Disclaimer: Same as before

Chap. 5

Two weeks later...

Misato decided to let Rei stay in her apartment. She felt that since Rei seemed to come out of her shell, it would be better for her to stay around with them. Rei didn't mind and there had been no objections from the Commander. (He still hasn't been seen yet.) During that time, Rei began to show slight inklings of emotion. True, they didn't happen often, (Misato counted three times total, including that first night), but it was enough to know that Rei was changing. As for Asuka, she avoided contact with the First Child as much as possible. Until...

"Pilot Sohryu."

Asuka pretended not to hear her and continued on into her room. She plumped herself down on the bed and Rei entered the room.

Asuka sneered, "What do you want, Wondergirl?"

Rei simply stared at her, "Why do you hate me?"

"That's a dumb question. Isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"And here I thought you were at least smart."

Rei gaze was unchanged, "I do not understand."

"I don't hate you, I hate what you represent." Asuka sat up, "A lifeless doll that does nothing more than what her Commander orders her to do."

"I am not a doll."

"Yes you are. Tell me something. Why did you come here that night? And don't feed me that line you gave Misato about your dream."

"But that is true."

"Oh please. You're telling me that you actually can't sleep because that baka left? That's something only a human would do, which you aren't. Besides, who'd miss him anyway?"

"Don't you?"

"Of course not! I never liked him to begin with. He's always whining and crying about every little thing."

"That doesn't sound like Ikari-kun. And you do miss him. According to the Major and from what I've observed, you haven't been acting the way you normally had when he was around. Yet you deny it because you're afraid to let others know how you feel."

Asuka was speechless, not only because Rei was right, but because she never heard her speak so much at one time before. She decided to play offensive before Rei said any more.

"What are you? His girlfriend?"

"He told me that I was a great friend and I am female."

Asuka shook her head, "Mien Gott, you're so naive."

"I do not understand."

Asuka shook her head, "Let's try again. How do you feel about him?"

"Feel? I...think I care for him a great deal."

"You...do? You're not just saying that?"

"I have no reason to lie, Pilot Sohryu. I do not lie."

Asuka looked at the crimson eyed girl. She does have a point. For as long as she's known Rei, she's never lied. That doesn't mean she did have secrets or didn't withhold information. But if she answers someone, it was never with deception.

"Alright Wondergirl, I'll make you a deal. You say you don't lie? Well, that means you can keep promises, right?"

Rei simply nodded

"Good. Now I'm going to tell you something. And you have to keep it a secret. As in no one is to know. Not Misato and not even the Commander. Understood?"

Rei looked at her strangely, since she had already given Asuka her answer, but nodded anyway.

"Okay. Shinji annoys me to no end. He's always crying and running away from everything in life. I thought I could toughen him up at least a little bit, but all he does is say 'I'm sorry' and cowers back into his room. And the worse thing..." Asuka began to choke up a bit, "...the worse thing is that he didn't even mind. You're right. I do miss Shinji."

Asuka cast her eyes to the ground and said nothing. Rei simply watched her and waited for her to speak again. Sure enough, that's what happened...

"I don't understand. How come I could never say that before? I never knew I missed him so much."

"Because...you are you."

Asuka looked at her weirdly, but understood Rei's words. "You know, it's funny. Out of all people and I open up to you. I guess...you're not a lifeless doll after all."

"No. I am Ayanami Rei. I am I."

"Okay, Wonde....Rei. Remember, you will tell no one what I told you."

"Told me what, Sohryu?"

Asuka smiled, "Heh, clever. And you can call me Asuka." Asuka stood up, "Now get out of my room!"

Rei quietly stood up and walked out, closing the door behind her. Asuka lay back down; Maybe you're more human than I thought, Rei.

________

Nerv HQ

Misato was walking through the hallways. Entering, she was greeted by a unexpected surprise.

"Ritsuko?"

The blond-haired scientist didn't look up and continued working, "Major."

Misato stepped forward, "What are you doing here?"

"Last time I checked, I worked here."

"You know what I mean."

"You mean my sudden release? It looks like the Commander decided to let me out. In his words, 'he still has a use for me'."

"I see. He spoke to you directly?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Do you know what has been going on lately?"

"From what I know, Shinji has stolen Eva 01 and disappeared off the face of the planet. That's about it."

"Well, there's more. Apparently, Shinji threatened the Commander and was then arrested."

Ritsuko's face flashed with surprise briefly, "Shinji did that? I must say I'm not too surprised. I guess it was only a matter of time. And I take it that you had something to do with his escape."

"No, that's where it gets weirder. He escaped on his own...with an AT field."

This time, the surprise on Ritsuko's face was frozen. "That's...that's impossible. Shinji doesn't have an S2 organ. How could he...?"

"I don't know. Ever since then, the Commander hasn't been seen by anyone. It's strange. It was as though Shinji...changed. I guess he wanted to end everything. But in doing so, he..."

"Found his destiny."

"Destiny? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it has been my own personal opinion. Shinji is not your average boy, which much is obvious. But I find it difficult to believe that for a boy like him, he can pilot an Eva so well, face and defeat Angels, form friendships with the most unusual of people and still remain the way he was when he first came here."

"Hmm. I never thought of that. But what does that have to do with destiny?"

"I don't know. Probably nothing. As I said, it's just a personal opinion."

"Well, it's an interesting thought. Especially coming from you."

"I had a lot of time to think."

____

Later after talking to Ritsuko, Misato decided to check the daily report on her computer. As she typed, the monitor suddenly started to blink and flash. Another image flashed and Misato's eyes widened as she quickly read what was displayed.

Third Impact...SEELE....Humanity, the final angel?...Adam....What's this? Decision of the Messiah? Messiah? What is that?

Then as suddenly as the information came up, it blinked off. Misato was surprised again.

"What? It's gone." She thought some more, Someone sent this to me on purpose. But who?

Unknown...

A shadowy figure turned off the computer terminal and sat back in a chair. Good. Now she'll be ready when it comes. I just hope it's enough. For all of us.

Gendo's office...

Commander Ikari was looking at a vid-screen, his hands folded in the usual manner.

Hmm. So they're making their move. The scenario may have changed, but I still hold the cards. Ikari rose up and walked over to a hidden panel on the wall. A low hiss came out and a boxed object came out. Within it was a tiny creature, resembling an embryo.

"Adam."

Elsewhere...

Underwater, the fish are quietly swimming through the watery deep. They swam through the massive coral reefs that grow down there in order to find food. But in recent days, they had another object to maneuver through.

The object was Eva 01.

The hulking machine simply sat there, in kneeling position, as though it were in intense prayer.

It is time.

Suddenly, the Eva's eyes shimmer and glow and the beast arises from it quiet state. Once it was fully erect, it shot up and flew out of the water.

Destination: Tokyo-3