Heaven Sent
By crimsonwraith

Chapter 6: Broken Wings

For three days and three nights, the winds howled in its endless symphony of horror, of crashing thunder and beating rain. To Kaoru, it almost seemed like an encore from the days of Noah: a dark omen of what to expect of days to come. The young man stared out from the pane of glass, eyeing the darkened horizon lit by arcs of lightning across the sky. The earth below seemed desolate beneath the outpouring of the heavens, hidden behind caves of steel and concrete.

He winced, an ominous feeling settled upon the pit of his stomach. He hadn't seen Asuka since she was taken away some three days ago. Rei and Shinji also disappeared around that time. Something was definitely wrong, but what? He had searched their apartments the day before and found them empty. Nobody seemed to have seen them since the track meet three days before. It was as if they fell off from the edge of the earth.

No, Kaoru thought, for some reason, he knew that Rei would not have killed Asuka, even if they were on opposite sides to a war. Kaoru didn't trust the words of a demon, but there was something in her deep crimson eyes, a distant pain that has begun to surface that told him that she would sooner die than betray Asuka.

Sighing dejectedly, Kaoru fell back into his seat. "Asuka…" His body shivered at the mention of her name. "Asuka…" He could still feel her hair against his skin: red they were, like blood. This powerful angel had become as fragile as the humans that she was sent to protect, and yet she had gained something from her humanity that made her stronger than any angel he knew.

She knew how to love. And, though he wasn't sure of himself, he knew that he was learning to love as well.

"R- Rei…"

"Asuka..."

"Put you hand-"

"Over here?" Rei responded, placing her long slender fingers upon the crest of Asuka's neck. She felt Asuka tremble, moaning as Rei's fingers wrapped around her neck, but then slowly gave way as she brought their faces closer. She felt her breath upon her skin: warm and gently caressing the curves of her cheek.

Asuka, in turn, brought an arm around Rei's waist and pulled her towards her, their bodies now pressing firmly upon each other. Slowly, her free hand reached for Rei's own, their fingering interlacing over each other in a firm contact. She closed her eyes a final time, unsure of what was going to happen next.

"Asuka," Rei whispered into her ear, "you have to trust me."

"I- I know," she managed, "I mean… I do." Slowly, the girl resigned herself to Rei's hands. "Let's do this… Rei…"

The blue haired girl gave her a knowing nod, then gently began. Both girls moved so elegantly around the room, matching movement with movement, complementing each other where the other fell short as they became one in mind and movement. Suddenly, as they reached the peak, Rei's grip slackened, sending Asuka tumbling across the room into a heap in the corner.

"Asuka, are you alright?"

"WALTZ MY ASS!" growled Asuka. "THAT'S THE FOURTH TIME TODAY!"

Rei quickly bent over to help her comrade, but the threatening look on her face warned her to stay away. Asuka slowly levered herself off the floor and a large bruise on her shoulder. Rei quickly dashed towards the mini bar at the foot of their television set, tossing Asuka a cold can of lemonade. "Place that against your shoulder."

Asuka caught skillfully caught the can in one hand and placed it on her bruise, but her frown remained. "This isn't going to work. Maybe we should tell them, at least they can come up with a new strategy."

Rei shook her head. "You give up too easily, Asuka. You always have."

"Excuse me?" Her tone sharpened to a razor's edge.

Rei reached into the fridge and fetched herself her own can, snapping ring-tab open and gulping down half a can of lemonade. "Back then, when Shinji invited me for dinner at your apartment, you didn't even fight for Shinji. You gave him up… for me."

Asuka winced inwardly. "I… I didn't give him up-"

"Then you gave him to me again when you tended to Kaoru-"

Suddenly, Asuka's cobalt eyes burned. "Kaoru was wounded; I had to take care of him."

"Even if heaven burns because of this?" challenged Rei.

"You don't get it do you? What is the point of heaven if you can't even save the people you care about?"

An awkward silence fell upon the two, with neither girl willing to break the silence. The tension was highly strung. Finally, Asuka broke beneath the tension.

"I'm going to take a bath," she muttered, walking away, leaving Rei on her own.

"I'm going to take a bath."

"Looks like she's giving up again," Ritsuko concluded, turning the screen off. "Maybe she's right. Maybe we should come up with a new plan of engagement."

Misato retracted on her seat, smiling to herself. "It's interesting to watch though…"

"Captain! At the very least, respect their privacy-"

"Not like that!" Misato whined. "I mean, the way they act… it's almost as if they're complete polar opposites." She looked up, finding Ritsuko shocked. "Well, Rei seems to be very persistent whereas Asuka gives up at the first sign of resistance. Rei also seems to be calculating whereas Asuka is more of the spontaneous kind."

"I see what you mean…" concurred Ritsuko, sitting up. "I must admit, you're more observant than I thought. If you were as observant with other things, you would have made Vice Commander by now."

Scoffing out loud, Misato leaned back further, stretching her arms out lazily overhead. "I couldn't care less about power."

"Oh really? Then what are you really aiming for, Captain Katsuragi?"

Misato smirked. "You have to aim high, Ri- chan… I aim for heaven itself."

Later that evening…

"NOO!" screamed Asuka, shooting up from her bed covered in beads of sweat. Her breathing slowly deepened as her heart slowed within her chest, but she could still hear Rei's voice echoing in her ears.

She has your smile… my love…

"I can't let that happen," she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in the darkness. "What won't you let happen?" Rei's voice responded in the dark.

Asuka sighed. "No- nothing," she replied despondently, sinking back into bed, feeling the cold touch of sweat upon her back. "Rei… why are you trying to help me?"

"To defeat the enemy," she replied flatly. "The purpose of this exercise to harmonize our movements to destroy the enemy's co-"

"That's not what I meant," Asuka asserted quickly, pouting. "Why did you tell me my weaknesses, Rei? You seem to know a lot about me… just who are you Rei?"

"Get some rest, Asuka. You will need your strength for tomorrow."

Asuka hardened her expression. "Don't change the subject, Rei! I don't know why you know so much about me, but if you want me to work with you, you have to tell me just who you are."

"And what good will that do you?"

Asuka paused for a second. "Nothing I guess…"

For the second time that day, a long silence fell between the girl. Asuka looked over towards Rei: her crimson eyes seemed to glow in the night, staring blankly at the ceiling. They seemed cold, lifeless orbs, mysterious.

Then finally, Rei responded. "I will tell you a fairy tale, Asuka, if it means that you will go to sleep…" she breathed deeply, as if ridding herself of a deep burden, then breathed out. "Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was war in heaven, fought by angels against other angels. Lucifer, the Morning Star, led a great many angels in revolt against heaven to claim the throne of god for himself. Countless angels perished in the conflict, but in the end, Lucifer was defeated. He and all those who aligned themselves with him were banished to hell. However, they were not the only ones."

Asuka's eyes slowly began to waver.

"During the war, an angel was saved by another angel. It might have been admiration at first, but that admiration grew to love, and angels were not meant to love another angel. One day, this angel was visited by Metatron with a command, to kill the angel that had saved her. She was devastated at the news, but she knew that she had to do it. It was her duty to obey. However, just as she was about to kill the very angel that had saved her in the war, she learned that she couldn't bring herself to kill her, and for this, she was banished from heaven to spend eternity in hell… she was banished for loving another."

A tear ran down Rei's cheeks. "It has been ten thousand years, Asuka… do you still remember me?"

"Zzzzzzzzz"

"?" Her eyes shifted towards Asuka's bed and found the girl fast asleep. Despite this, Rei smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. "Ten thousand years is nothing… if I can be with you again, my love."

"Battle Stations, Level 1!" Ritsuko's voice boomed from the P.A. system.

Both girls quickly rose from their beds amidst claxons and red lights flashing. Suddenly the doors slid open as Misato ran in with a frantic look on her face. "Rei! Asuka! We have to go now!"

"Wha-" Asuka mumbled, still half asleep, "what's going on?"

Gnashing her teeth, Misato quickly grabbed Asuka by the arm and dragged her out of bed. "The angel regenerated faster than anticipated. It has begun its approach on Tokyo-3. We've got no time left."

"But!" Asuka stammered, pulling herself up to her feet as the three dashed down the maze like hallways of NERV. "We haven't synchronized with each other."

"It doesn't matter. You just have to do what you can to stop that thing."

Rei paced quickly behind the two. "However, you said that the only way to defeat the enemy is by synchronizing our attacks."

"It's not as if we have a choice now do we?" countered Misato, then paused, turning sharply towards Rei, eyeing her and Asuka in turn. "For the sake of humanity, I hope that you two can just get along."

"Now!" Asuka screamed as Unit 02 matched Unit 00's kick to the abdomen, both blows easily deflected by the angel. Unfazed by the miss, both Evangelions continued their synchronized attack, kick for kick, punch for punch, all landing on nothing but air. It almost seemed as if the angel could anticipate all their attacks.

Panting heavily and deeply demoralized, Asuka threw a sidewards glance at Unit 00. "Are we doing anything to it?"

"Keep attacking," hissed Rei between gnashed teeth. "We have been training for three days straight, Misato said that this was going to work."

Suddenly, the angel split into two identical shapes, catching both Asuka and Rei off guard both delivered a swift kick to their abdomen. Both units 00 and 02 were sent crashing through a column of buildings in a tangled mess.

"Guah…" Asuka gasped, coughing a mist of blood, diluting into the LCL. Struggling to keep an eye on the screen, Asuka found the pair of angels slowly pacing to finish them off. Her muscles ached terribly, but she managed to push herself back up to her knees. "This… this isn't going to work. We have to retreat."

She saw the blue unit struggle to stand up, its legs trembling beneath its wake. Rei's face then stretched across the screen. "Y- you give up too easily… Asuka… all we need to do is… work together."

"But we have been working together-"

"No," Rei cut in. "Fighting as one will not work… we are different people… we have to fight our own fights. Do you understand?"

Asuka paused, taking a long heartbeat to take in what Rei had said. All of a sudden, a beam of light exploded from both angels' eyes. Everything caught in the beam disintegrated in the searing heat: glass, concrete, steel. Everything. As the light subsided, all that was left the smoldering remains of a city. Both Evas were gone.

Or so they thought.

The ground beneath the pair of angels darkened as Unit 02 descended upon the two, its pallet rifle barrel pointed at them. "EAT LEAD!" she screamed as she rained explosive shells upon the angels.

Amidst the hail of explosives, emerged from a group of buildings, training her rifle upon the backs of the angels. "Beginning attack!" Her rifle exploded in a rattle of explosions as tracer rounds that slamming against the pair of angels. Then, the gunfire halted as Unit 02 slammed its heels against both the angels head, knocking them into each other, merging them as one before Asuka delivered a furious punch to its core, cracking the crimson surface and sending the angel flying through a few buildings, buried beneath piles of ruble.

"Good work, Asuka!" Rei called over, rushing towards the fallen angel with rifle in hand. "I'll take it from here."

"NO! REI!"

All of a sudden, Rei streams of light filtered through the melting ruble. And then with a blinding light, she knew it was too late. Too late to jump out of the way, let alone scream. All she felt was a searing heat and a sharp pain at her side before she fell to the ground, for some reason, relatively unharmed. Puzzled, she opened her eyes to find that her Unit 00 was lying flat on the floor. She quickly pushed herself up, looking back in shock.

There, amidst the ruins of what once were buildings lay what seemed to be Unit 02, several layers of armour melted away. "Asuka!" Rei screamed, desperately to contact her, but she managed to get was static. "Asuka! Please respond!" When she didn't Rei's desperation turned into anger as Unit 00's gaze shifted towards the angel emerging from the ruble on the far end of the city. "You…. YOU!" In a blinding rage, Rei picked up her rifle and began to move in for the kill.

The angel responded, splitting into two and began to open fire upon the blue demon. This time, Rei responded, weaving through the beams as if they weren't there as she continued her way towards the angels. "DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" she screamed as Unit 00 ducked beneath a beam before shoving the rifle into the angel's core, right the other angel's core and pulled the trigger. Both angels shook as volleys upon volleys of shells tore through the guts of both angels, then stood still as the gun fell silent, replaced with the sickening squelch as the angels slid from the barrel and fell to the floor dead.

But Rei didn't have time to celebrate, her mind focused on one thing, or rather, one person. "Asuka…"

Despite the lamentations of her scorched hands, Rei finally managed to force open Asuka's hatch. Inside, the young girl lay motionlessly. That was when she realized it… Asuka wasn't breathing. "No!" Rei quickly jumped inside, placing her hands upon her Asuka's heart between her breasts and began to push down. "One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand…." She quickly moved over to Asuka, pinching her nose, sealed her lips with her own and breathed into her.

Her chest rose and fell and nothing more.

Rei desperately placed her hand on Rei's heart and began to push harder. "Asuka… please Asuka… don't die. I can't lose you… not again." For the second time, Rei moved over head and placed her lips over Asuka's, only to feel the girl jerking up, coughing LCL into her mouth. Rei quickly pulled back. Asuka was alive.

Her lungs felt like fire, but any feeling was better than not feeling at all. She coughed the last of the LCL out of her lungs… then noticed Rei staring down at her with a smile upon her face. "Rei… you… saved me? Why?"

A tear rolled down the contours of her cheek. "Asuka, you fool," she sobbed happily, "I couldn't let you die…"

Asuka raised a puzzled brow. "B-but why? If you didn't save me, heaven could have been yours."

"You fool," she muttered, wiping her tears from her eyes. "Don't you understand? What is the point of heaven if you can't even save the people you care about?"

The redhead fell silent, taken aback by the suddenness of Rei's words, almost unsure of what to make of it. Finally, after several heartbeats, Asuka warmed a smile. "Rei…"

"ASUKA! REI!" a voice screamed from outside amidst the growing sirens of ambulances. Suddenly she paused, finding the two staring at each other, smiling at each other, charming a smile across her own face. "Now, Rei… it is time for you to choose…"

The door read 303, noted Rei. She peered through the glass and found two familiar people inside, both were fast asleep. On one side of the room, Shinji lay by the window overlooking the green canopies of the geofront below. The machinery that kept him alive four days ago were gone, along with most of his wounds. The only signs of his injuries were the patches around his arms and legs. She was told that he was coming home that night.

Asuka, on the other hand, was treated for heat stroke and shock. Her physician assured Rei that Asuka should be able to return home by the next day. She would see the both Rei and Shinji in school in the morning. Knowing this, Rei was about to walk away when a shadow fell over her.

"Rei Ayanami," Gendo began in an ominous tone. "Tell me, Rei… just who are you after? Are you pursuing Shinji, or are you chasing after Asuka?"

She shuddered at his tone, but remained silent.

"I gave you three days, Rei. You could have killed Asuka in three days… we wouldn't have to worry about her now."

"She is injured, my Lord… she could not possibly pose a threa-"

W H A C K

The girl collapsed onto the linoleum, her right cheek bright red as Gendo returned his fist to his side. "If you cannot eliminate the competition, Rei, then I will."

"MY LORD, NO!" begged Rei, reaching for his jacket.

The man clenched a fist and was about to strike the girl a second time, then his hand froze in mid air, trembling in fear. Standing between him and the door was none other than Captain Misato Katsuragi, a dry smirk was upon her face. "Restrain yourself," she ordered in a threatening tone.

Gendo gnashed his teeth. "How dare you speak to me like that?" Infuriated, the demon then extended a hand out at Misato, his palm turning a deep scarlet.

Without warning, Misato's eyes suddenly flashed white, her long purple hair bleeding red. "SILENCE!" she beamed. All of a sudden, Gendo was flung across the hallway, smashing against the concrete wall on the far end of the hallway, crumpling like a rag doll on the floor. Misato slowly began to make her way towards the fallen demon, but eyeing Rei for a brief moment, then returned her attention towards him.

Gendo painfully forced himself up, drawing a blade from thin air. "Who- who are you?" he snarled. "Do you know what is at stake here?"

"I SAID SILENCE!" roared Misato, her eyes burning a scintillating white.

Gendo suddenly tensed, the blade slipping from his grip onto the tiles with an audible clang. He writhed in agony as he was lifted in mid-air, his clothes visibly tightening around him. Blood began to seep through his lips as his organs were beginning to be crushed under the pressure.

"Arch demon," Misato boomed, her voice becoming demonic. "How dare you disobey your master."

Gendo's eyes widened behind his glasses. "M-master? I have no master other than- ARGH!" Sounds of bones breaking was drowned by agonized screams.

"You will not lay a finger on Asuka," she ordered, stopping just short of Gendo's writhing form. "And if you touch Rei again… I swear… I will banish you back to the darkest realms of hell where you will be tortured day and night for eternity. Do you understand?"

Gendo struggled, but managed to nod his head. Suddenly, he fell to his feet, greedily gasping for air, all the while eyeing the Captain.

Slowly, Misato's eyes returned from white to dark brown as her hair darkened to purple. A smile slowly came across her face as she turned her attention towards Rei who still sat on the floor with a horrified expression. Misato paced up to the girl and offered her a hand. "Are you alright, Rei?"

Puzzled, the girl unknowingly grasped her hand and pulled herself up. "L- Lucifer?"

"I prefer Misato," chirped the woman. "Is that alright with you, Rei?"

The girl managed a nod. "Of course, M- Captain Katsuragi."

The woman sighed, shrugging to herself. "Close enough," she threw an arm around Rei's shoulder and lead her back to the window looking into the room. "Asuka… she's quite a girl, isn't she? I know that you saved her life just then, but only because she pushed you out of harms way, taking the bullet herself… so to say."

"She… she did?"

"Of course she did. But this wouldn't be the first time she saved you, isn't that right?"

The girl coiled up. "N-no… how do you know?"

Misato chuckled. "It's alright, Rei. I don't care about your intentions for that girl… what I am concerned about though is your mission. You seem to be losing focus of Shinji in your quest to be reunited with Asuka... You do know what is at stake is, don't you?"

"Of course, Captain."

"Then you can understand why I need you to focus on your mission."

"But if I succeed, I cannot be with Asuka… she will burn in hell while I watch in heaven."

"Don't worry," Misato assured her, "if you conceives his child, I promise you, you can have your precious Asuka in heaven. She will not burn… however," Misato's expression suddenly darkened, "if you continue to pursue Asuka, I will kill her myself. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Rei?"

Rei closed her eyes and gnashed her teeth. "Of course…"

Kaoru checked his watch for the tenth time that evening. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. He had been waiting outside Asuka's apartment for ten hours now. The steamed buns that he had prepared to give her for lunch had long gotten cold in the plastic bag in his hand. He knew that he should have left a long time ago, but he needed to know that she was fine. That no harm came upon her. There were so many thoughts going through his mind, thoughts that he had never thought about in ten thousand years.

Such as why was he acting so irrationally? Why was he so desperate to make sure that the Asuka was fine? Why didn't he just wait for school tomorrow to meet her? Questions that he can't find answers for himself. Sighing defeatedly, Kaoru began to reconsider his reasons for staying when all of a sudden, a familiar face emerged from the stairwell to the apartment.

"Kaoru?" Shinji began with a raised brow as he searched his pocket for the keys to the apartment. "What are you doing here so late?"

The boy smiled, glad to have finally found somebody. "Both you and Asuka haven't been at school for four days now. I was concerned that something might have happened."

"Something did happen," mumbled Shinji. "Kaoru, if you're waiting for Asuka, you will see her at school tomorrow."

"Then," Kaoru stepped forward, offering the boy his plastic bag, "can you give this to her?"

Hesitantly, Shinji accepted the bag and eyed the contents. "Steamed buns?"

Kaoru nodded. "It's gotten cold, but if you heat it up, it should be alright."

"Uh… thanks… I guess," Shinji managed, his gaze falling. "You know… Asuka is really lucky to have someone as loyal as you… to have someone always thinking of you…"

"N-no!" Kaoru cut in, his face turning a bride shade of red. "You've got it wrong, Shinji! I'm not Asuka's boyfriend… I'm just her friend, and friends look out for each other."

"Uh… I guess so…" Shinji's heart fell.

Kaoru noticed Shinji's tone. "You might not know it, but there are people looking out for you."

The boy scoffed. "Who? Rei? She can't even see that I care about her..."

"But that doesn't mean that nobody else cares for you, Shinji. Your guardian loves you very much Shinji."

Shinji rolled his eyes back. "Yeah… like she really shows it."

You got me there, thought Kaoru, quickly thinking up something else. "You might not know it, Shinji, but Asuka cares for you. That's why she's trying to learn how to cook, that's why she is trying so hard to impress you."

"I don't want anybody to impress me," shouted Shinji. "I just… I just want someone to be there for me." He clenched a fist as he was about to storm into the apartment when a hand grabbed him by the arm and spun him around forcefully.

Kaoru hardened his expression as his grip tightened around the boy's arm. "You don't understand, do you? People do care about you, Shinji. Rei cares about you, Misato cares about you, even Asuka cares about you Shinji. We all do…"

Finally, the grey haired boy's grip slackened as he walked away, disappearing down the stairwell. Shinji stared at his hand for a second, hearing the echo's of Kaoru's voice in his head. … even Asuka cares about you Shinji. We all do… slowly, a smile spread itself across his lips as he reached for the panel, closing the door shut. "Kaoru…"

To be continued
A/N: He he he! Aren't I an evil bugger?