Finally a chapter! I know it's been months since any update from me, but I had my computer crash on me so it took me awhile to get a new one. Unfortunately, update are still going to be far and in between, as between life and work is taking almost all my time. Also I was only able to get part one of 5 up, as when my computer crashed it took all my saved documents with it. I'll try to get an update up every once in awhile, but it's going to take a bit, especially since I have so many stories. This chapter actually focuses on Rei a bit more and might seem a little out of character, but considering what happens in this chapter I'd say it's justified. Well, I hope you enjoy this installment of Sword of Omens! Please read and review!

Chapter 4

Thundercats! Ho! Part one

Shinji looked up in awe at the giant tarped body of the fourth angel. "So, this is what the enemy looks like up close?" he asked as he turned his attention to the scientist both he and Misato had come to visit. Currently, the woman was up on a cat walk muttering about how Shinji's sword had damaged the specimen and was making her job a lot harder.

Misato gave out a sigh at her friends attitude towards the sword. Ritsuko had hated the sword, as it had no doubt been the key to defeating the angels as the evangelion was not enough. All her work and planning seemed to be for nothing, as Misato had wondered if Shinji really needed the Eva when using the sword. But Misato dare not bring up that suggestion as it would trigger the doctor's wraith. But at the same time, Ritsuko almost had an unhealthy attraction to the sword. For the past few weeks, she had been begging Shinji to let her "borrow" the sword to study. At times Misato wondered if her friend was not losing it little by little.

Misato looked up to Ritsuko and shook her head as she continued her rant. "Look at this! A perfect specimen, ruined! This is going to take many more months to shift through this incomplete data!"

Misato gave a sigh, "Look! It's dead, right? So, have you found anything out?"

601

Misato looked at the code displayed on the computer, "What's that mean?"

Ritsuko leaned back in her seat as she began to rub the bridge of her nose. "That's our system code for 'cannot be analyzed'."

Misato took a sip from her cup as she turned to Ritsuko, "You mean you have no idea what this is?"

Ritsuko slumped slightly in her chair at the confirmation of her disappointment. "Yeah. What we do know is that the angel and Shinji's sword share many of the similarities that make it impossible for us to analyze them."

Misato took a side glance at Ritsuko, "But you've at least found it's power source, right?"

Ritsuko brought her hand up to her chin, "Yes and no, we know that the gem seems to provide power to all of the sword and seems to expand energy, allowing it to grow to such sizes."

Misato almost fell on her face, "I meant the freaking angels you twit!"

"Oh… umm, yea, we think we found it…" replied a blushing Ritsuko. But before she could say anything else to incriminate herself, she noticed Shinji looking out the door and nodded in the boy's direction. Misato turned to Shinji and saw the confused look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" Misato asked.

Shinji jumped in surprise and turned to the other two ladies. He had just been staring at his father who had just passed the room a few minutes prior. But what had caught his attention wasn't his presence, but the burns on his ungloved hands as his father was inspecting the bottom half of the angel core. For a moment he considered saying it was nothing, but decided against it. "It's just… well, my father seems to have burned his hands. I was wondering how it happened?"

"Burned them?" Misato asked as she gave a blank stare at Shinji before turning to Ritsuko, "You know how he burned them?"

Ritsuko nodded her head, "It was before you joined us. You know how Unit Zero went berserk during it's activation trials right?"

"Yeah," Shinji replied, "That girl, Rei Ayanami, was she the pilot?"

Ritsuko gave another nod to Shinji, "Yes, and it was the commander who opened the superheated hatch with his bare hands to try to save her."

Shinji stood stunned and looked back out the hall in time to see his father retreating while putting his gloves back on. Before he could ask or say anything else, he was pushed out the door by Misato. By the time he turned around, Misato was already closing the door to the room, "Could you wait for me outside by the car please Shinji, I need to ask Ritsuko for some advice. It won't take long, just a few moments, thanks!"

Before she could even get a response from him, she slammed the door shut and locked it. Giving a sigh, Shinji left and headed for the car.

"So Misato, your not going to ask me for advice on boyfriends are you?" chuckled Ritsuko as she took a sip of her own cup. Her smile soon faded once she saw how serious Misato was as she leaned against the door. "Ok, what's wrong?"

Misato bit her lower lip and began to play with the bottom hem of her shirt, "Well, promise you won't freak out or turn me into a lab experiment?"

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, "Ok…?"

Misato let out a deep sigh as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head, exposing herself to the doctor. Ritsuko's eyebrow raised higher as she looked at her friend, "Ok… so what? You've been working out, big deal. But what is up with that rash?"

Misato let out another sigh as she looked down at herself. She currently had a perfect six pack and between her breasts was a perfectly round red and black looking rash. "Well for one Ritsuko, both the rash and the six pack weren't there two days ago. Also, take a look at the rash a little closer."

Ritsuko tilted her head slightly in confusion and leaned forward. She began to study the rash and the gave a gasp. Quickly getting up from her chair, she went to a desk that was cluttered with papers and began searching contently until she pulled a photo out. She then came back to Misato and held up a picture taken of Shinji's sword during the last battle and compared the two. After looking at the two, she slumped back into her chair and looked at Misato dumbfounded, "What symptoms have you been experiencing since that began to show up?"

Misato put her shirt back on and sat in a chair as she began to recall the past few days. "Well, I haven't been feeling bad or anything. On the contrary, I've been feeling good. I feel like I can run a marathon, and I've even been getting up with a pep in my step in the morning. Plus my body has either gotten muscles or toned out the ones I had before. It's kinda weird."

Ritsuko raised her eyebrow again at her friend while scratching her head, "So you've actually had the opposite happen to you? I wonder if it's contagious?"

Misato almost fell out of her chair when she heard her friend say that, "You're an ass!"

Ritsuko gave a laugh as she held up her hands, "Hey, I'm just saying that you feel awesome and have gotten healthier in just the past few days. Hell, I'd probably want to study you, for all I know you might have the cure to cancer or something. But don't worry, as long as that's it, you don't have anything to worry about. Unless… you forgot to tell me something…?" As Ritsuko said the last part, she began to leer at Misato. Misato began to look around the room and rub her arm, trying her best to avoid the glare from the doctor. "Grr… What did you not tell me?! Misato!"

Misato jumped at her friends yell. "Ok, ok. Well, you know how I said that there was that cat guy from my dream and cat guy ghost at my apartment?"

After receiving a nod from her friend, Misato continued, "Well, they both had this symbol on them. And then there is the fact the ghost told Shinji that they were called Thundercats. And supposedly the ghost told Shinji he was now the lord of the Thundercats and was now their leader."

Ritsuko gave a blank stare at her friend. After about twenty seconds of just staring at her, Ritsuko suddenly burst into laughter. This of course only earned a scowl from Misato. "Stop it!"

Ritsuko began to calm down as she tried talking to her friend, "You're telling me… haha… that Shinji is… ha… a leader of some long dead aliens? Seriously Misato, you need a vacation."

Misato continued to scowl at her friend making fun of her, "It's just that the ghost said that you didn't need to be a cat person to be a Thundercat. Just someone that's a hero or something. And what's got me worried is the fact that they don't exist anymore, so something had to take them out."

Ritsuko stopped in mid giggle and went wide eyed at Misato's words. "Their enemies…" she whispered.

Misato gave a nod to the doctor, "Exactly. Even though they might be long gone, what's stopping them from coming back when these Thundercats can come back just like that? And now both me and Shinji appear to be caught up in all this. See the problem?"

Ritsuko leaned back in her chair deep in thought, "Well, I guess you have no choice but to do what the dream said, huh? Look, either way he's our only pilot right now. So whether or not he's a leader of an alien race, foremost he's our pilot. So unless you grow some cat ears or something, I wouldn't worry about it for now."

Misato gave a nod to her friend as she began to walk to the door. As she was about to open it, Ritsuko spoke up again, "Remember who your allegiances are Misato. The angels are our biggest threat, this Thundercat business is only a consolation."

Misato turned back to Ritsuko with a small scowl on her face. It wasn't much, but it spoke volumes as she turned back around and left the tiny office.

Rei Ayanami stood before the cracked mirror in her apartment and continued to stare absently into it. She was currently standing naked in front of it as she couldn't tear herself from it. She couldn't even move to pick up the broken glass shards that were laying on the floor from the now broken mirror. No, none of that mattered now as she continued to look at what looked to be a rash on her once perfect stomach.

She narrowed her eyes at the rash, not because the fact that it was so predominate on her pale skin, but because of the shape it had taken. It was a perfect round circle with black in the middle that to most normal people would not mean anything. But to someone from NERV, they would instantly recognize it as a fuzzy version of the cat's head from the third child's sword. She ground her teeth as she continued to look at it, then smashed her hand into the mirror, again cracking and sending more shards to the floor.

"No," she whispered, "I'll… I'll be replaced now. The commander will replace me once he finds out. I don't want to die. Why can't you go away."

As if hearing her words, the symbol glowed a bright red for a few seconds and then receded into her skin. Rei blinked in surprise as she watched it disappear. Soon, it was completely gone and no evidence could be seen on her of the symbol. "Are you gone for good?"

'It will never be gone from you Rei.'

The first child gave a gasp as she looked around for the voice. She knew it was the same voice from her dream and the very same voice that stopped her from taking any action when Shinji was jumped by the group of kids at school. As she could not find anyone, she returned to the mirror and ran her fingers across her stomach. As her fingers moved across her skin, she could see the symbol come back, but not as a blurry rash. No, this time it came back sharp and clear, brighter and more predominant.

'It will forever be a part of you Rei,' continued the voice, 'It will always be there for you, just how you are there for humanity. It will hide itself till the appropriate time, to protect you from those who wish death and destruction. It is a symbol of hope and peace. Of justice and truth. Of honor and loyalty. It is a symbol of all of these, just as you are, as a Thundercat.'

Rei's eyes widened as she continued to stare at the symbol on her stomach with shock. "I… am a Thundercat?" she asked with a shaken voice. She recalled from her dream that the man had the very symbol on him. He radiated strength and command, yet warmth and kindness. She returned her attention to her stomach as she began to piece together clues, "The third, he is the lord of the Thundercats. He is my lord. I… I have to protect him?"

'This is correct Rei,' Responded the voice, 'Shinji is the new lord of the Thundercats. Part of your responsibility is to protect him and help him bring peace to your world. Through him is your new purpose, the purpose to protect all from evil. This purpose will provide humanities salvation, not it's destruction, as third impact would.'

Rei's eyes widened at the mention of instrumentality. She had not given it a moments thought as to what this symbol on her stomach would mean to the project. She mindlessly walked from her bathroom to her bedroom, still deep in thought. As she reached her dresser, she looked down to the pair of warped glasses sitting on top. She picked them up and looked at them intently, "Even if I am not replaced and instrumentality goes as planned, all of humanity's bodies will perish. Those that are able to resist it will have both their bodies and souls lost. But if I choose this new path, this new purpose, there might be hope left. The third… no, Shinji might be able to change things. Maybe… maybe these Thundercats can change things."

Rei gripped the glasses in her hands tighter as she continued to have doubts of the commander's plans. She looked down at them, and could not help but narrow her eyes in anger as she crushed the bent frame in her hands. Her bottom lip even began to tremble as she begun to let her grip go and watched as the pieces fell to the ground. The symbol of her all out devotion to her commander hit the floor with a clatter as she stood silently watching the pieces become still. Taking in a breath and releasing it, she turned around and began to walk away slowly from the glasses. As she was about to enter her bathroom again, a small whisper came from the albino child, "I now have my purpose."

Shinji gave a sigh as he looked on at the ground in thought. He currently was sitting on the dirt ground as everyone else was enjoying playing basketball during gym class. But even during gym class, he couldn't tear himself away from his thoughts as he kept pondering on his father's actions towards her. 'What is she to you father,' He thought, 'I know you don't do anything without a reason, so why? What part does she play in your little game?'

Shinji was then brought out of his train of thought as a shadow enveloped him. Looking up, he could see that the shadow belonged to the boy from his class that he had initially fought a few days prior. Behind the track suit wearing boy was the boy from his class that had an unhealthy obsession with NERV.

"Um, hey there new kid, I wanted to apologize for coming after ya like that." Stuttered the boy as he glanced over at a glaring Hikari, "I shouldn't have blamed you for what happened to my sister."

Catching the direction of the boy's gaze, Shinji looked at him with apprehension. "You're just saying that because she made you huh?"

The boy curled his hand into a fist, "Well what do you expect, your suppose to be trained for stuff like that, and you go and act like some rookie when you're in that machine!"

Shinji looked down at the ground as he expelled a breath. He now understood why he was angry. The boy thought he had training before the angel battle. "Well that's the problem you see, I had no training before that fight. Hell, I didn't even know NERV existed till that very day."

The two boys gasped in shock and looked at each other. Then the freckled boy stepped between the two, "You mean you went into that battle blindly!?"

After Shinji gave a nod, both the other two boys looked at each other with a look of shame on their faces. Finally the first boy took a closer step to Shinji as he held out his hand. "Sorry, we didn't know. My name is Toji, and this is Kensuke, my best friend."

Shinji gave a smile as he could see it in the Toji's face that he truly meant it. "I'm Shinji Ikari," he said as he took Toji's hand and was helped up. As the gym teacher blew their whistle, signaling the end of class, Shinji somehow knew that he was just starting to find his place in this crazy world.

Rei gave a sigh as she floated in the LCL chamber. She was actually surprised at herself at her reaction when she had first entered the plug. Normally she would not pay any attention to the LCL, but this time, it was different. This time, she could barely stand it. 'Is this a product of the symbol?' she wondered as she could do everything in her power from screaming for escape.

'Not quite Rei.'

Her eyes snapped wide as she heard the familiar voice. 'It's you! The spirit!'

All she could hear in her head was a rich bellow of a laugh, 'Please Rei, call me Panthro. But what you are experiencing is not anyone's doing but your own. Now that you have a purpose to live, and not just waiting to die, you are taking things into a new perspective.'

She looked at the glass in front of her and placed a hand on it and finally took notice of the other sole occupant in the room, Dr. Akagi. She looked on in confusion as she appeared to be standing and looking off in the distance in fear, as if she was stunned.

'Panthro, what is wrong with doctor Akagi?' Rei asked as she continued to see the doctor acting strangely.

'Even though the Thundercat symbol can hide itself, human technology can still piece together things and can make conclusions. So someone is just having a little chat with her…'

Five minutes earlier…

Ritsuko hunched over the monitor in shock. She tore her eyes from the screen and looked at the naked form of the first child floating in the LCL chamber. Turning back, her mind began to race at what the information could mean. 'Thirteen percent increase in muscle mass, three percent decrease in body fat! Possible repair of her reproductive organs and signs of her S2 organ buckling! Her clones are starting to even show signs of internal organs breaking down from the inside! What's going on?! Unless… it couldn't be… the sword!'

As she reared her head back up to gaze again at the child, she was nowhere to be found. For that matter, none of the lab could be found as she found herself standing in the middle of a courtyard. She then looked behind her and stood in fear and awe, as before her was a giant fortress, one in the shape of a cat. She looked in awe and began to shake as she eyed the cat's head contrasting against the blue sky, "This… this can't be happening…"

"I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion, but we must talk doctor."

Ritsuko twirled around and saw a man standing there, but at a second glance she could see he was no ordinary man. He wore red and black clothes that were skin tight, showing the many muscles he had. She could tell he was quite old, older then Gendo Ikari himself, as his beard and wrinkles showed. He had a bandana on his head that seemed to highlight his baldness in a strange good way. She immediately knew he had to be one of the cat people Misato had talked about, as he had the facial features of a cat. That was when she realized his eyes; they were shut close. As she eyed them she gave a small, quick breath as she realized he must have been blind.

The man's ears suddenly twitched as the small, unnoticeable by many, breath made it's way to his ears. "Excuse the pun, but I see you noticed my little predicament."

Ritsuko's eyes grew larger as he said that. 'How did he know? I didn't say anything. Could he be psychic?'

She then took a few quite steps to the left and watched in awe as his head followed her direction to a perfect tee. Before she could say anything though, he gave a smirk, " To answer the question you probably have, no. I have no mental powers. My lost of sight has granted me the ability to refine my other senses to the point where I can feel the vibrations in the air of you moving, hear your breath, smell your scent. I can even feel and hear your heartbeat from here."

Ritsuko blinked several times at the man and realized there was no point in either fighting or running, as if this was true he could easily foil her attempts with the way he was built. "S-so what do you want?" she hissed at the aged cat.

Another smirk appeared on his face. "Just a little chat, let's make things more comfortable for you and change the scenery a bit shall we?"

In a blink of an eye, Ritsuko found herself standing in a round control room of some sort. She looked around in amazement at all the instruments in a sense of awe and amazement. It was a perfectly round room that had a wide window and view of a forest and a near by mountain face. Just by the shape alone she knew it couldn't be the cat's head because of the round view it gave. A clatter suddenly turned her attention back to the man as he had somewhat fallen into a chair and panting with exertion. Torn between her fear and wanting to help, she saw him sit up in the chair and noticed him sweating and panting a bit. "If… I would have known that would have taken that much effort… I probably wouldn't have done it. That was a bit foolish of me. But never mind that, I'm now short on time and we have much to discuss. First off, you must protect the girl's secret."

Ritsuko looked in confusion and worrisome as he continued to pant. "What secret?"

The man shook his head, "Let's not play games doctor, we don't have time for that. You know her secret, she's just like Shinji and his guardian. She is a Thundercat."

Ritsuko frowned at the old man. "Did you do this? Are you the one responsible for everything?" she demanded.

The old cat merely shook his head, "Not I, it was actually her own doing. She unlocked it and has taken hold of her destiny. A destiny that doesn't involve the disturbing thought of instrumentality."

Ritsuko gave a gasp, "How do you know of the instrumentality project?!"

"I don't, I only know a fraction of it from what my colleagues have told me. I don't have their benefit of knowing everything like they do. All I know is that it has to be unfathomable for Lion-o to take such action and lend me some of his strength to have this talk with you."

An eyebrow perked up on Ritsuko as she heard this, "What do you mean? You're not like the rest?"

A shake of the head told her the answer she was looking for. "All I know is what kind of person she is, that she was part of some master plan, and that you are her salvation. My colleague told me all about her, and I pity the poor girl. That's why she needs you."

Now intrigued, the doctor took a seat next to the man, as his speech was becoming labored and difficult to understand. "Explain yourself, what do you mean exactly?"

The man looked up to face her, "She was on her deathbed her whole life, waiting on the moment her death would come and she would be used for the purpose that she was destined for. But now, now things are different. She has been reborn and is now living life. It is just as if she was just born, she is relearning everything from a different perspective now. A perspective that has her confused, scared, and most importantly; alone. She needs you doctor, for whether you like it or not, you are the closest thing to a mother she has. I beg you, at least till we meet again, take care of her and protect her. If by the next time we meet you do not wish to continue to watch her, I shall take over the responsibility."

Ritsuko inched even closer to the man as his breath was becoming shallower by the minute, "What do you mean by next time we meet you'll take over? You're dead aren't you old man"

The man gave one last smile before the control center around them began to get fuzzy, "Well there is only one way to find out, isn't there doctor Akagi? And by the way, I'm not… old man, my… name is… Lynx-o…"

And with that last breath, everything faded back to the laboratory back in NERV. Ritsuko fell forward on to the floor, as there was no longer a chair to support her. As she fell on the ground, a buzzer went off and the tube holding the albino child opened, dumping LCL and the child to the ground in front of her. Recovering from the shock, Ritsuko looked up to see the first child violently vomiting up LCL. The child then looked up and met eyes with the doctor as they both began panting from the their own experience rush. Without even thinking or realizing what she was doing, Ritsuko scooted next to the child, took off her coat, and covered the shivering form of the first child. Just as the child began to began to finally calm down, the blaring of sirens could be heard deep within the bowls of the lab.

TO BE CONTINUED…

I hope you all liked the chapter. I'll try my best to get updates up as soon as I can but no promises as life is a rollercoaster of a ride for me right now. Until next time though take care!