CHAPTER 26: DEPTH OF LIES

Asuka walked into the classroom alone. Rei was at NERV conducting some kind of test. And Shinji had seemingly comedown with food poisoning or a stomach virus and was stuck at home. He kept complaining about having the 'screaming loose poops' and fatigue. He was bed ridden with water bottles next to him and powerful medication that Ritsuko brought over to help him. 'Ironic,' Asuka said to herself. 'Shinji goes through all the trouble of making a nice dinner for his squeeze and yet he's the one who gets laid out from it.' "This is fucking hilarious."

In the lower levels of Central Dogma there was a secret test lab that only a small handful of personnel had access to. This lab was very much different from other labs in NERV. This lab was devoted to the study of one Rei Ayanami. In the center of the room suspended in a tube filled with LCL that was hooked into an array of devices Rei floating naked. Inside, she maintained her posture as the Magi computers collected data after data from her psychic input.

Watching, silently, was the Commander of NERV, Gendo Ikari. His mind was thinking of the scenario and SEELE. He was wholly focused on ensuring that nothing interfered with it. Especially when it came to his ace in the hole: Rei. But, inside the tube, Rei was thinking not of the scenario. She was thinking about last night.

-Last night-

Rei was floating in darkness. She wasn't cold but she wasn't warm either. And she was floating all by herself; completely naked and alone. She was trapped in here. She didn't know where 'here' was, she just knew she was trapped. It was a void, completely naked of any definition. And the only light came from reflection on her skin. Where the reflected light was coming from she had no clue.

She heard something. It sounded like a person's voice but she couldn't make it out. But it was definitely someone calling for her. "If I die, I can be replaced," she said softly in reply. "I am replaceable." She heard the voice again. This time she could make out what it was saying.

"Rei!" The voice echoed all around her.

"I am not important. I am replaceable."

"Rei!" The voice shouted again. This time she could make out where it was coming from. Slowly she looked up and saw a glowing figure slowly descending towards her. "Rei!" For some strange reason she recognized the figure even though she couldn't make out any details other than it was male. The figure hit an invisible barrier. But he pushed against it, as if he were trying to break it down.

She noticed the figure's form was slightly distorted as if looking at it through water. "Rei! I'm not going to leave you!" He shouted to her as he growled, continuing to push against the barrier. "Grrrraaaarrrr!" He finaly pushed his right arm through followed by his head. "Rei! Come on!" He shouted to her as he reached out to her, his eyes glowing a bright red. The skin along his arm and face peeled off as if by fire to reveal dark red skin beneath it and his face cringed from the pain. "Climb!" His arm remained out stretched. "Rei!"

Slowly, Rei extended her hand to him. He was trying to pull her free from the void, this she knew. And although she couldn't identify this person she trusted him completely. His hand darted forward and took hers in a strong grip. He then recoiled back and yanked her up and out through the barrier he had pushed through.

She now found herself in a bright, ethereal plane colored by rays of soft blues, whites and grays. Her body's upward momentum slowly eased as her rescuer wrapped his left arm around her waist, holding onto her firmly, yet gently. She could feel how warm he was. Her left hand remained gently entwined with his right as he gently pulled her to him, resting his head against the left side of her neck and shoulder. "Rei," he whispered softly into her ear. She felt relieved to hear his voice even though she still could not for the life of her identify it. "I swear…I will never leave you…"

"I…" Rei spoke. "I'm sorry I…"

"It's alright, Rei," the man chuckled softly. "You don't have to apologize. You're special to me. And I love you, Rei," Rei gasped at those words of endearment. Words she had never heard from anyone. The figure pulled his head back and their eyes met. That's when she finally recognized his features.

"Sh-Shinji…" She whispered his name as his face drew near. Softly, his lips met hers in a warm, gentle kiss that filled her with an energy she had never experienced before. She felt warm, safe and…loved in his arms.

Rei woke up in her apartment with a start and gasp. She sat up in her bed and looked around her apartment. Nothing was out of place and the clock on her nightstand read 03:38, just after three-thirty in the morning. She had a test for the Dummy System at seven at headquarters. She would need her rest before that. But, her mind was still on the dream.

Why did she have that dream? Why was she floating in an empty void? Why was Shinji pulling her out? Why were his eyes glowing red? Why did they kiss? As she thought about the kiss in the dream Rei felt her heart beat and face heat up. Did she…did she want to kiss Shinji? Would he want to kiss her? He said she was special to him. He also told her that he loved her and those words made her feel…happy; more than happy, fulfilled.

'Do I…do I desire Shinji?' She asked herself as she lay back down on her bed. 'What does this mean?' She went back to sleep with those questions unanswered.

-Today-

'Should I ask the Commander? How would he feel?' She asked herself as she floated in the tube. 'What would he say if he knew?' She opened her eyes and met his gaze. Though he smiled at her she looked past his glasses and into his eyes. She felt no connection there, not like she did with Shinji. It was then that she realized the Commander would not approve.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, nearly a full kilometer beneath the lab, at a depth of more than two kilometers below the surface, Kaji typed the pirate code he whipped up the other day that should allow his hacked card access to the chamber beyond. As he was about to swipe it he felt something press against the back of his head and heard a gun cock, probably a pistol. He glanced back to see the beautiful face of the firearm's owner staring at him.

"Hi," he said smoothly. "Feeling better this morning are we?"

"I'm sober now, thank you," Misato replied.

"I'm glad to hear that," Kaji said with a slight chuckle.

"Is this your real profession Kaji?" She demanded from him. "Or is it just something you do on your own time?"

"Maybe it's both," Kaji shrugged. "What do you think?" He kept his cool through the whole thing since he knew he wasn't down here alone.

"I think it seems there's at least two Kaji Ryojis," she said accusingly, not noticing the figure stealthily walking up behind her. "One works for NERV's Special Investigations and the other would appear to be a spy for the Japanese Government."

'So she bought my cover?' "Huh," he chuckled. "So you knew."

"Don't underestimate me or NERV," she warned. "That would be a huge mistake on your part."

"Was this ordered by Ikari?"

"No, this is my initiative. The Commander doesn't know. Not yet at least. But, if you stay with this other job, you'll die."

"Perhaps not," Kaji said.

Without warning a gloved hand shot past Misato's head, grabbed her gun and twisted it back towards her as her finger pressed the trigger. The hammer fell not on the firing pin but on her attacker's thumb. Her attacker then drove something hard, an elbow or first into the back of her head so hard she saw stars in her eyes. A swift kick took out her left knee and she was forced to the ground, her gun gone and now pressed against her head with her strong arm forcefully locked behind her back. "Not on my watch, ma'am," her attacker said in a low voice into her ear. She tried to look but he forced her to face forward.

"Misato," Kaji said turning around halfway. "Meet my buddy, Ronin. That's not his real name, of course. But for security reasons, he can't take the chance of you identifying him. He's a cautious person, you understand."

"It was you, wasn't it?" She said accusingly. "It was both of you. You're the ones who arranged the power blackout! You destroyed the protein wall!"

"Well, we're guilty on the latter," Kaji said with a casual shrug. "Did what we could to help. But we're not responsible for the power failure. Not our style. We don't know who is. If we did, Ronin here would've paid them a little visit that would've been all over the news."

"They kind of pissed me off," Ronin growled again. Misato was sure he was deliberately hiding his voice and giving it a creepy tone. But something about him felt familiar.

"So what happens, now?" Misato asked. "Am I just collateral damage, Kaji?"

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you, Misato," Kaji said turning back to the console. "But, I am sorry that I've kept this from you. I was hoping to keep you out of this. For your protection, you see. Think you can let it pass?"

"Yeah," Misato said after a second's thought, "In exchange for your help last night."

"How sweet," Ronin chuckled.

"Can it, buster," Misato snapped. 'I haven't known this guy five minutes and we're bickering like school kids.'

"I appreciate it," Kaji said. "But…since we've already established a rapport, as it were, you should know that the Commander and Ritsuko are hiding something from you, too." He brought up his card. "And this is it!" He swiped the card but nothing happened. "Huh?"

"Wow," Misato chuckled sarcastically. "I'm impressed."

"I don't…" Kaji looked over the console. "It should've worked!"

"She interrupted you," Ronin said matter-of-factly. "Did you hit the 'return' key?" Kaji looked over at the console and deadpanned.

"Ah," he hit the button.

"Dumbass."/"Idiot." Ronin/Misato grumbled to which Kaji honored them with the 'one finger salute' over his shoulder. He swiped it once more and the doors began to open.

As they did so Ronin let Misato go. "Oh, my God," Misato muttered as she stood up. Before her, crucified above a lake of LCL, was a giant being impaled by an equally giant two pronged spear. It was white. Very white and had a violet mask with seven eyes. "Is…is that an EVA?" She looked closer. An image from Antarctica, seventeen years ago, flashed in her mind. "No…It-it can't be!" She shivered in terror.
"I'm afraid it is," Kaji nodded, "The key to the Second Impact and everything that's happened since. This is the first angel, Adam."

"Adam…but…but why is the First Angel here of all places? Why here?"

'I don't think that's Adam.' Ronin said to himself as he backed out, setting the USP40 on the floor. He could feel a slight pressure in his head. As though someone where gently poking at his brain with a feather. It soon began to develop into a dull throb.

"You're right, Kaji," Misato shook with anger. "I don't know them. I don't know NERV at all!" She just stood there, shaking with anger at being betrayed like this. Adam, the angel that took her father, the being that caused the deaths of three billion people, was being kept in NERV's basement. And she didn't even know about it. It explained why the angels always attacked NERV and Tokyo-3.

"How could…how could Ritsuko keep this from me? Me!? After everything that happened…" She turned around, unable to look at it anymore. That's when she noticed that Ronin was long gone. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"Oh," Kaji said looking over his shoulder. "He does that a lot. He's easily missed if he's gone for too long. He's got a cover to maintain, you know."

"I…I can't stay here," Misato said, picking up her sidearm. "For one I'm afraid I'd lash out at Ritsuko if I saw her. Plus, I need to check back on Shinji." She then marched out of the chamber, her footfalls heavy with anger.

XXXXX

'So Ritsuko knows that NERV is hiding the First Angel in Terminal Dogma?' Misato ground her teeth as she drove back to her apartment. 'What could they possibly want with it? What could they gain from it? Are they using it as bait to draw the angels here, where they can be destroyed?' She pulled to a stop at the light. 'But, if that's the case…why keep it a secret form me? I…I just can't believe Ritsuko would keep such a thing secret from me!' Misato took several deep breaths as she waited for the light to change. She forced herself to calm down. She couldn't let Shinji or Asuka see her so distressed. It might get them all worked up and worried about her. And they had enough on their shoulders without having to worry about her.

The light changed and Misato continued on. When she got back, Shinji was napping in his bed. "Shinji?" She whispered kneeling down at his side.

"Mmm," he grumbled rolling over. "'Sup, sunshine?"

"Feeling any better?" Misato put on the best happy smile she could, considering what she had just learned.

"Some," he nodded. "I don't get sick much. But when I do, whatever bug that gets through manages to knock me on my ass."

"You just stay in bed and drink lots of water," she said rubbing his hair.

"Like it's going out of style," he said pointing at the empty bottles.

"Wow," she smiled. "I'd better go get some more, then."

"Are you alright, Misato?" Shinji asked as she got up. "You look kind of tense."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she replied sheepishly. "I just needed to take care of a few things at HQ. A big pain in the ass, though. But, uh, it's nothing serious. I'll go get some more water. I'll be back!" And with that she left. When the front door closed Shinji sat up and thought over recent events.

"What the fuck is going on?"