This isn't "For a Change". It's much darker, I think, probably 
darker than anything else I've written.

I'd really appreciate comments.

Tom

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Neon Genesis Evangelion                                           1.0
A Time for Reflection, a Time for Action.

Spoilers for episode 21, although you probably guessed them much
earlier. Continuity isn't respected.

Evangelion is copyright GAINAX/Project Eva.

You can find all my stuff archived at
http://www.tr.ml.org/~tom/fanfics. 

Send your comments to tom-cnc@tr.ml.org.  
 






   Gendou stepped into a control room filled with havoc. Klaxons
wailed, people shouted, many of the computer screens were filled with
red. The huge screen at the other end of the control room showed Unit
One, as it strained at its bindings.

   "Shinji?" Gendou asked, wondering if his son would betray him
again.

   Ritsuko was the most senior person in the command center, save for
Gendou. "The Entry plug hasn't been inserted."

   "AT Field detected!" The shout rang out, even over the mass of
voices in the control room. "Type.... Blue!"

   "Arm safeguards. Prepare to destroy the core."

   "Do no such thing." The force in Gendou's voice forced Ritsuko to
turn around. "You may stop it by any other means, provided the core
remains intact."

   "Sir?"

   "You have your orders, Doctor."

   She turned from him to issue orders to the NERV staff, but he
hardly noticed. His gaze was fixed on the image of Unit One, as it
tore away the bindings.

   He didn't see the savage robot, though. Instead, he saw the face of 
his wife. It had been years since he saw her face. After her death, he 
had destroyed all of the pictures he had of her. He sometimes
regretted that, even if he would hardly admit it to himself.

   If he had known what his wife would do, that day, he would never
have allowed her to go near the Evangelion. But yet, would he have
been able to stop her? He had spent the past decade attempting to undo 
the events of that day, and it seemed that the results of his work
would soon be at hand.

   But now, it seemed that that moment would never be. He had a choice 
to make. The soul of his wife, or the destruction of humanity. He had
made his decision long ago. And since then, he had devoted his every
moment to that end.

   But would Yui have wanted it? He watched with a dispassionate eye
the events unfolding. He wanted to think that she thought that their
love was more important than the fate of mankind. But, from somewhere,
he realized that it was false. When she had entered the Evangelion,
aware of the risks, it was because she valued him, and more so the
fate of man.
 
   He had managed to keep some part of her alive for all these
years. But then her existence didn't have such a terrible price. 

   Gendou would question his decision for the rest of his life. But
he made a decision, and then he acted. "Destroy the core."

   In the flurry of action caused by those words, nobody noticed the
whisper that followed. "I'm sorry."

                                                 1.0      19 Oct 1997    
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Send comments to tom-cnc@tr.ml.org.