Calm before the storm you could say for this chapter, though it was a lot of fun writing it. I'm hoping to get three chapters out a month so as to speed it to the end of summer. (But lets see how June goes now…)

Asuka opened her eyes groggily into a room which was completely unrecognizable to her.

'What am I doing here?' she wondered as she turned her head to and fro, looking every which way. As she tried raising her right arm though, she felt a sharp pain at the joint connecting her forearm and upper arm. Looking down at it, she thought she saw something that looked similar to a needle. Feeling rather claustrophobic, she pushed herself upwards, wincing at the creak in her joints, until her back was propped against the pillow she had been resting on.

The room she was, was like nothing she had ever seen before. The walls and ceiling were white with only a single lamp hanging from the ceiling, creating the only light in the room. All around her, an odd assortments of bags filled with some clear liquid and another which looked like blood, hung on plastic cords. Computers lined the wall along the far side of the room, directly across from her, and Asuka could see several windows open filled with strange formulas and numbers.

"Where in the hell am I?" she wondered openly this time, her frustration starting to become apparent.

"In a hospital room at Nerv's research facilities," said a voice to her right.

Asuka turned her head towards the sound of the voice, cricking it in the process, and stared back at the woman standing in the doorway. Very briefly however, a shadow of confusion seemed to pass over her face before she asked, "Ritsu...ko?"

"Glad to see that you still remember me," she replied as she entered the room and sat down on a chair next to Asuka's bed.

After a moments pause she asked, "How do you feel?"

Asuka took a second to reply as she looked down at her hands clasped together in her lap before she said, "I don't...really know. Everything feels...hazy. Why am I here? What happened?"

"All in due time. First I need to ask you some quick questions. You obviously know my name already, so then do you remember your own name."

"Asuka Langley Soryu," she replied without hesitating.

"Good. Now can you tell me what month and day of the week it is?"

"...Err...no, I can't remember it for some reason."

"Thats okay. If you knew what day it was I would have been astounded. Now...I told you are in a research facility in Nerv. Do you know what Nerv is?"

Almost as though she was reading out of a textbook, Asuka replied, "Nerv, as it is known by the general public: is a union of companies tasked with the remodeling and reshaping of the entirety of Japan, and the slow shift of the capital city to Tokyo-3. This however is just a pretense for what it really does. Nerv is in fact tasked with the defense of humanity against an invasion of beings known as angels, using giant humanoids known as Evangelions."

"Almost word for word of what you wrote down for your section three test," replied Ritsuko while beaming.

"Of course, as if I could forget something so fundamental as that."

"Then what is your function at Ner-"

However before she could finish, Asuka said with a slight smirk, "I am the designated pilot of Evangelion Unit 02, while my sync ratio has an average of 88%. I'm German, though one-fourth Japanese on my mothers side. I was born on December 4, 2001, and am fifteen years old. Anything else you'd like to know?"

Ritsuko slightly frowned at Asuka's attitude but accepted it for what it was.

"It seems like you remember everything."

"Great. So then why am I here?"

Ritsuko continued looking at her for a moment, before she stood up and walked over to the computers on the opposite side of the room. After looking at many numbers on the screen with regards to Asuka's brain waves, she fished a cigarette out of her pocket, lit it, and said without looking at Asuka, "Do you remember anything about battling the angels."

Asuka paused and seemed to search her mind.

"I do," she finally said. "But certain parts are...just blank. I defeated them all by myself though it seems like."

'As I figured,' thought Ritsuko. 'Every battle with the angels that she had with him has been replaced with herself fighting alone, thus creating the illusion of herself beating them all alone.'

"Good. The blankness is to be expected however with certain events. But it seems that no lasting mental contamination has effected you."

"Mental...contamination?"

"Yes...you're mind was invaded by an angel and analyzed several days ago."

"Several days...ago?"

"Yes...three to be exact. We were afraid that you're mind might have been broken, however it seems that you recovered miraculously well. We've been monitoring your life signs ever since then and its just now that you've awoken."

"By the angel invaded my mind...what do you mean?"

"They angel used an energy pattern with a similar signature to that of an AT-field, but as though it were in reverse. It seemed to pick apart your memories and mind, so having some stuff thats rather blank isn't too unsurprising."

Asuka was rather stunned after realizing that her mind had been sullied and opened her mouth slightly.

"I know this is rather a lot to take in Asuka, but I can guarantee you that nothing has changed."

"...What happened to the angel?"

"It was destroyed...by Rei."

"The pet! Did she also rescue me!" asked Asuka, her anger only too apparent.

"Well yes. But Asuka, if she hadn't destroyed the angel when she did, the damage you incurred may have become permanent."

"I don't care! Its too humiliating being saved by her or anyone!"

Ritsuko had forgotten just how much Asuka had changed in these past months.

"I can understand your need to prove yourself, but you're alive, and you should be grateful for that."

"I don't care," Asuka said, turning her head away from Ritsuko. "I'm not gonna grovel in front of somebody who has no human emotions."

"Well at least you seem to be yourself," said Ritsuko, ending the conversation instantly.

"Great, so when can I get out of here?"

"Soon most likely. I have to run a few more tests to be positive that there's no contamination before you move back in with Misato."

"Oh...thats right," Asuka said with a rather surprised look on her face. "I'm living with her."

"Yes you are, and she's been asking me every day about updates on your condition."

"So she was worried huh?" wondered Asuka, feeling sorta touched.

"Yes, she...blamed herself partially because of your condition."

"Why?"

"Because she relies on you so much."

Asuka's pride, already swollen to begin with, seemed to swell to the size of a small elephant.

"Well," she said with an arrogant look on her face, "everybody does rely on me."

"Yes, well...I'll be back later to check your reflexes and any physical changes that may have happened to your body, though its not expected that I'll find anything. You should be discharged later today."

"Okay...um what time is it?"

Looking at her watch, Ritsuko said, "Just before noon. You should be in your own room before five."

"Great, because this bed isn't anything like my own."

"Yes...well, I should get going."

Before Asuka was able to ask her any more questions, Ritsuko left, closing the door behind her, and turned towards her left where she knew somebody would be waiting for her.

"How is she?" asked Misato while she continued looking across the hallway, her back resting against the white sheet-rocked wall.

"Fine, in the normal sense of the word. No mental contamination and it seems that her memory seems to be mostly intact."

"Mostly?"

"Everything relating to him has been replaced with the illusion of things she did alone, including the angel battles they participated in."

"I thought as much...what about-"

"There is no lasting impression of that incident. The body...may remember it, but the mind wont. From what I understood, if she had never gone to that grocery store, it would not have happened. Since in her mind, she never went to the grocery store, it never happened."

"Thats a relief I suppose," said Misato thinking that at least something good had come out of this.

"And what about her father?"

"I am not sure what happens with that. Of course, he's disabled so its rather irrelevant whether it effects him or not. His damaged brain does not remember how he ended up in that state in the first place, so its unknown if he did remember, whether those memories would have been erased or not. But as for Asuka, my guess is she does not know about her father, nor do I think she would really care.

Misato hesitated for a second before she asked, "Does he know that Asuka is awake yet?"

"No...I thought I would let you break the news to him, though last I heard he was in Unit 02's chamber.

"...Again?"

"Yes...and we still aren't sure about the pattern blue that was detected inside Unit 02, however we know that the pattern blue detected before while we were doing the test of Unit-03 is the same as was detected three days ago."

"So it had nothing to do with the psychic attack against Asuka by the angel."

"No...it didn't, which makes me worried about some sort of outside interference. But its best if we don't talk about that...I'm sure you realized about the tightening of security."

"I have, and hope that I'm not feeling paranoid or anything."

"You'd have a right to be. You already heard about the fourth?"

"Yes...they met not to long ago."

Ritsuko bit down on her lip slightly before saying, "His first synchronization test is supposed to be today."

"How? He doesn't even have an Evangelion thats his."

"Thats...supposed to not matter. He seems to be able to freely synchronize himself with almost any Eva."

"Any?"

"Unit 01 will most likely refuse the synchronization, since only one person has ever been able to pilot it effectively. Most likely Unit 02 will be chosen as the replacement since we're still unsure whether Asuka will be able to pilot again, or if any mental trauma makes her unable to pilot."

"But what about the pattern-"

"The commander knows where the fourth comes from, as I'm sure you do too. He knows that the fourths an agent sent to spy on him, and the loss of the Lance of Longinus is a blow that they were unable to foresee."

"Seele," whispered Misato, more to herself than at Ritsuko.

"Anyway...you can go in and see her if you want, just watch what you say if we intend on continuing this ruse."

"I don't...think I can yet."

"Still holding regrets?"

"No but...I feel that this could have been done differently."

Sighing lightly, Ritsuko passed Misato before whispering in her ear, "Just remember that we're not the ones hurt most deeply by this. And he wouldn't want you feeling sorry over something that isn't your fault."

Smiling briefly at Misato, Ritsuko passed her, fishing another cigarette out of her pockets and lighting it quickly, before she rounded a corner and passed out of sight.

Misato stood still for a moment, debating who she should talk to first. Asuka was her immediate choice, but she felt he deserved to know she was awake.

"Right...I suppose I should find Shinji then," she said openly, not caring whether anybody heard her or not.

However, behind her a door closed with nothing but a snap.

Asuka stood with her back to the door she had just closed. After Ritsuko had left, she had grabbed the wires and cords that were connected to her body, and ignoring the sharp pain, had pulled them off herself. Everything still felt like a dream, but she found that her balance at least was still in tact, and she was able to plod slowly towards the door where she could hear Ritsuko and Misato talking behind it. A lot of things that they said didn't really register with her brain. She heard something about the fourth child, her father, something to do with her own Evangelion, and Misato had mentioned somebody by the name of Shinji just now, who she had never heard of in her life.

"...Shinji," she mumbled to the empty room, running a hand through her hair as she said.

"Hmph...sounds like an idiot."

While Misato went to Unit 02's chamber to look for Shinji, the boy in question had already long left the Nerv facilities and ended up walking around Tokyo-3, in fact, he found that he was doing this more and more lately.

The past three days for Shinji, well, he simply was surprised he had made it this long without going insane. Each day was a simple fight to not rush to Asuka's bed side. He found though, that these walks that he had now started to take cleared his mind exceptionally well, and he was reminded of why he used to walk so much. It was to get away from everything. But didn't that also mean he was running away from his problems? Also, these past few days he had noticed something which he had already been afraid of ever since he had promised himself he would never try to redevelop the relationship him and Asuka had. But it wasn't any easier to admit that his feelings were-

"Shinji-kun, I'm surprised to see you here."

Shinji spun around so quickly that for a second his hands seemed to be blurred as he brought them up to generate an AT-field, briefly thinking of decapitating the person who interrupted his thoughts, when he saw that it was Kaoru.

Freezing his hands in mid swing, he glared back at Kaoru before snarling, "What'd you want? I'm not in the mood to talk right now!"

"Talk? No, I'm just surprised that you're not at Nerv."

"Whats there for me?" grumbled Shinji.

"True...well I suppose that I'll see you later Shinji-kun."

As Kaoru walked past him, Shinji noticed that he seemed to be heading towards the Nerv elevator he had just come up.

"Are you...going to Nerv?" asked Shinji hesitantly.

Turning around, Kaoru said with a smile, "Yes, I am. I have a synchronization test in an hour."

Still hesitating, unsure how much he cared to know, Shinji eventually asked, "How? There isn't an Eva that would respond to you."

Shrugging slightly, with a smile still seemingly plastered on his face, Kaoru said, "No, there shouldn't be. However they still want to run some tests."

"Why bother?" said Shinji still feeling like shit.

"My synchronization rating is abnormally high like your own, they probably want to...find out why."

At his words, Shinji narrowed his eyes slightly. Since his first encounter with Kaoru, he had never really liked him. He always wore that smile on his face, but the eyes were different: cold and mocking. Then there was his suspicion about him having an AT-field such as his own, and now he learns that he has a strangely high synchronization also.

"I doubt they'll learn anything they didn't already from testing me," Shinji eventually said.

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm not you, so things will not be the same. Where were you going though, if you don't mind me asking?"

Sighing heavily, Shinji said, "I don't rightly know myself."

"Well, if you decide on returning before my test, you can see everything with your own eyes."

Smiling again, as though he was inviting Shinji to go with him, Kaoru continued walking down the sidewalk, hands thrown behind his head, leaving Shinji standing there, confused about his last words.

'He knows something about me,' thought Shinji as he watched Kaoru's retreating back. 'And he supposedly came from Seele, so he's watching both me and my father.'

Shinji continued standing still for a minute until Kaoru had rounded the corner at the end of the block.

'Well, at least I think I know where to go now,' thought Shinji as he turned his head towards the most inhospitable part of Tokyo-3.

He was going to see the one person who he felt could give him some good heartfelt advice.

After walking for almost an hour, during which he reminded himself that Kaoru's synchronization test would be commencing, he gazed at the sign above the shop that read, 'Cafe.' Nothing seemed to have changed since his last visit (which sorely reminded him of Asuka) of which he was rather thankful for. He wasn't sure how much change he could take in a week. Though as he placed a hand on the door nob, several things happened. First: he felt a vibration in his pocket meaning that the cell phone he had borrowed from Misato was going off. Second: he could see several large silhouettes inside the small cafe, all crowded around the counter. Instantly forgetting about the cell phone in his pocket, he threw the door open with such force that for a second, he thought he had forced the glass panes out. What greeted him was not an endearing sight.

The two he had met before, Eein and Gonzo, were both leaning across the counter and seemed to be grappling with somebody, while two other thugs seemed to be jeering and laughing at the sight before them. It took Shinji all but half a second to move.

The two thugs were just turning around as the ringing sound of the bell from the door met their ears, only to be face to face with a very angry Shinji; he had cleared the distance between the door and the counter in two fluid steps. As the two thugs seemed to realize this kid wasn't somebody that they had to pull their blows on, they both reeled backwards to strike him in the face, but were quickly met with two palms smashing into their chins. Shinji, who may have been considered tall by Asuka (who was actually rather short), was still shorter than these two. However, pushing his feet upwards, he managed to thrust a palm against both of the thugs lower jaw. Adding way more force that he had intended, Shinji felt sooner than he heard, the crunching and grinding of the upper and lower jaw bones as they collided. Trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach, and the way a cold shivered traveled down his spine he let the two drop on either side of him, both of them completely unconscious.

The noise though didn't go unnoticed from either Eein or Gonzo and soon they were both staring surprised at the teenager in front of him, pure hatred seeming to flow out of the pores of his body.

"Oh yes...I remember," said Eein finally as he recognized Shinji. "You're that kid that interrupted me before, when I was getting my cut of sales. Well, I suppose you weren't entirely bluffing with the way you looked at me last time." He looked grimly down at the two fallen thugs next to Shinji and sneered at there unconscious form.

"Tch, its so hard to come by decent body guards. Though it looks as those two dropped quicker than I had thought." Looking back at Shinji, he said, "You're an interesting kid. How about working for me-"

"I'd no sooner work for you than wipe my ass with your shitty money."

"Hmph, you don't know what you're missing. Whatever...if you won't listen then, I can just have you killed."

Gesturing to Gonzo, who had stood silent throughout the confrontation, he finally moved and seemed to draw something out from under the baggy sweatshirt he was wearing. At first, Shinji thought it was a knife, something like a switchblade, but next second as it came into better view, he realized that this wouldn't end well.

"Its amazing how many of these are floating around on the black market," said Eein as he eyed the Glock in Gonzo's hand. "It comes standard issue with most police uniforms and I've heard that there was a sudden stockpile increase on the black market. Their a dime a dozen now."

Shinji held his gaze at the gun in Gonzo's hand, ready to make a sudden move if need be. However, what Eein then ordered Gonzo to do next threw Shinji for a loop.

Reaching behind the counter, Gonzo seemed to grab something and struggle with it for a second before pulling it roughly onto the counter.

"Lets see whether you adjust that attitude of yours after this," sneered Eein as he ordered Gonzo to point the gun at the woman's head.

It took all of Shinji's control to not decapitate Gonzo right there as he saw what kind of condition Rebecca was in. Her lower lip was split, creating a small trickle of blood that dripped down her chin. Her right eye was slightly closed as though it was painful to keep it completely open. Her dark hair, which normally had a certain sheen, hung limply around her face and behind her while Shinji thought he saw more streaks of crimson then there should be. The amazing thing was, there wasn't a single streak of a dried tear on her face. She had not cried throughout it all, and even now a defiant look was still on her face as she gazed back at Shinji.

As Shinji took all this in, his mouth eventually opened slightly into something of shock, but then he closed it with a snap and turned towards Eein who was leaning against the counter and smirking.

"She got a bit too snappy and I thought I should correct her," laughed Eein. Apparently he thought that Shinji was powerless with a gun pointed at somebody he cared for.

Speaking very clearly, annunciating with each word, Shinji said, "Let her go...or even I don't know what you'll look like after I'm done with you."

"Ha! I'll admit, you're a strange boy," said Eein. "But nobody is above the power of a gun. You're still flesh and blood."

'Well he is right there,' thought Shinji.

"So I'll give you two options, back up and leave...or die," finished Eein. "I don't care either way honestly, and the world would probably be better off without people like you."

Shinji stood still with his hands hanging loosely at his side. He wondered how quickly Gonzo could turned the gun at him and pull the trigger.

'Probably not as fast as I could generate an AT-field...but its best not testing it.' He still never wanted to use his AT-field on another human being if he could help. But this was pushing him, and his angel self was starting to gain dominance over his mind.

"What did she say to you?" asked Shinji hesitantly, trying to delay the inevitable decision.

Eein paused for a second, as though trying to decide whether it was worth his time to answer the question.

"She asked why I took eighty percent of the profits even if it was only considered change to me. As if I needed to remind her that she was my property whether or not I took her earnings from her."

"But her mother," said Shinji still trying to delay.

"I don't give two shits about her useless mother. She's nothing but a useless piece of flesh that will die off eventually. I've actually been considering turning this into a whore house with Becca here as the main attraction."

If Shinji had been holding something, it would have snapped cleaning in two at Eein's words.

"I mean lets face it, there just aren't enough good fucks in this part of Tokyo-3. Now if I could get some of those overseas whores, that'd be good business. I heard that German red heads fuck like dogs."

...Shinji's angel half at his point, completely took over.

He stood still for a moment before he slowly fixed his eyes directly on Eein's and said in a whisper, "...Take that back."

"Hmmm? Whats the matter? Do you have a thing for German red heads or something? Or could it be that you know somebody that fits that description?"

Shinji retorted in a voice completely unlike his own. It was forceful, almost as though it where a command, "Take that back."

"And if I don't?" asked Eein mocking him.

Shinji's eyes, in reply, flashed a deep crimson.

Eein and Gonzo both saw this and for a moment seemed unsure of themselves, but in the end assumed it was a trick of the light.

"Fine then have it your way. Gonzo!"

For somebody so big and heavy, Gonzo was able to move his meaty arm quite quickly. Swinging the Glock around so that it pointed at Shinji, he pulled the hammer back and aim it at his chest.

"Cya kid," laughed Eein just as Gonzo pulled the trigger.

The Glock exploded, firing a three round burst directly at Shinji. The first bullet past directly over his right shoulder. The second bullet however found its mark, and buried itself into the shoulder that the first bullet had missed. His entire body was pushed backwards as the bullet hit him, jerking his body to the right. A crimson puff of mist seemed to explode outward from behind his shoulder, creating a one inch hole. The third bullet...never got very far past to chamber of the Glock.

With Shinji's angel self fully in control right now, he saw things differently. The first bullet he knew would pass directly over his right shoulder while the second bullet would hit his shoulder. The third bullet however would have ripped apart his right lung before burying itself in his spinal cord. No matter how abnormal Shinji was, he was still made of flesh and blood, as Eein had pointed out. He was able to regenerate the wound in the shoulder, but if the bullet exploded as it hit the spinal cord, he may as well be considered KIA. As such, he let himself be wounded before slicing the third bullet in two with his AT-field just as it left the Glock's chamber.

Eein and Gonzo both saw the second bullet hit him, but their vision was obscured briefly as a flash of orange lit up the room. This was of course the moment the third bullet was split.

"What happened?" asked Eein after a second when he saw that Shinji was still standing, completely ignoring the bullet wound in his shoulder. "Why isn't he dead? I though that thing was three round burst?"

"I don't know boss. I fired three bullets and that third one should have hit him."

"Well fire again you fucking retard!" yelled Eein.

As Gonzo aimed the gun again, there was another flash of orange light and this time, the gun seemed to be cloven from Gonzo's hand where it fell to the floor and shattered into several pieces.

"What the fuck!"

Eein asked this as he looked back at Shinji, who's eyes had become blood red.

"I told you to take it back," said Shinji in that same cold emotionless voice as he took a step closer towards the two.

"Stop him damn it!" roared Eein at Gonzo.

Hesitating slightly, as though trying to decide who was more dangerous: his boss or the kid in front of him, he eventually reached under his sweatshirt, and this time did extract a switchblade from underneath it. Charging straight at Shinji, who had not moved since he took that previous, he brought the knife up and swished it down, intending to stab it into Shinji's already wounded shoulder. However, he screamed in pain as the force he put behind the stab collided against Shinji's AT-field. It felt as though he had tried to stab a solid wall of concrete, sending vibrations up the fingers that were grasping the blade. Taking several steps back, he looked down at the blade which was bent in an odd direction, while his fingers were likewise in strange directions. Looking back horridly at Shinji, he mouthed like a fish out of water before the AT-field crashed against him, knocking the wind out and spewing blood out of his mouth as he went skidding across the floor.

Eein looked agape at Shinji as Gonzo came sliding to rest at his feet, and for the first time in his life, he looked scared.

"Yo-You...who are yo-you?"

Shinji was silent as he took another step forward, his eyes still blood red and the orange triangular like AT-field in front of him for all to see.

"Stay back damn it! I-I have friends high up that wo-won't let you get away wi-with this."

"Take it back," Shinji mumbled, all signs of his previous self gone.

"Okay...okay I take back what I said! I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I won't ever bother Rebecca again! Just please don't kill me!"

Shinji continued taking steps forward until he was standing directly in front of this disgusting human being. If he was still in his right mind, this would have looked oddly familiar.

"You want me to forgive you?" he asked still not showing any emotions. "You sure? I think that the world would be better off without people like you actually," said Shinji, mimicking what Eein had said moments ago.

"I'm sorry! I'm Sorry!" he shrieked.

Shinji's gaze, which had seemed completely expressionless softened slightly as he watched this pitiful excuse of a human groveling in front of him.

'This isn't right,' a corner of his mind said to him, 'I promised not only myself, but Asuka that I would never use my AT-field against another human being...and yet look at me right now.'

'Who cares,' said another voice in his mind, 'he deserves it. Paint the walls and floor of this place red in his blood.'

'No...I won't,' thought Shinji a little more forcefully.

'Do it! He would have killed you! Every human being is scum! Every human deserves to be ground into the dirt from which they came out of! The Tree of Life shall regrow and Earth shall be rebuilt!'

'Enough!' thought Shinji silencing the other voice.

Almost as though he had just opened his eyes after sleeping for the past few minutes, Shinji regained control over his self. He looked around at the three bodies lying unconscious on the floor and then at Eein who was leaning against the wooden counter.

"I won't forgive you and you don't deserve to live...in fact I think you know that. But I can't kill you. You're pitiful and a lousy excuse of a human. Go crawl back to your father, and don't let me hear of you hanging around here anymore. Consider yourself lucky...a few more seconds and I would have killed you. Now get out of here!"

Without needing anything further to persuade him, Eein pushed himself off the floor and scrambled to the door, slipping on the floor that was largely red from Shinji's own blood, before he opened the door and closed it with a bang.

As he left, the built of tension still remaining in Shinji seemed to evaporate out of him. Looking down at the three unconscious bodies around him, he decided that at most he should get them out of the cafe. Using both his AT-field, and his own strength, he managed to haul the three of them into a pile around the side of the cafe where an alley ran in between the two roads. Walking back into the shop, he wasn't entirely surprised to see that Rebecca was still in the place Gonzo had left her. She seemed too shocked to speak right now.

Stepping over the broken glass from the door frame that was created by the first bullet, Shinji walked around the side of the counter and was about to put an arm on Rebecca's shoulder when she seemed to collapse from shock. Reaching out for her shoulders, he managed to keep her upright and slowly she seemed to regain control of her feet. Looking around quickly, he found a wash cloth used to clean tables and ran some water over it from the sink before passing it to her.

"Here," he mumbled dejectedly, unsure how much longer he'd even be here before she started shrieking about what a freak he was.

However, she did no such thing.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she took the wet cloth from him, running it over her face slowly. "But really this should be for you," she said as she turned towards him.

Looking back at her, he asked without much hope in his heart, "Why?"

"That wound of yours...you should really go to the hospital. You were shot."

"Its nothing," said Shinji hurriedly.

"Nothing! You're still losing blood! You're-"

She froze mid sentence though as she saw the strangest thing she'd ever see. Almost as though she was watching a movie in reverse, the blood flowing from the inch wide hole in Shinji's shoulder suddenly stopped. Next second her eyes widened, as the flesh around the wound started to swirl inward as if billions of cells were reconnecting the tissue at high speed. Eventually, the wound on Shinji's shoulder was completely sealed up, leaving it slightly raw as though he had just received an Indian burn somehow. That entire right side of his body, including his cloths, was still drenched in blood though.

Shinji knew this would happen sooner or later, and he had rather wanted it to happen without Rebecca having to witness it, for certainly now, she thought he was freak.

"Shinji...you left some things out when you visited last time...didn't you?"

Shinji who had not expected this answer at all, took several seconds to turn to her. It was then that he saw his own reflection in the coffee pot just behind Rebecca, not realizing just how bad he looked. His eyes were of course still blood red, while he had blood splattered over most of his clothes and small streaks of it on his face

"Thats...not the answer I expected to get," said Shinji in all honesty, still not really looking at her.

"Whats that supposed to mean?" asked Rebecca.

"Just that...you see what I am now."

"What you are? Well I don't rightfully know that still. You're different than me certainly, in more ways than one. But does that matter...you've helped me twice now."

"Yeah but...weren't you afraid?" This was what he had been most worried.

"Of course I was. Seeing you like that...it was like I was looking at a different person. What was that orange triangle thing that I saw?"

"That...its called an AT-field...and thats all I can tell you. You already know too much as it is."

"Shinji...what happened to you? You seemed perfectly fine last time I saw you-"

"Last time? Well things have happened since then I guess. But this...its been going on for a while, just...that its been getting stronger recently."

"Why?"

Shaking his head, Shinji said, "I don't even know. There are a lot of theories as to why I have this...power. But I still don't know myself. And I hate it!"

"Well I can understand that but...I mean...you just helped me get rid of Eein for what looks like that last time. So it can't be all that-"

"Rebecca...I killed somebody with this power before." It was only then did Shinji finally look her in the eye, as though trying to get across how serious this was.

"...Oh...what...happened?"

"...Its...too painful. Even now I hate to think about it. Basically I lost control, because it was the first time I had gone into that state where I didn't think of anything except killing the person in front of me...because they harmed somebody dear to me. Usually its my anger that sets it off. The person was even more loathsome than Eein...but even so...I killed him with my own two hands."

"Shinji...I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I've been dealing with this for a while now...and I promised that I wouldn't kill anybody with my AT-field ever again...it was only because of that promise that I didn't kill Eein."

"So then...what Asuka asked you before...was she referring to this...AT-field of yours?"

"When we were here last time? Yeah, she was afraid that I had used it against Eein and Gon...wait...you remember Asuka?"

Rebecca blinked back at him, thinking that she had misheard the question.

"Why wouldn't I remember her?" asked Rebecca skeptically. "I'd be hard pressed to forget the annoyed looks she was sending me."

"...I know. But wait, no! How are you able to remember her?"

"What do you mean? ...Did something happen between you?"

Shinji opened his mouth as though he was going to say, 'no,' but instead closed it and turned away from her. Eventually he started very quietly.

"It happened a few days ago...another angel showed up and Asuka...her mind was damaged, her memories of me to be precise. She no longer remembers who I am."

Even though he had promised himself that he wouldn't cry over this, speaking it out loud for the first time made him seize up for a second.

"Shinji...I...Oh my God...isn't there a way to...fix them...or...for her to regain them."

"There is but...its too dangerous, and if it fails her mind would be broken permanently."

"Shinji...are you-"

"I'm fine," he said a little too forcefully. Though seeing that hurt look on her face he sighed and said, "I'm dealing with it okay. But every things...just been happening so quickly. First the fourth shows up, and then Asuka just...disappears from my life."

"The fourth?"

"...Never mind. But anyway, why are you able to remember Asuka, but a bunch of kids at my school aren't able to remember me?"

"Why don't they remember you?"

"Because I met them through Asu-"

'Wait,' he suddenly thought, cutting himself off mid sentence. 'I met Touji, Kensuke, and Hikari through Asuka essentially. If Asuka had never been there, I never would have gotten to know them, because I had never talked to them before. But then what about Rebecca? I introduced Rebecca to Asuka and vice versa...so then...what? Because my memories of Asuka still exist...Rebecca still remembers her?

"Rebecca...how well do you remember Asuka?"

"...I don't under-"

"Clearly, how clearly do you remember her. Features, personality, anythi-"

"Yes, I remember her very clearly, even though it was the first time I'd met her."

"So you could pick her out in a crowd based solely on how she looks."

"Easily...and she doesn't look Japanese at all in the first place."

"True," mumbled Shinji.

"Why do you seem so anxious though?"

"What? Oh nothing...never mind," said Shinji not entirely truthful.

"Shinji...have you seen her at all yet...or talked with her?"

"No...and I don't intend to unless its part of working as an Eva pilot."

"What? Why? You could rebuild the relationship you had before."

Shaking his head, Shinji said, "It doesn't work like that. If I were to try and rebuild my relationship with Asuka, and she remembered everything in the process, it'd be possible that her mind would break...permanently."

"But doing this! Doing absolutely nothing about this and acting as though its fine! Isn't that even worse!"

"I don't care...if she's alive and fine then I can live with simply the memories that I have."

"But they're simply memories, and not a reality!"

"But I can still remember...and thats enough for me."

"You don't believe that do you?"

It took Shinji a few moments to reply, but when he did, she only caught every other word, "I can't afford to not believe that. Because if I don't...I'll end up hurting her."

"But you haven't even tried!"

Shrugging, Shinji mumbled, "No, I haven't...but even if I did it wouldn't make a difference."

Turning away from her, he walked around the side of the counter and started walking towards the door when she shouted, "You're just running away from it all! Can't you see that!"

Shinji seemed to pause for a second and flinch at her words, so like that of his father and for a moment Rebecca thought that he would yell at her, when instead he turned his head towards her and said, "I'm running away for her sake...so its fine. And I probably won't see you again after this, unless its in the sea of LCL fluid. If you'll take my advice, you'll move out of Tokyo-3 and find somebody that cares for you. Goodbye Rebecca.

Shinji turned and grabbed the door nob, ignoring the pane of glass that still hung in the frame, and walked out in the open sun, leaving Rebecca still standing behind the counter.

"'Find somebody that cares for you,'" she mouthed. "As if anybody could care for me as you did."

Finally, a single tear streamed down her face.

Shinji flipped open the cell phone, when he remembered that somebody had tried to call him before he had entered the cafe and everything else had been blown apart. Two missed calls and a voicemail were waiting for him, both of them from a phone line that he guessed was a Nerv number. Navigating to his voicemail, he pressed the select button and held the phone up to his ear as he listened to the voicemail.

After a moments pause of nothing but silence as though the speaker was unsure whether what they were doing was wise or not, a female voice came on the phone.

"Hey Shinji...its Misato. I guess you left a while ago, because I went to Unit 02's chamber earlier but you had already left. I'd heard that you met the fourth, Nagisa Kaoru I should say, earlier and learned that he would be taking his synchronization test today. He seemed to wish you had been there to watch."

Removing the phone from his ear, Shinji looked down at it while Misato kept talking away about stuff he didn't really care about.

"Call me when you actually have something to say," murmured Shinji as he made to close the phone.

"Asuka woke up...Shinji."

Shinji paused as he was half way through closing the phone, and did a double take. He didn't hear anything for a long time though and thought that Misato had hung up before he heard several quite words.

"Just thought you should know."

A quick click followed shortly after ending the voicemail. The operator started asking the usual questions of saving the voicemail or replaying while Shinji continued looking down at the phone, replaying Misato's last words in his own head. Eventually he closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Thanks Misato," he whispered, before he continued walking down the sidewalk, and back to his cold hard bed waiting for him at Nerv.

"Dear God its good to be back," jeered Asuka as she threw open the door to Misato's apartment and seemed to parade in.

"Glad you seem so excited," laughed Misato as she walked in behind Asuka, carrying the nights meal with her. She now wondered how she was going to live without Shinji's cooking, but rebuked herself for how selfish she was being.

"After being stuck in that room for three days, even if I can't remember any of it, it just feels good to be back here. Hey can I take a shower first? Ritsuko wouldn't let me for some reason."

"Go ahead," said Misato as she took of her shoes, "you remember where it is right?"

"Of course," replied Asuka, looking at Misato rather shrewdly.

Half an hour later, Asuka walked into the kitchen, drying off her hair with a red towel, effectively matching her fiery hair. She had thrown on a loose, bright yellow tang top and low cut pair of shorts giving every inclination that she didn't care how she looked once she was inside the apartment. Misato was at the table, wearing something similar, and drinking a can of beer, having already finished her dinner.

"Phew...now I feel more like myself," sighed Asuka as she sat down in a chair across from Misato. Looking at the fast food that Misato had just gone through, she scrunched up her face in disgust.

"I had forgotten that you can't cook anything," said Asuka.

"Don't remind me," replied Misato as she took another sip of beer, "And its not as bad as it could have been."

"...What is it exactly?"

"No clue...yours is sitting in the microwave waiting for you to reheat it."

"Thanks," scoffed Asuka not really meaning it.

Misato frowned at her, forgetting how much of a change had happened to her when Shinji entered her life.

Standing up, Asuka walked over to the microwave and punched in some numbers, warming it up quickly, all the time muttering how this was little better than Nerv's food.

'If you don't like it, why don't you cook,' thought Misato. 'Its not like you can't.'

As Asuka sat down back at the table, Misato finally decided to ask, "How do you feel?"

Asuka, who was just about to take her first bite of the lackluster meal, paused and looked up at Misato. Looking back down at her food, she pushed it away from her, suddenly feeling her appetite slip away. Shifting rather uncomfortably now from one side of the chair to the other, she finally said, "I don't...really know. Its a lot to take in all at once...and I don't quite understand the whole memory thing...I mean," she swallowed. "Why did the angel search my memories in the first place...it had to be looking for something, right?"

"Thats what we guessed," said Misato, "but we don't haven any idea what it was looking for," she finished. However, this was a downright lie. Ritsuko had very expressly told her that the angel was searching for anything relating to Shinji, and Asuka seemed to be the person that knew him the best. Or did, at least.

"And things are still...entire blanks. Its like...I can remember myself doing things...and some of it makes sense...but other times its like as though somebody was missing. I asked Ritsuko about these lapses in my memory, but she didn't really say anything. I feel like...there is too much gone, like something was cut out."

Misato looked back at her for a moment, surprised at Asuka's deductive reasoning. Well, she had always been exceptionally smart, so this was somewhat expected.

"I can't explain it any better than Ritsuko can...probably worse for that matter. Memory of course is stored in the brain, and even with all our technological advances in the twenty-first century, we still don't fully understand how the brain works. Maybe everything will just come back to you," said Misato.

"Yeah...maybe," said Asuka rather glumly, not at all in the mood to eat now.

"Well you're alive and well, and you survived a traumatizing experience, so we can be thankful for that. I was worried about you Asuka."

"...Thanks...I know I don't say that often, but when Ritsuko told me..."

"I understand, and you should probably get some rest. Ritsuko wants to do another physical examination on you tomorrow and she doesn't want you moving around too much today."

"Mmm...okay. I'm still a little groggy I guess."

Standing up and completely ignoring the food that was still sitting on the kitchen table she turned towards her room and started walking towards it.

'Why do I feel like Misato wasn't entirely truthful about my memories?' thought Asuka. 'I can understand the brain thing, having taken a class on the study and functions of the brain, but...I don't know, I just feel like she left something out. Eh, whatever, I'm sure I'm just over thinking thi-'

Asuka had thrown open the door to her room only to find it completely empty. After a moments pause, Asuka opened her mouth and...

"THE FUCK! WHERE IS ALL MY STUFF!

From the kitchen could be heard the sound of Misato spilling her beer and a string of cuss words at Asuka's sudden outburst which surprised her.

"Asuka what are you-"

"WHY IS THERE NOTHING IN HERE! WAS I EXPECTED TO DIE OR-"

"Asuka thats the spare room, you're room is next to that one!" yelled Misato.

It took Misato's words a few seconds to sink in until Asuka opened her mouth in a comical, 'O.' Turning back to the empty room, she looked it over and realized that it was slightly smaller than her own room.

'How did I mistake this for my own room, and why did I go here in the first place?'

Sticking her head back into the hallways, she shouted towards Misato, "Has this room always been empty!"

"Of course...why?"

"No...I was just thinking, why I never used it to store my stuff that couldn't fit in my first room. Is it alright if I use it for that?"

Shrugging, Misato said, "Go ahead, nobody else is going to use it."

"Good, because I don't like half my things sitting in the Nerv storage."

As Asuka walked back into the empty room, she didn't see the forlorn look that seemed to pass over Misato's face.

'Yeah, this should be enough room to store everything else I own, since it is only boxes,' thought Asuka back inside the room as she took another look around. 'But why...I don't ever remember being in here before, yet Misato said its been empty this entire time.'

Suddenly, and at this very thought, her mind was hit by such a severe headache that at first she thought something had ruptured inside her brain.

'No...I've been in here before...but...I can't remember. Why can't I remember? I feel as though I should...'

"Asuka? You okay in there?"

"Fine," Asuka heard herself reply, but in truth she wasn't sure if she was fine. This room bothered her for some reason, and she didn't like how she felt standing there.

'Maybe I wont keep my stuff in here,' she thought as she turned around and left Shinji's room.

After closing the door to the empty room, she looked across the hallway at Misato and saw that she was watching her intently. Frowning slightly, she brushed off her miss givings and turned towards her own room. However, she paused as she remembered something.

"Misato...has the third child arrived yet?"

Asuka could have asked anything relating to Shinji, but in Misato's eyes, she couldn't have asked something so hurtful. It showed just how far apart Shinji and Asuka were.

Trying to keep the trembling and hesitancy in her voice to a bear minimum, Misato said, "Yes...both him and the fourth arrived while you were unconscious."

"Both of them...at the same time?"

"It was rather...unexpected. The fourth actually started at your school a few days ago."

"...What about the third?"

"He's...staying at Nerv for certain reason."

"Hmph...sounds like another pet to me. So what are their names?"

Misato blinked several times in response to Asuka's question.

"What? I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that."

"Their names, what are their names," repeated Asuka, looking a little annoyed now.

Misato paused for a second, trying to determine how much damage she would do if she said Shinji's name, when she decided on-

"You'll see them tomorrow no doubt. You can ask them yourself."

Asuka looked at her evenly for a second, before she nodded and said, "Okay...well I suppose I'll go to sleep. Thanks for letting me use the extra room again."

"No problem," mumbled Misato as she looked down at the table, anticipating for when Asuka went into her own room, and sure enough, the moment Asuka's door closed, Misato brought her head down on the wooden table and banged it lightly against it.

'Damn it,' she thought silently with her head still pressed against the table. 'I knew that living with her would be challenging...but...I hate lying to her like this.'

Bringing her head off the table, she drained what remained of her beer and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in.

'What was it that Ritsuko said?' she wondered. 'The body may remember it, but the mind wont? Is it possible that...no, I'm probably over thinking this. But I do need another beer now...'

Asuka had her back pressed against her door, listening for any sounds coming from the kitchen. She did hear some light thumping sounds, and then it seemed that Misato left her chair and grabbed something out of the fridge.

'Probably another beer,' thought Asuka. 'But what was up with her? She was so...evasive about the third and fourth child. Why though? Unless it has something to do with my memory loss. But no, thats impossible. They were just found two days ago so theres no way they'd have anything to do with...whatever happened to me.'

'But the third child was supposed to be found around the time you arrived in Tokyo-3,' said a small voice in her head.

'Well, yes but, it could have always taken them longer to find him then initially intended,' she replied.

As to that, the voice in her head didn't have anything to reply.

'Well whatever, I'm sure I'm just being paranoid anyway.'

Walking over to her futon, she flopped down on it and buried her hair, still slightly damp from her earlier shower, into her pillow. Nothing felt as good as returning home to your own bed.

'Much better,' she sighed into the pillow, relishing how soft it was against her cheek. Even if she didn't want to admit it, Misato's apartment had fast become a place where she considered home, more so than any other place before then for that matter. However, as memories of the Nerv facilities in Germany, and her own days downtrodden under her father hit her, she rolled to her right and thought, 'Those days are behind me, and I'm an Eva pilot now...the best for that matter. I shouldn't be worried about those things.' But no matter what, they would still hang over her head.

Suddenly yawning widely, she mumbled, "Maybe I should get some sleep, I guess I've still not fully recuperated since I woke up only a few hours ago."

Pushing her head into a more comfortable position against the pillow, she closed her eyes slowly as her last vision was that of the nightstand next to her bed with the lamp on it and-

'What was that?' she thought as her eyes flew back open and fixed themselves on an object resting on the nightstand next to her bed within reaching distance of her arm. It was almost as though it had been placed there on purpose, so that it was easily reachable.

As she reached for the small square box, she thought, 'Did I have something like this? I can't remember ever seeing it before.'

Rolling over onto her back, she held the small box covered with purple velvet above her.

'Is this...mine? But its...'

She trailed off here and decided to just open it.

Bringing it closer to eye level, she snapped open the small box and pulled the hinge back all the way.

"Wha..."

Starring back at her, were the two golden dolphins earrings with the ocean colored eyes that Shinji had gotten for her at the souvenir shop.

"What...this is..."

Reaching into the box, she slowly drew the earrings out and setting the box besides her, held them in the palm of her hands.

"This...is mine? But where...did I get them?"

As she continued looking at them though, two things happened. First: a wide range of emotions hit her. Feelings that she had never expected to know suddenly coursed through her. Longing, sadness, happiness; things that she had never felt before, and it was...pleasant?

Second, however, a splitting headache, far worse than the one a little while ago seared her forehead and she had to bite down on her tongue so that she didn't scream. Though, just as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared.

'Why? Why do I feel this...over these...but I don't even know...'

As she continued looking at them however, she felt something streak down the side of her face.

"..."

Pressing the hand not holding the earrings to the side of her face, she drew it back only to see something sparkly shining on her hands.

"Am I...crying?"

She was. Pearly white tears streaked down Asuka's face of which she had no control over, and the problem was, she didn't know where they originated from. Now, stronger than before, a feeling of longing swept over her so powerful that for a second she felt like the world had ended.

'What is this?' she wondered, with tears still streaking down her face, before pausing at her chin and falling onto her chest. 'Why am I crying? I don't even know where these came from. But...I feel sad. Why? I don't understand. I-'

But they meant a lot to her, that much she couldn't ignore. She couldn't throw them away, even if she tried. They felt almost like-

'A memory?' she thought. 'Is this...something that has to do with my lost memories?'

As she thought this, almost unbidden, came into her mind an ocean with a large beach in front and a setting sun behind everything. No matter who Asuka was right then, these simple objects clasped in her hand held such a special memory that blankness of mind, or time couldn't destroy it. Because the body remembered.

Closing both her hands around the earring now, she pressed her clasped hands against her chest and thought, 'I don't know why...or even how...but these simple earrings mean more to me than anything else. And yet...they make me incredibly sad. Its weird...I hate feeling sad to the point I forced myself not to cry or feel remorse over anything. But this is different...its like a lost something precious to me that can't ever be replaced.'

Closing her eyes, she tried to conjure up a mental image of how she would have gotten them. A dear friend maybe? An heirloom from her deceased mother? Well, that last part was rather unlikely. But...what about a boy?

'Unlikely,' she thought rather haughtily. 'I've don't even know many boys, and all the ones I do are morons.'

Looking down at the earrings for a moments longer, she grabbed the case beside her which she found them, and carefully placed them back inside. Placing the case back on her nightstand, she arranged it so that it was with reaching distance as it had been before.

'I don't know what significance it played...before, but I feel as though that hasn't changed at all.'

Closing her eyes, she dropped into a peaceful sleep as weariness overcame her such as she had never felt.

If only Shinji's sleep could have been that peaceful.

He woke up well into the night, having slept earlier after returning from seeing Rebecca, and he now saw that resting those extra few hours had been a mistake. Though with his eyes fully awake, he felt like going to Unit 01's chamber for some reason.

Remembering the familiar path that he had taken the first time, he entered the elevator, and slowly descended into the heart of Nerv. Though as the elevator door opened he intended to step out onto the walkway, but drew back suddenly as he saw to figures already standing in front of Unit 01. Peaking around the corner he saw two of the unlikeliest conversational partners talking to each other, and whats more, it seemed that they appeared to be arguing.

"Ayanami and...Kaoru?" he mumbled.

They were standing on the walkway facing each other and seemed to be talking as if they knew each other, but Shinji wasn't mistaken in the tone of their voices. Rei, who very rarely showed emotion but had slowly improved was clearly showing an emotion that Shinji had never expected to see. She almost looked...angry? No, that wasn't quite right. It was more like she disapproved. Kaoru on the other hand was still smiling as if everything was perfectly fine, but it was his eyes that gave him away. They were cold and hard as he stared back at Rei.

'I feel like I shouldn't be watching this...but I also feel as though it has something to do with me. Why else would they be in Unit 01's chamber?'

Watching for a few minutes longer, Shinji was tempted to step out and interrupt them when the two of them seemed to reach a conclusion to their discussion and Kaoru gave one last smile before he walked away. Shinji was glad that he had not decided to walk to the elevator that he was standing in.

Thinking about the best course of action, Shinji found that he couldn't ignore Rei standing there any longer and walked out on the walkway. Though as he reached her back which turned was towards him, she said, "What are you doing here." It wasn't accusatory or curious. Simply a statement.

As Shinji walked past her, he looked up at the face of Unit 01 and said while shrugging, "Couldn't sleep...and I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?"

"I was ordered here."

"By who?"

"The commander."

"My father? Why?"

"I'm on standby incase the next angel decides to attack suddenly."

Shinji sighed and said, "I had heard that Nerv was tightening security, but I didn't think that we'd have to remain on standby into the night also."

"I do not mind."

Shinji turned his gaze away from Unit 01 and instead looked at Rei out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to ask what she was talking about with Kaoru, but figured she wouldn't answer.

"You go," he said instead. "I'll stay here on standby since I can't sleep."

Rei looked at him rather questionably for a second before she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry about it...I need to think about somethings anyway."

Rei looked at him for a moment before she said, "Okay...let me know if you desire to switch later in the night."

"Okay," mumbled Shinji not really listening to her.

Rei then turned and walked towards the elevator which Shinji came down and ascended back into the uppermost levels of Nerv, leaving Shinji to his own thoughts about what tomorrow might bring.

The elevator doors opened for Kaoru and he stepped out.

As he walked down the long dark hallways of Nerv, he replayed the conversation he had just had with Ayanami Rei.

'Or at least as she calls herself,' thought Kaoru.

They had recognized each other for what they were immediately upon seeing each other. It was during his synchronization test that they had seen each other. He, as he climbed out of the entry plug of Unit 02, having achieved a virtually perfect synchronization, though admittedly he could have gone higher. And her, as she watched from the control room.

"Ayanami Rei as the embodiment of Lilith, and Nagisa Kaoru, myself, as the embodiment of Adam. ...Then where does Ikari Shinji fit into all of this?"

However something else was troubling Kaoru, something that having the soul of Adam resting inside of him could only detect.

"Where is the soul of Lilith?" he whispered.

He did not know this, and it troubled him. Ayanami Rei did not have the soul of Lilith residing in her, which didn't make sense. Unless the persona of Ayanami Rei had developed a soul of its own, but the foundation of her existence was still that of Lilith. As the embodiment of Adam, the only thing that could trouble him was this. But he still had time to think of this, for something else would be coming soon.

Looking up to the ceiling of the hallway he was in, his red eyes seemed to pierce through it and look off into the far distance.

"Looks like my brothers time is almost here."