Warnings: None Disclaimers: Rei is not mine. Asuka's not mine. The only thing I own of this whole thing is the typing, the idea, and the effort of posting it... How depressing... ^_^ Spoilers: None [Heck, it doesn't even follow the proper time line....] Q&C: Always welcome!

By: Eri Nightwind

Peas in a Pod (Prt 1) Thoughts and Souls

"Unknown object seen hovering above Tokyo3!"

"Use the Arial sensors." Gendou replied calmly.

"Yes, sir!"

Gendou watched as the NERV staff ran around like little ants to do his bidding. He almost laughed.

"Sir! Arials out, sir!"

"Sir! It's gone blue sir! It's an Angel!

Gendou's smile widened slightly, turning sadistic. "Send for the Children."

"Yes, sir!"

^^^^^^^^^

Bleep_beep! Bleep_beep!

Asuka cracked one eye open.

Bleep_beep! Bleep_beep!

"....sheist...."

She got up and picked up her cellphone, flicking it on.

"Yeah? What? An Angel? Ok. Right. Ok." Asuka clicked the phone off with a look of pure joy.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeessss!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Shinji opened his eyes as he heard Asuka's joyful shout.

"Why am I not glad to hear that?" he muttered, getting up and picking up his pants.

Bleep_beep! Bleep_beep! Blee_CLICK!

"Hello? Hm. Yes. Right away. So that's why Asuka's yelling?"

Ritsuko smiled on the other end of the line. "Yes."

"Ok." Shinji turned his phone off and finished dressing. He then opened the door and went out into the hall.

"Better go wake up Misato."

He glanced at the hall clock as he walked to the kitchen.

...10:00pm....

Shinji referred to the 'Misato Beer_Time ratio chart' in his head.

"So that makes it.... well, she started at five o'clock.... hmmm..... 15 beers.... oh great.... Why do I always have to wake her up?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Rei walked into the locker rooms and sat down, dropping her plug suit down on the bench next to her. She started to take off a shoe then stopped and sighed.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought, closing her eyes. Kaoru's face appeared behind her closed lids, just as it had the past month since he had died.

'Why does he affect me so much?'

'Because he and you were the same....' the familiar thought came to her. She'd been affected by the same thoughts the past month. Always the same.....

'Where we?' The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She couldn't be the same as him. She was a human. A living human.

"No.....No!" Rei punched the locker in front of her with all of her might. The metal caved in to her wrist. Rei pulled her hand away, regarding the bloody bone fragments that were the remainders of her knuckles.

'Who's to say that the Angels don't live? They must have life if you have to kill them, right?' the voice asked.

'But they're the enemy...' Rei responded.

'But aren't you like an Angel? Does that make you the enemy?'

Rei felt her anger rise again. 'I kill Angels! I'm not like them!'

'So you're a traitor then?' the voice continued, ignoring the fact that Rei did not consider herself like Angels at all.

'I can't be a traitor to a side that I don't belong to.' Rei replied.

'Then Kaoru was your enemy?'

'... no. He was my friend.'

Rei sighed again, then resumed changing into her plugsuit, ignoring her broken knuckles.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

BAM!

Asuka stopped in front of the door to the girl's locker room. She waited a moment, then opened the door. Her eyes automatically flew to Rei's mangled hand, then to the smashed locker door.

'She's stronger than she looks...'

Asuka shuffled her feet, then stepped into the room. Rei sighed softly and started changing into her plugsuit. She looked up suddenly as the door snapped shut. Her red eyes were filled with... Emotion?

Rei's face resumed it's usuall mono_look in an instant. She turned back to her plugsuit.

Asuka stood still, staring at Rei, still dazed. She thought that the blue- haired girl was ignoring her until Rei said "Asuka, please hurry up." Asuka blinked, then walked up to her own locker, punching in the code for the lock.

Rei walked to the door and stopped, turning slightly. "Asuka, did you see anything just now?" Rei's voice actually had a hint of emotion in it, as if she wanted Asuka to say she hadn't seen anything.

"I didn't see anything...." Asuka said, wondering why Rei would want her to keep it hidden.

Rei nodded, then opened the door and walked through, closing it with a soft click. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Shinji! Look out!" Misato screamed, slamming her hands down on the desk in front of her as she watched the vid-screen.

The Angel smashed into Shinji with one of it's octopus legs.

"Get OFF!" Shinji roared, stabbing into the angel repeatedly with his prog knife, seeming to make no effect on the jelly like body of the Angel.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Asuka ran up and started slicing at the leg, eventually she severed it from the body, her Eva being covered with the pale blood spurting from the Angels' wound.

"Baka_Shinji!" she yelled, glaring at Shinji and pushing the Angel away, into Rei's target range.

"Now, Rei!" Misato yelled.

Rei remained motionless.

The Angel started slithering a leg around Shinji again.

"Rei!"

"I.... cannot..." Rei replied, droppping her rifle.

"WHAT??!!"

"No. I will not." Rei turned, and walked away from the battle.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I've got two Eva's torn to peices, Shinji out of it for a month, and all you can say it 'I don't know why'????!!!!" Misato screamed, her angry red face inches from Rei's blank one.

"Gomennasai." Rei responded.

"Sorry!? Sorry?! OOOOOH! Why I_"

"Ah, Misato, Commader Ikari would like to see you." a poor ranking said from the door way, half hiding.

'Shit.' "Alright, I'm coming." Misato followed the ranking to Gendous' office. She flinched slightly as the door shut.

"What happened out there?!" Fuyutsuki asked.

"Rei says she doesn't know." Misato replied.

"What do you think happened out there?" Gendou asked.

Misato sighed. "Kaorus' death hit her harder than we may think it did."

"Thank you. You're dismissed." Fuyutsuki said.

Misato looked from one man to another, then turned and left.

Ritsuko walked in a few moments later. "What is it?" she asked.

"Rei III wasn't supposed to have emotions. What happened, Ritsuko?" Gendou asked, looking at the scientist accusingly.

"Rei III needed a soul to make the AT field, Gendou. You know that."

"What does the soul have to do with the emotions?"

Ritsuko walked up to Gendou and slapped him across the face, her long contained anger pushing it's way out. His glasses landed on the desk-top with a click. "You should know that perfectly well, since you lost yours a long time ago."

"You were supposed to cut out the emotions." Gendou replied, reacting to Ritsuko's slap by picking up his glasses and putting them back on.

"I told you, that's not possible without taking out the soul!" Ritsuko replied, glaring at Gendou, trying to catch her breath.

"Find a way."

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes at him, seeming to bore through his mirrored gaze. "You're going to regret this, Gendou. Some day, you'll have me create something that you can't controll."

Gendou looked up at her silently.

Ritsuko continued her glare for a moment, then walked to the door. She turned and looked at Gendou. "Don't forget Kaoru, Gendou." She said, a twisted smile marring her otherwise passive face, then she turned and walked out the door.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ end of part one