From: "JOYCE K WAKABAYASHI" Subject: [Eva/Xover][FanFic] WITHOUT FOUNDATION Yep, it's another Eva/X-file crossover. I think this is better than the last one. This one mentions a character from Tokyo Babylon & X 1999. In terms of story arc chronology this is pre- Last Photograph. If you have any questions regarding this story, please mail at mobiusklein@prodigy.net. Asuka hovered over Shinji's hospital bed. He was unconscious with an oxygen mask over his face. There were several bruises and cuts on his body and his usually smooth face was bristly with stubble. He looked as if he hadn't been fed much during his lost time. The doctors could tell her nothing about what had happened to him. He'd been missing for over a month, that baka. His apartment had been broken into and stuff strewn all over the place. He had been right in the middle of a phone call to her, enthusias- tically talking about some new case when suddenly, she heard a door being kicked open and Shinji's mouth muffled. She had immediately hung up and called the police, then drove right over, but it was too late. She was here because she had been listed as his emergency contact. Even though she hated hospitals, she went down anyway, glad that he'd been found. Strange thing was that nobody could say how he showed up or who left him in front of the hospital. Someone really wanted to hurt him, she thought. But why go through all that effort and not kill him. She took his hand. His fingernails were chipped and worn looking as if he had to tried to claw his way out of something dark like a pit; but there was nothing underneath them. She frowned, and thought Nobody does that to my partner and gets away with this kind of crap. I hope he doesn't suffer brain damage. It's not like he needs to lose any more of them. Shinji suddenly stirred and opened his eyes. They looked glazed over, seemed to be in soft focus. Probably the anesthesia, she thought. He's not going to be in any position to tell me anything useful for a while. She put on her best smile and said, "So, who took off for a vacation without telling anyone?" He squeezed her hand. She took off the mask over his face and bent her head to his lips. "How long?" he whispered. She looked serious. "A month." He closed his eyes. "A month? What happened?" "I was going to ask you that." Oh, I hope he doesn't have amnesia. I'll have to get a doctor to do a drug test. "So tired," he whispered. "Go to sleep. I'll be here in the morning." she said. She put the mask back on him. She put his various toiletries on a nearby chair and walked out. Walking down the hospital corridor, she called up the Three Stooges, "Kensuke, Shinji's back." "Are you serious? How is he?" said the voice on the phone. "Someone beat him bad, but nothing's broken." "Do you know what happened to him?" "I have no idea." I'm scared, she thought, but she refused to say it out loud as if it would make it worse. "You don't have any projects you're working on,do you?" "Hell, no. Besides, I'd brush them aside since this is Shinji." "Good. I'll tell you more once I know more." she said, then she clicked off the phone. A week later, she and Kensuke still hadn't found out anything more other than there were no identifiable drugs in Shinji's body during the time of his hospitalization. A lot of drugs, she knew, had traces remaining for weeks, even months after use; but if there had been there were no traces now. There had been no other witnesses or clues to what had occurred. The police had kept their case open, but categorized it as a home invasion gone wrong. Whoever had done this were professionals. That disturbed her. There was something else that disturbed her. He'd gone back to work within a month, but he seemed to have none of the enthusiasm or dedication that he usually showed. She had chalked it up to shock and post-traumatic stress disorder; but when she looked into his eyes, there was something missing or something being suppressed. She picked up a file and said, "Oh, look, here's a report about an interdimensional port in Sunnydale. . ." "That's interesting. . ." he said without much enthusiasm. "Shinji. . ." He closed his eyes and said, "I'm thinking of closing down the Eva Files." The file slid to the floor and Asuka stood up, stunned. "What?" "It just doesn't interest me anymore. Once, this is closed, we can then transfer to something normal and worthwhile like hmmm, busting domestic terrorists or keeping an eye on the mafia." His voice was quiet and reasonable, but very detached as if he was simply mouthing the words. "You must be so relieved." "But what about your sister? Your father?" "What about them? I'll never see them again." His voice was surprisingly lacking in bitterness. "If they don't want to see me, that's fine with me." Asuka looked at Shinji. His eyes seemed glazed as if part of his soul had been sealed off. "Shinji. . ." He looked at her dully. "The Eva files don't matter any more." A flash of bitterness crossed his face. "Nothing matters any more." She knew it was wrong, but she did it anyway. She slapped him. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. She saw his eyes clear up for one second, then something slammed shut again. What happened to you? she thought. Who did this to you? A taste of acid brushed her soft palate. More out of intuition than anything solid, she looked at his eyes and thought she saw, not herself reflected, but Shinji with his back to her. She stepped back, nearly swallowing her tongue. But the moment had passed and his eyes looked normal. "Something wrong, Asuka?" "Nothing." I'm going right over to those stooges after work, she thought, something was done to him. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Asuka walked up to the lair of the three stooges. All of them were there, waiting for her to come. "Shinji didn't come with you," said Touji. "I didn't want him to. He wants to close the Evangelion files." "What?" said all three stooges. "The problem is I think he's been brainwashed, but there's no traces of drugs in his system. The counselor doesn't think he has anything wrong with him. He . . ." Asuka then told them about what she had seen in his eyes, something that had caused her stomach to squirm. Fuyutsuki frowned, "It's rare, but I think I've actually heard of it before." "Really?" said Asuka. "Well, turn it back around," she said. "Do you have any idea who did this?" "The quality of that spell is a major tip off." Kensuke punched up a few keys, then showed a picture of a handsome Japanese Man with only one eye. The name underneath the picture was Sakurazukamori. "This man is an assassin and skilled illusionist, practitioner of Onmyouji, yin-yang magic. He's pretty much unstoppable. He tried to kill Subaru, head of the house of Sumeragi that exorcises evil spirits, but failed. However, that was his only failure." "But Shinji's alive." "Well, whatever, is there anybody who can help him?" "Subaru could probably help, but we haven't been able to reach him. He's gone after the man who tried to kill him and killed his twin sister." "Then is there anyone else or anything else that can help." Kensuke said, "Well, it's highly experimental and dangerous." He paused. Asuka stamped her foot. "Well, tell me what the hell it is." "It's computer aided psycho-diving. You basically use virtual reality and neural uplinks to dive straight into someone's mind. The trouble is. . ." "The trouble is?" said Asuka. "Side effects include madness, death, and becoming trapped within his mind. The stress may kill you both. But I agree with you that he's not the Shinji I know." Asuka paused only for a second, then said, "Lets do it." "Well, how do we get him here?" Touji said. "Do you want me to punch his lights out and drag him over here?" Asuka then said, "We'll make it like we're inviting him to a party. If he doesn't come, then I'll use all my charms. Hopefully that spell hasn't made him blind." Kensuke rolled his eyes and sighed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- "Shinji. . ." "Yes, Asuka." he said indifferently. She scowled. A lot of the eager friendliness that had been in his voice had vanished. "Ah, I'm inviting you to a party in your honor." She strived to keep her voice light. "Ah, yes. It's at the three stooges' house. It'll be a small affair. It would be too sad if you were to spend the night playing the cello alone in your apartment. It's to celebrate your return. I'm sorry it wasn't done earlier, but we wanted to make sure you were OK first." "I'll go." "It's tonight. I'll drive you there after work." "You're being awfully nice to me. Thank you." He smiled at her, and for one second, he seemed to be himself. "It's nothing." I know you're in there, baka-Shinji, and it's up to me to rescue your butt. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Shinji was drinking the soda Asuka had handed him. "Is Misato and Kaji going to be there as well?" "No, they're on assignment together. They won't be back for quite a while." Stupid drug, kick in already, she thought. If it didn't kick in, Touji would have to belt him one. "I've been feeling strange all week. I wonder if I have a touch of the flu. It's like I'm underwater or something. I'm so sleepy. Wake me up when we. . ." Shinji dropped the soda on the floor and closed his eyes. He looks so peaceful when he's asleep, she thought. Maybe that's what he really wants, to be asleep forever. She drove up in front of the three stooges' lair and honked. "Get your butts out here and help me!" she ordered. Touji and Kensuke came out. Asuka unlocked the door and said, "Carry him in." Kensuke said, "How long will he be out?" "I think about five hours." Touji looked doubtful. "I wonder if that's enough time." "I didn't want to risk an overdose. Is everything ready?" "Fuyutsuki has everything set up and running." "All right then." They put him down on the couch and attached something that reminded one of a "halo" that kept the heads of people with spinal cord injuries perfectly still except this one had electrodes. Kensuke turned to Asuka. "I know I've reviewed this with you, but I want to say it one more time. You have to sync with Shinji. You'll be the one diving, I'm going to act as an anchor. I won't be able to see everything you see, but I can pull you out of there if you're in the least bit of danger. The only reason this will work is because I happen to have some visionaire skills. I don't plan on losing you both." "I know, but this is something I have to do." She watched as Fuyutsuki wheeled in a defibrulator in case any of the participants' hearts stopped. "I just hope this doesn't cause more harm than good." said Fuyutsuki. "It's my decision," said Asuka. Damn Fuyutsuki, always so pessimistic. Kensuke attached the electrodes to her temples, then Fuyutsuki put them on Kensuke. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Asuka opened her eyes to see a house on fire. A little boy was weeping from across the street, calling for his sister and father. It's Shinji, she thought. She caught a glimpse of a small blue-haired girl, who then vanished into thin air. What is this, she thought. "It's Shinji's memory of what happened the night they disappeared. It'll be slow going, but we have to trace how far back the suppression goes. Lets move on a little farther," Kensuke's voice said. A series of images flashed through her mind. A lot of them were of her. It was like watching herself grow up from a little girl to a teenager in a minute. These are his memories, she thought. I should've figured he would remember me. The first memory to come up was when Shinji had kissed on the cheek and she'd decked him with her monkey doll. He'd ended up on his butt and began to whimper. She felt extremely pleased at this even though she felt a little sorry for the little boy Shinji had once been. He remembered this? she thought. This was the first time she saw him. She saw a chibi version of herself walking hand in hand with Shinji as they gathered fireflies to put in a jar. They were running together, innocent and happy. When did it become so complex, she thought. Happiness. . . She saw herself and Shinji were running to her house. It was the first day of summer vacation. It had been a warm, golden day, full of promises. She saw herself a few days before her mother tried to kill her. She had been sulking when Shinji had come by. she'd been in a terrible mood. She told him that she hated him, that he didn't understand the pain she was going through, that his head was up his ass. Her parents were divorcing; her mother was crazy and this stupid idiot was trying to talk about trivialities. She'd been so mad, she'd pushed him into coffee maker. It had only been years that she realized that he hadn't been trying to ignore her pain. That he simply hadn't known what to say. Then she frowned when some of his memories included Misato Katsuragi. Get your mind out of the gutter, Shinji, she thought. Looks like most of the memories haven't been tampered with, she heard Kensuke say. He then picked up where Shinji was talking on the phone with her. Shinji had been in his apartment, saying, "Yeah, it's really cool, Asuka. There's a guy in Sunnydale who's as interested in this as I am. . . Also. . ." She saw as Shinji saw the door burst in, but there was nobody at the door he could see. Then cell phone drop on the floor. For a while, it is dark. Then she sees Shinji standing in a pit, a huge hole in the ground. He tries to climb out, but the walls are soft earth, crumbling as he tries to get a hand hold. There's nothing for him to hold unto or grab unto. "This is your reality, Shinji." Shinji jerks his head up. Asuka also looks up. There's a tall, handsome man wearing sunglasses, a black coat and a smile standing on the edge of the pit. It is Sakurazukamori, also known as Seishirou Sakurazuka. "What is this?" said Shinji. "I'm doing you a favor," said the man. "Then do me another one and get me out of here." "First, you must listen to what I have to say." "Then say it." "All this work you've been doing, you say you do it for the sake of truth. But the truth is that you do it so you can see your sister again and confront your father." "There's that part." Suddenly, Shinji is outside the pit and standing in front of the man. The pit is gone. "What is this?" says Shinji. Suddenly, he's flung back and hits the ground by an unseen force. Suddenly, several cuts and welts appeared on Shinji. He writhed in pain. "Does that hurt?" said the man impassively, the smile had not changed. Shinji's only answer was a groan. "If you keep searching, you'll end up in even more pain, the kind of pain you don't come back from." "I'll keep on searching until I find out what really happened." yelled Shinji. "Stop, Seishirou." a girl's voice said. "That's enough. I only wanted to frighten him. This job is not an assassination." Shinji opened his eyes to see a young teenage girl with red eyes and blue hair looking at him. She was dressed in a tailored black suit. On her head are a pair of reflective sunglasses. She walks towards Shinji. "Rei. . . what are you doing here?" "I'm here because of you." "You were kidnapped, too." "No, I ordered the kidnapping." Asuka gasped. But then she heard Kensuke say, "Remember, this guy's specialty is illusions. It might be her, but it might not be. We're strictly going on what Shinji is perceiving." Asuka frowned, "But if he believed this. . . That's what must've caused him to shut down so much. He couldn't believe this." Then she drew her eyes back to the scene. Rei's face was impassive. "You've been looking for me. Well, here I am." "This can't be real. I've been looking for you all these years." A brilliant smile crossed Shinji's face, then his face darkened. "But what's going on?" "I'm here to tell you that I don't want to see you. Father and I are fine by ourselves. We've moved on with our lives. Please don't bother us anymore. We don't need you." Shinji seemed to reel back from that as if it were worse than all the bleeding cuts inflicted on him as of yet. Asuka winced as she heard that girl's cold, flat voice. That bitch, she thought. He whimpered. "Didn't you miss me?" "No." She circled around him, looking rather coolly. "Father's been telling me that you opened up the Eva files." "Yeah, it was all for your sake." "I've heard about it. Your conclusions are without foundation. I can't believe how wrong you really are. And don't pretend you did this out of love. The truth is you went in search of us out of revenge." "Revenge?" Rei's eyes were glowing. "You wanted to confront the two people who hurt you the most and get us to admit we were wrong, that you were the one who should've been taken. But I must confess neither of us has any regrets." Shinji was on his hands and knees, weeping. Seishirou looked at the girl. "How long will this take?" "Until he gives up, of course. Do what it takes, but don't permanently damage him or you won't get your fee. If he doesn't give up, then I'm sure you'll come up with something." she shrugged. It took him a month of this to give up on her, she thought. A month of this? Asuka couldn't stand it anymore. "I'm going to make them stop." "No, Asuka. The spell has a life of its own." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Back in the lab, everything was going haywire. Little balls of lightning began whizzing through the room. Kensuke opened his eyes and looked around. "Oh, crap." "Did you pull Asuka out of there?" "No, she wouldn't go back with me. She insisted on staying inside. Cut the power." yelled Kensuke. "We're trying. . ." said Touji. A weird pattern emerge between the two sleepers. It was a sideways 8. Fuyutsuki frowned. "That's the mathematical symbol for infinity." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Asuka had pulled out her gun and yelled at them to stop, but the moment she had lost contact with Kensuke; it had broken the fragile surface of the memory. The only thing solid she could grab unto was Shinji, who seemed surprised to see her there. They fell together into the darkness. When she opened her eyes, she and Shinji were at the bottom of a very dark pit. Shinji looked as terrible as he had when he had been first by the hospital. His shirt was spattered with blood; his mouth moved but nothing came out. She could read in the little light that remained. "Rei," he was saying over and over again. His face was stained with tear tracks. Then he saw her, "Asuka, what are you doing here?" "I'm here to get you out of here." " It doesn't matter any more. Rei has forsaken me. It's too late for everything." Asuka was holding him, saying, "All your fears, everything they said was without foundation. Even if you don't believe in yourself, I believe. That man is a master of illusion. He must've called her up from the inside of your mind to hurt you, to destroy everything you've ever worked for. " With that, she showed him what she had been doing the month while he was being torture not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually. She showed him all the people she begged, threatened with death, and flirted with just to find a single clue where he was. The hours of worrying, cursing, even crying, she did not even hide that. She knew he needed it. "Really, Asuka," he whispered. "Really?" His eyes were like they used to be; except even more pained. But at least, he was really there. "Really, Shinji." she said. With that, she found that the darkness around them was lifting and that they were being pulled upwards. It was such a warm feeling like the warmth they felt in their hearts had become tangible and began radiating outwards. It felt like the sun had felt when they had been children running home together on the last day of school, before they had ever heard about Angels, Evangelions or any of those things. The only thing in their hearts was the anticipation of spending most of the summer time together, . Such a warm feeling. . . Both of them were smiling, their eyes wide open with pure joy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Fuyutsuki drove the pair of FBI agents to Asuka's apartment. Asuka said, "I'll keep an eye on the baka." "As you wish." Fuyutsuki sighed. "So much equipment ruined. Oh, well." He put Shinji down on the couch, then walked out, muttering and shaking his head. Asuka took off his shoes and laid him out on the couch. For the first time since his kidnapping, there was a real smile on his face. There was only one thought in her mind as she watched over her partner's face as he lay sleeping on the couch. If Rei really was behind all this, she thought. I'm going to kill her. THE END