Disclaimer: See chapter one

AN: Sorry for the long delay. I'm trying to get over a major writer's block. Thanks for waiting.

Chap. 28

Misato's mouth was agape as she saw the Second Child standing in the middle of the living

room. She almost didn't believe it. The A-1 connectors that were once in her hair where now

absent, letting her hair dangle out in the front and covering one of her eyes.

"Asuka! How...? You were..."

Misato was still trying to formulate words, but Asuka looked at her and cut her off.

"Misato." she started quietly; an unusual characteristic of the fiery haired German girl.

"There's a lot I have to explain. But I guess I should start by saying..." She looked

into Misato's eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Misato blinked, "Sorry?"

She didn't know how much more of this she could take. First Shinji and...now Asuka. They just

seemed to be changing before her eyes. Returning to the subject at hand, she saw the sad

look on Asuka's face. Misato had never seen such a look before. Sure, she expected the

fact that it was there, but she never willingly displayed it to her or anyone else.

"For everything I've done. For all the trouble I caused."

Misato took a step forward and spoke soothingly, "It's okay, Asuka. You just had a

rough time."

Asuka turned her head away, "No, it's not. You don't know what I have done."

"Wondergirl..."

"Sohryu." Rei answered simply as the girl stood in her doorway, ragged and holding a sharp,

but broken blade in her hand. Rei however showed no sign of fear as the Second Child

slowly approached her. The Dark Side seemed to tumble about it her, conflicting with Rei's

handle on the Force. But Rei was unperturbed. There was a great swell of pity to be felt

here. And with that came...compassion.

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Flashback, Chap. 19

"If this is what it takes, then do it." Rei silently responded as she took a step toward the

deranged girl. "I will not be angry."

Asuka seemed confused for a moment, but only a moment. A mad look enter into her eyes and

with a cry, she lunged forward and stabbed the blade into Rei's heart.

"Yahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!"

Rei's eyes went wide and she fell back without so much as a cry. Her body smacked into the

floor and lay still. As blood pour out of the lifeless body, Asuka simply looked at down at her.

"Hehehe...huh?"

She lifted her hands and saw the blood that was sprayed onto her hands. The laughter died

immediately and Asuka looked back at Rei and her hands before reality smashed into her.

"Wh...what? What...have...I...What have I done?" She held her head in a frenzied panic and

her knees bent to the floor. The floor stained with the blood of the First Child.

"WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!"

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"After that, everything went dark."

Misato listened on, not wanting to let her emotions going riot at this confession. Asuka had

just admitted to killing Rei. It was hard not to go crazy on her for that. But she

remembered Asuka previous mental instability and figured that attributed to it. But in the

end, the shock of seeing Rei's body on the ground and her blood on Asuka's hands must

have pushed her beyond what she could hold and passed out into a coma due to the

stress. Misato could definitely relate to that.

"I can't believe...of all people...Wondergirl gave up her life...to help me." Asuka continued, her

voice beginning to break. "That even after that, she still helped me." Her hand clenched tightly,

trying to keep the tears from falling. "I was so lost, Misato. I kept hearing baka Shinji's voice,

but it seemed so far away. I couldn't reach it. But then, I heard her voice too. They both kept

calling, one by one. I had to reach them." A single tear finally broke Asuka's defense.

"I had to come back."

"Rei?" Misato asked. What Asuka told her about Rei was a little hard to swallow. She

understood Rei wanting to protect a fellow pilot, even if it meant her own life. But

Misato always thought that for Rei, that only meant in battle. Helping Asuka with a personal

crisis? 'What is going on with these Children?'

"But why? I don't understand."

Asuka sniffed a bit, "I don't believe it either. But...it makes sense."

"What? What does?"

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Flashback, Chap. 24

Asuka's eyes opened lightly at she awoke. A plain of white was before her sight and when she

blinked to clear her vision; she realized that she was looking at the ceiling. 'The hospital?

How...?'

Before another thought, a pile of clothes slumped lightly beside her. Asuka sat up slowly to

see Rei standing near her. A flash of memory hit Asuka and she gasped at seeing Rei, alive

and well. But that memory was also latched with a twinge of guilt.

"Wondergirl?"

"Sohryu." Rei started. "There is little time. You must save Shinji."

Asuka grasped her head to shake the cobwebs out, "What are you talking about?"

Rei began to move to the door, "I can not explain now. But I need your help. I can not help

Shinji now." She paused briefly, struggling somewhat.

"Please."

Asuka frowned. Despite all that happened, her older traits seemed to brush to the surface.

"Why? Afraid to lose you little boyfriend?"

Rei remained silent and opened the door to leave. But as she stepped out, she stopped

and answered softly.

"He's my brother."

"Her brother?!" Misato gasped.

---------------------------

I don't get it either, but she'd said she'd explain it later. But she wanted me to help Shinji and

she gave me his lightsaber-thingee."

Misato's mind went into warp. Rei saying that Shinji was her brother wasn't too hard to grasp.

After what Ritsuko told her and Shinji, it was possible. But Rei was part angel. How could that

be? But then, something else didn't add up.

"Wait. How did she know he was in trouble?" she asked suspiciously, "If what you say

is true, then this had to have happened before the attack, since Rei was in HQ minutes before

it began and hasn't gone anywhere since."

Asuka shrugged, "Don't look at me. I don't know how. All I know is that after she told me this,

she left. Minutes later, the alarms went off and I left the hospital. Then I heard that the

angel took over my Eva and I went toward the elevators. Then..."

Misato noticed her stop, "Then what?"

"I don't know. The elevators were gone and...I heard baka Shinji...calling out."

"To you?"

"Yes. I mean no. I mean..." Asuka stopped to think. "I don't know what I mean. He needed

help somehow and I dropped the lightsaber down the shaft."

'This just gets weirder and weirder', "How did you know he would catch it?"

"I don't..." She went silent once again and Misato moved before her and held her shoulders.

Asuka's eyes were down, but she managed to finish; speaking as if in enlightenment.

"Perhaps...the Force. I guess there's no other answer."

Misato shook her lightly, "What about Shinji? You said that he was here."

"Yeah." Her eyes were still looking down, but her voice was stead this time. "The baka looked

pretty worn out. He said that he just needed some time away. I thought he was running away

again, but he said that he would be back soon. Something about meditation."

Misato slowly released her. She understood Shinji's reasons. Although she wasn't around at

the time, she knew that he had formed some sort of bond with Kaoru. Having to kill a friend

would send anyone crazy, but Shinji seems to be dealing with it in his new way.

"Well, as long as he's okay." She frowned to herself though, "But this won't sound good to the

commander."

"He won't care."

Both Asuka and Misato turned to the new voice coming from the doorway. It was Rei.

At the appearance of the First Child, various emotions went through both Misato and Asuka.

For Misato, it was both suspicion and caution. For Asuka, it was guilt, confusion, and a hint of

anger. Rei seemed to detect hers first.

"There is no death; there is the Force."

Turning back to Misato, "Commander Ikari no longer needs Shinji-kun. The Seventeenth angel

is no more."

Misato sighed and sat down on the couch. Surprisingly, a can of beer had been placed on the

table before her. 'Shinji' she thought before she took the can and drank it. When she guzzled

enough, he gave another sigh, "Well, at least we won't have to deal with the angels anymore.

That's one thing down at least."

However, both Asuka and Rei gave dark glances and Rei responded, "I fear that the worse is

yet to come."

All three girls were silent after the statement, each knowing that the future held some hard

times for them all. A dark time was approaching for them. Whether they would be ready

for it or not was the question that remained.