Not even his sole companion said anything. She had gotten herself from laying upon the sands to sitting up, but she hadn't done much beyond that for the most of the time since she had awakened.
It really didn't matter in any case. They were the only two left alive on the entire planet after the end of Third Impact.
Just Shinji Ikari and Asuka Sorhyu Langely on a beach near what remained of Tokyo-3 were all that lived on out of all of humanity.
Or so they thought until they heard the clapping.
They looked at each other, and then all around the beach for the source. It seemed to come out of nowhere, almost like a hallucination. The sound echoed along the sands, cracking the silence into tiny bits, and they had no idea where it came from... until they looked up towards the top of the beach.
Standing there was a single man. He was dressed nicely, in a mock turtleneck, sportsjacket, pressed slacks, and shoes, all in black. His hair was a deep shade of the same color, but his eyes were shaded by a pair of sunglasses.
"I believe that congratulations are in order," he told the pair with a smirk.
"What..?" whispered Shinji.
The man shrugged. "You managed to get what some had been seeking for a long time. Complete and utter silence. And what did it cost? Just all of humanity."
Scowling at him, the Third Child yelled, "What are you talking about?!"
"You accomplished the ultimate in running way. With the exception of the young lady with you, you got away from everybody. Everybody who cared for you, hated you, was indifferent to you, and the many times more who never even knew you. All gone, so that you could be alone."
"I... I..."
"Do you enjoy your loneliness?"
"I... just wanted the pain to stop..."
That drew a snort from the man. "Pain doesn't just stop like that. It just keeps going on until you deal with it. All you did was to trade one form of suffering for another."
"It was just... I could never find my happiness..."
"That is where you failed."
Shinji looked up at the man. "What?"
"There isn't just someplace where they give out happiness. It isn't like you can just find a person and they'll give it to you on a silver platter. You have to create that happiness yourself. None else can, and even if they could, they wouldn't know exactly what you would be 'happy' with."
"So... everything I've done is a lie?"
"No, but you must realize that everything that all of you had done, from the lowliest worker at NERV from the your bastard of a father were running to a plan that was made for this result. None of you were allowed to create anything on your own."
"Then what could we have done?"
"That's why I am here."
"Huh?"
"I am here to give the two of you a chance."
"'A chance'? For what?"
"To make your own happiness."
"How can you do that?"
"Simple. I can send you both to a place."
"'Send us'?"
"Yes. To a place that you choose. And when."
"What?"
"Think of it. I can send you somewhere away from this. To another world where you could begin new lives. Or back to where you first came to Tokyo-3, so that you can change the way things went. Perhaps to even earlier than that so that you may prevent all that happened before it did."
"Who are you?" whispered Asuka.
"You can call me Quaid."
With a frown, Shinji gazed steadily at him. "But what do you get out of it?"
"Satisfaction."
"You get what?"
"It's important for me."
"But what if we don't want to take what you're offering..?"
"Then you can stay here and paly 'Adam and Eve'."
"'Play' what..?"
"What do you think will happen? If you stay here, you two will become the beginnings of a new humanity. Or you'll just live the rest of your lives here."
Both of the pilots looked at each other. There were questions in their eyes, and they sought the answers from one another. But none were forthcoming.
Finally, Shinji asked her, "What do you think?"
"What choice do we have?" she replied.
"I... suppose."
"Then what have the two of you decided?" asked Quaid.
"We'll:
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(Posted Thu, 15 May 2003 01:19)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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