shinji on the last run?" Makoto brought up the training video on his hologram screen he swiped it watching as it landed on Maya's screen. "No she was paired with Mari it was only them fighting and the training run wasn't that brilliant to be honest, too much shoving over who got to do what."

Maya watched the video seeing what he meant as both units got in the way of each other while trying to fight the holograms. "This has to have come from Asuka's mind then." Misato breathed in deeply right now she wished she could just get drunk. "You're talking about residual memory that's impossible they told us that can't happen." Maya flipped the video away going to another file opening it. "No Ritsuko told you it was impossible and since when does anyone believe her? She hides everything including important information and she's even worse now that she's married to Gendo."

Kaji sat down in his chair. "She has a point you know." Maya began typing bringing up a different file watching as something came up. "I don't believe this, there's an actual memory wave in the core and its one of Asuka's and it's really strong." She watched as everyone suddenly got up gathering around her she could see that Gendo and Ritsuko had moved away from the window above.

She eased out her tablet from lap coat pocket swiping a copy of the memory over so could access it on her personal files rather than on the central computer which she had turned off. She got up as everyone followed her she began typing watching as the conversion to picture started finishing in seconds. "Okay no one says what you see here, you understand?" She watched as they all nodded she pressed it watching as a black and white images started coming through they were difficult to make out as they were shadowy and grainy.

Makoto leaned closer. "Why is it black and white I thought memories were in colour?" Maya looked closer. "Because this isn't a memory, it's a dream." Misato blinked in confusion. "How does a dream get in to unit 02's core, its not like Asuka's ever fallen asleep inside the entry plug?" Maya watched as the images suddenly became very detailed with black and white sunflowers and a shadowy figure walking through them and almost childlike movement of someone followed them through the fields the figure stopped almost vanishing as the person looked around seeing nothing.

The images suddenly changed to colour but there no was no real detail, again just shadowy figures as Asuka's own voice hit the air but it was filled with this ravenous seducing edge. "We could have lots of fun together just you and me." Rei's voice suddenly hit the air though it was filled with fear and anxiety. "Go away Asuka." Asuka's voice came again though even more forceful. "Oh what so you don't want to try it you know just once with me? You're such a verfickte prude." Rei's voice came again but it sounded angry. "No I don't want to try anything with you Asuka because I know how your twisted mind works."

Misato blinked as she eyed the video. "Is this actual memory or a dream, because this sounds so much like Asuka and Rei when they were much younger?" Everyone eyed her in annoyance as Maya looked up pausing the video for a second. "Memory is easier to copy, dreams not so much, because they are a mix of both and they get messed up, the four magi computers are just making their best guess, it's not always accurate." She pressed again watching as the shadows shifted and Rei's voice came filled with fright. "Get off my hand Asuka!"

Asuka voice came but this time with incredible aggression. "You know you smell like fresh alpine forest I bet…" What ever words were about to come never came as the sudden violently slapping sound hit the air and Rei's voice came again but with just as much aggression back. "No means no get that through your thick skull Asuka, it still confuses me as to why they even put you on this program because you're such an awful person and I can't stand you, all you care about is yourself and your ego." The memory suddenly shifted to a different place it was lighter but still very difficult to make out people and this time Shinji's voice was the one that spoke but his tone was filled with sadness. "How do I feel Asuka, I feel tired and you make everything so difficult."

Asuka's voice came again but it was sad and dejected. "That why I have to end this, for both of us because the future doesn't hold bright things for us." Shinji's voice came again though filled with confusion. "I want to help you Asuka please help me understand." Asuka's voice came again but it sounded deeply depressed. "You can't make this right for me Shinji."

There was the sound a chair scuffing. "I can't explain this to you in a way that makes sense other than to say all I do is hurt you, I used you for my own personal gain, I'm a vile disgusting person and I realize that now and I don't deserve your respect or even your kindness as I've never been kind to you or your sister in all these years." There was a long sad pause. "I shouldn't destroy you or your happiness just to benefit myself, breaking you to make me feel better is just cruel. The truth is I don't know how to love or what love feels other than the love my Mama and Grandma gave me but I'm not in the right place or mind to give you the love you deserve you should be with some one who loves you."

The sound of a handle turning could be heard in the distance. "Know this though I'm sorry for all the times I put you down and for all the times I beat you and for every time I made you think that you were less when you aren't and for all of the times when I bullied your sister hurt her feelings, it will never happen again that I can promise." Maya watched as the imagery ended. "Now I'm just confused the last parts of this are what seem to be perfect memory recall but the start is a dream, how do these two get mixed up like that?"

Kaji breathed in deeply. "Talk about bringing up salted emotional wounds I mean okay we can't see through her eyes it's fuzzy but the voices were so clear." Misato put a hand on her face. "Still makes no sense though why these memories why that dream all wrapped up in one like this, its odd?" She eyed unit 02 which was now being dragged away from the glass though Rei and Shinji were no longer there. "Plus both memories of Shinji and Rei are really negative not positive yet the unit didn't attack."

Maya looked at the screen. "May be the part we are missing here is Asuka's emotions we get how she's acting and speaking but not how she feels subconsciously, maybe in these memories she cares even though in one of them she's being real nasty. If the Evangelion is picked up on this and there really strong it would explain what's going on. Also this brings the way we look at Evangelion's into a whole new light, up to now we had no idea that after so many years of use they could start to retain the pilot's memories and even dreams and use them to navigate people and surroundings in that they can distinguish between friend and foe."

She eyed unit 02 which was now being pulled in to upright position by the workers while another set of workers were checking inside the opened entry plug for damage. "Unit 02 has been running for nine years units 01 and 00 slightly longer but not by much, there's no telling what's going on inside them." She raised her hand. "You have to give me more time because I need to analyze this further." Misato looked up. "Yeah well we need to find out what this is all about it's clearly something new, I mean maybe this would explain the twitching we have been seeing in certain units."

End of part 8

Silvermoonlight