//Artist: Metallica  Title: Elektra  Track: "Wherever I may
Roam"//

            Oh-My-God-What-The-Hell-Was-I-Thinking Productions, Inc. 
                             is proud to present

                             A Cyclone Production

			   Neon Genesis Evangelion:

			       Order and Chaos

                            By Micah D. Potasnik
                               a.k.a. 'Cyclone'

Chapter 1
Death and Rebirth
Part 2
***************
	Micah did not come back to the land of the living all at once.  
	Instead, he did so very, very slowly.  At first his mind became aware
of the soft beeps and such from medical equipment, and the antiseptic
smell from anti-biotics that permeated the air.  
	When logical thought kicked in, he realized he was in a hospital.  
	He continued to listen, reaching out with his senses, and realized he
wasn't alone.  Two other women, and from there voices, he recognized to
be Ritsuko and Misato, were in the room with him.  He didn't dare try to
move, for fear of what state his body might be in.  With limited
options, Micah tried the most logical course of action. 
	He opened his eyes.
	That was a mistake, that one.
	A sharp, agonizing glare pierced his retina, and Micah immediately shut
his eyes again.  Squinting, he reduced the glare from agonizing to only
slightly painful.  
	"He's awake," said a voice that he identified as Ritsuko.
	"Brilliant deduction Doctor," replied Micah, annoyed at the raspy state
his voice was in.  
	"Here," she replied, as Misato helped him sit up.  "drink this."  She
pressed something into his hand that he recognized as a glass of some
liquid or other.  Over coming the first initial wave of nausea, he drank
the liquid in five large gulp.  Once it was completely down, Micah noted
that he felt a lot better.  Sitting up on his own, Micah was also
pleased that he could now make out Misato and Ritsuko.  
	"Argh," he commented as he slowly rubbed his eyes and brow.  "What the
heck happened?"
	"Neural feedback," said Ritsuko.  To Micah's slightly sarcastic look,
she continued.  "We weren't exactly prepared for how deeply you were
able to synchronize with Eva-01, and when you looked at yourself through
one of Eva's Sensor nodes, the reaction sent up a neural feedback. 
We've done a complete scan, there's no permanent harm done."
	*Sensor node,* thought Micah.  *Interesting name for a eyeball.* 
"Except for the large headache."  Ritsuko nodded.  "So I'm free to go?"
	"Yes,"  She replied.
	"Good," replied Micah, as if Ritsuko didn't have much say in it
otherwise.  Getting up and walking over to were his cloths lay, he put
on the Dark Green shirt and dark gray pants, ignoring Misato and
Ritsuko's presence.  His brow furrowed in though, Micah suddenly had a
idea.  
	He glanced over at Misato, buckling his belt and shrugging on his
backpack, and asked, "This place wouldn't happen to have a gym, would
it?"


	Micah had been fully trained by both his Minbari teachers in the
Anla'Shok, and by an assortment of trainers in Starfleet.  Minbari
training was graceful, almost meditate, yet with a hidden savagery,
approaching just short of animalistic, underneath.  The closest analogy
Micah could come up with was a sheathed knife-- very pretty, yet
extremely deadly and savage underneath the surface.  
	Starfleet had also not been idle in their hand-to-hand combat
training.  They too trained their cadets in the ways of the bladed
weapon and hand-to- hand combat.  The main reason was the Klingon's
tendency to resort to bladed weaponry, and being able to use your
opponents weapon was vital in a closed quarters combat, as well as fight
without a weapon as needed.  Micah was well versed in the usage of the
Bat'telh, daqtagh, and an bladed klingon weapon that very closely
resembled in the usage of the Japanese Katana.  
	Starfleet had been rather wise in its selecting of hand-to-hand combat
training.  It incorporated a rather wise selection of fighting
techniques, from a wide selection of worlds.  And Micah could recall
these techniques with startling clarity.
	There was however, a catch.  
	For some odd reason or another, Micah knew and understood both fighting
styles.  That wasn't a problem.  What *was* a problem was that his body
didn't have the reflexes that he needed to use the fighting techniques
efficiently.  What he needed now was experience to become a good
fighter.  
	An hour later after entering the gym, the muscles in Micah's new body
aching pleasantly, Micah put his Denn'bok away as he continued to
think.  
	Right now, he needed someplace quiet, where he could continue thinking
and sorting these memories of his.  Then a thought occurred to him.  
	*Yes, that's perfect.  It would allow me to check on her, and I doubt
she would mind the company, either...*


	Rei Ayanami sat in her room in the Central Dogma Infirmary, her eyes
nonfocusing, gazing out into space, thinking about the past day.  
	Emotions were extremely unfamiliar to her, and it was not surprising to
find herself seeing an unknown emotion in another's eyes.  To have that
feeling reciprocated, however, was something entirely new and startling
to her.  
	Which is exactly what had happened the other day when she had been
taken to pilot Eva-01.  The boy that had helped her, that had lifted her
off the floor and had held her for a moment had done just that.  The
moment they had seen each other, she felt a sudden jolt of feelings flow
through her, a confusing jumble of emotions tumbling off one another, to
be quieted just as suddenly as they had begun.  With Rei being so
unaccustomed to single emotions, much less a entire momentary flood of
them, it was bordering on annoying in trying to figure out what they
were.
	The sound of a door opening brought her from her ruminations.  She
looked up and saw the same person that had helped her yesterday enter,
wearing a dark green shirt with dark gray pants, with a backpack slung
over his shoulder.  A soon as she saw him, she felt a sudden jolt of
feelings, similar to the one she had felt the other day, but less
pronounced this time.  It was more of a whisper on the border of her
consciousness than a strong, discernible feeling. 
	He looked at her, a kind smile lighting his features.  He glanced down
to the foot of her bed and glanced at her patient sheet, reading the
name of of it.
	"Hello Rei," he said.  "I'm Shinji Ikari, the Third Child."
	She nodded.  "Hello."
	He nodded in reply, his hazel eyes taking in her room.  Spying a chair,
he went over and sat down, arranging himself so he was comfortable, and
reached down into the backpack that was now laying by his feet. 
Rummaging among the items in the pack, he pull out a soft back book,
flipped it open to a page, and began to read.  
	Oblivious to the fact that this was highly unusual compared to what
others did when they came to visit her (the incredibly small amount that
did), she continued to study him.  When she looked straight at him,
there wasn't much about him.  He looked like any normal 14 year old
kid.  But when she turned her head sideways, and looked at him using her
peripheral vision, there was something... about him... like a ghost,
almost... or an aura... or *something*... but the minute she looked at
him, it was gone.  Or she couldn't see it.  And no matter how much she
tried to figure out what it was, it continued to elude her to no end.  
	What happened next would have surprised anyone that had known Rei for
any long period of time.  The feelings of frustration suddenly reached a
breaking point.  Curling her fist, it made a small *whump* as it
impacted against the sheet that covered her, and she let out a small,
exasperated sigh.  
	She found herself staring in shock at her fist, almost as if it was
something new that she had never noticed before.  Shinji glanced up from
his reading to look at her.  
	"What's wrong?" he asked.
	"Nothing," she replied, her voice as neutral as ever, covering up the
small amount of confusion at the rather intense (for her) display of
emotions.  
	Shinji seemed to accept this at the moment, but he didn't stop looking
at her.  "Are you sure?"  
	"Yes," she affirmed.  Shinji paused, almost as if was going to continue
further, but then returned to his reading his book.  
	She continued to study him yet again, and that feeling of frustration
did not surface again.  She wondered what could have caused it in the
first place.  
	"Rei, can I ask you something?" said Shinji suddenly, startling her,
though it didn't show.  He seemed to have that effect on her, for some
odd reason.  
	"Yes."
	"How exactly did you get injured in the first place?"
	She blinked.  Wouldn't he know about that?  "I was injured during a
failed synchronization test with Eva-00."
	His brows furrowed in puzzlement.  "How would that injure you?"
	"My entry plug had to be ejected.  I was injured in resulting impact."
	"Ah,"  said Micah.  It was good to have that small point cleared up. 
He had apparently lost some of his memories of Neon Genesis Evangelion
for some reason.  Odd.  "Are you all right now?"
	She considered it.  No one had ever asked her that question, actually. 
Not even Commander Ikari.  It was... unusual.  "Yes, I am," she replied
after seriously thinking about it for a while.
	He smiled, a smile that somehow seemed to light up his face from the
serious expression it had taken during their discussion.  "Good.  Then
may I ask you another question?"
	"Yes."
	"Why aren't you smiling?"
	She blinked, somewhat taken aback by the question.  "What do you mean?"
	"Well," he began, "I was under the impression that most people act
somewhat happy when they are feeling well, which you apparently are, I
doubt that you would lie, yet you, my dear, are incredibly monotone. 
Not just monotone in voice, I've known people like that before, but your
face is incredibly non-responsive, and I was curious as to why."
	Rei blinked again.  "I... I don't know."  What he was saying was
something almost totally foreign to her.  Almost, but not quite.  
	Micah arched an eyebrow.  "What do you mean, you don't know?" he asked,
intrigued.  
	Rei shook her head.  "I'm not good at expressing my emotions," she said
in that monotone voice of hers.  
	Micah cocked his head to one side, a kind smile on his face.  "Not
good, or simply not used too?"
	Rei considered it.  "Both," she replied.  
	"Ah," commented Micah.  Through some unspoken mutual agreement, both
had decided that the conversation was at an end... for now.  Micah
returned to reading his book, and Rei laid back into her bed to go to
sleep.  
	The conversation that Rei had had with Shinji was unusual... and yet
somehow... pleasant at the same time.  She couldn't recall having a
conversation like that before except with Commander Ikari, and then,
they were nothing like the one she and Shinji had.  He barely knew
anything about her, and yet had genuinely been concerned for her.  
	Rei Ayanami's face had the barest hint of a smile as she fell asleep.  


	Misato Katsuragi looked sourly at the information displayed on the
screen in her office.  Letting a small sigh of exasperation escape her
lips, she picked up the desk phone, punched in the 8 digits, and waited
for the phone to ring on the other end.  "Akagi," came the voice on the
other phone.
	"Ritsuko, why do you have Shinji sleeping in one of the apartments in
C-block," asked Misato.  C block was about as remote as you could get.  
	"Misato, you saw how he acted toward his father.  I seriously doubt
that Professor Ikari would want his son living with him, and I have a
feeling it's reciprocal," replied Ritsuko.  Personally, she was both
appalled and impressed with Shinji.  Appalled, because he treated his
father that way, and impressed because he had the guts to do so.  
	Misato no intentions of saying what she said next, but apparently her
subconscious had other plans.  "I'll take care of him."
	A pause.  "What?" replied Ritsuko.
	"I said, I'll take care of him.  Come on, I have this huge apartment
with two spare rooms that I doubt I'm ever gonna fill.  Besides, its not
like I'm gonna have a affair with the child."
	"Of course not!!" replied Ritsuko, almost yelling.  "How can you even
joke about something like that!  That's just like you Misato!"
	Misato held the phone at arms length away from her ear and sighed. 
Ritsuko could *never* take a joke.


	Consciousness slowly creeped up to Rei Ayanami and softly *bapped* her
on the head as she was pulled slowly from the land of the
subconsciousness and dreams.  Slowly opening her eyes, she found that
the room had darkened somewhat, the lights having been turned of to
allow for her to sleep better.  Her eyes drew to the figure situated in
the chair, with a small book lamp illuminating the pages while Shinji
read.  She continued to stare at him like she had done before.  Shinji,
almost as if detecting her looking at him, raised his head from his
book, meeting her gaze equally.  Neither of them wavered.  Her gaze was
slightly curious, inquisitive, while his was accepting, probing, and
just a slight hint of challenging gleam to his hazel eyes.  
	"Yes?" he asked softly, barely above a whisper.  
	"Nothing," replied Rei.  They both held their gaze for a moment longer,
then relaxed simultaneously.  
	In a spurt of curiosity, Rei asked, "What are you reading?"
	"It's called Myst: The Book of Atrus.  Very interesting story.  Have
you ever read it?"
	Rei shook her head.  "No."
	Micah was about to continue when the door to Rei's room opened.  Misato
poked her head inside, a small smile on her face of finally finding her
quarry.  "I hate to disturb you two, but its time for Shinji to go."
	Micah nodded, standing up and slinging the backpack over his
shoulders.  He seemed to consider something, then walked over and held
the book out to Rei.  "Here," he said simply.  "Since you haven't read
it before, I think you might find it interesting.  I know how boring it
can get in her sometimes without company.  If you want, I can come in
here tomorrow to keep you company, since I doubt NERV's going to have
much for me to do until Eva-01 fixed."
	Taken aback by the offer, she simply nodded, taking the book from his
hands.  With a farewell smile and wave, Shinji and Misato walked out,
leaving Rei to her private contemplations.  And a book to read.  
	Without further encouragement, Rei cracked the book open a began to
read.  


	When Misato and Micah where outside of Rei's room, her curiosity got
the better of her.  "What where you and Rei talking about?"
	"Actually, is wasn't so much as talking," he replied.  "I was reading,
and she was sleeping."
	"Reading?"
	"Yes."	
	"Ah," replied Misato.  She decided that she didn't really want to
know.  
	"So?" asked Misato after they had walked a ways in silence.
	Startled from his train of thought, Micah looked up.  "So what?"
	"So, are you going to stay here?" she elaborated.
	Micah considered it.  In all truth there really wasn't that much of a
choice.  This was a good a place as any while he finally figured the
reason he was here in the first place.
	Plus, there was Rei...
	"I'll stay," he said, sealing it with a small smile.  
	Misato brightened.  "Great!  We really do need you here, you know."
	Micah merely continued to smile and nodded.  
	"So, are you hungry?" asked Misato.
	Micah considered it.  "Yes, actually."
	"Well, lets get something!  We're gonna have a party!" exclaimed
Misato.
	"What for?" asked Micah curiously.
	"For my new roommate, of course."  Micah must have looked slightly
confused by now, because she continued, "You mean no one's told you?"
	"Told me what?" he replied.  "I spent around an hour in the gym this
place has, and then the rest visiting with Rei.  Its been quite
peaceful."
	"Well, what everyone had neglected to tell you is that you're my new
roommate," she said, smiling.  "So, of course, we're gonna have a
party.  But first, we're gonna have to visit someplace first."
	"Visit were?" asked Micah, still wondering on wether this would be good
or not.  But, how exactly was he supposed to refuse?  Especially to
Misato?
	"You'll see."


	Micah and Misato stood in a open clearing poised on a cliff, at a high
enough elevation point to where he could comfortably see all of Tokyo-3
at one time.  
	"I sometimes come up here, to think," said Misato.  
	"Yes," he agreed, "it is peaceful up here."  Glancing around, he
mentally noted that it was remote to, except for the road that lead up
here.  He could see the appeal of coming up here to be alone.
	"Won't be long now," said Misato.  Micah idly wondered exactly what
they were waiting for, but luckily he was a very patient person.  
	Suddenly he could hear the call of klaxons emitted from the city below
him, and as he watched, the building began to extend toward the sky. 
His mind made a silent connection;  the hanging building he had seen in
the Geo-Front were in fact the city's taller buildings, retracted below
ground for safety's sake.  
	"Nice," he softly commented as the buildings finished rising, they're
spires pointing proudly toward the sky.
	"This place is a fortress," said Misato softly, "Designed to protect
it's inhabitants from the Angel's.  And," she laid a hand gently on
Micah's shoulder, "It's the city you saved yesterday."
	Gazing out at the city, a slight smile played across Micah's face.  
	Yes.
	He could learn to like it here.


	From the smells that Micah was getting from the take-out bag, the deli
that Misato had visited *had* to be good.  Any other way would be
totally inconceivable.
	Holding two bags, Micah waited as Misato maneuvered to unlock the
apartment.  Flipping on the light, Misato made a wide sweeping gesture
to the apartment.
	"Here we are!" she exclaimed.  She head toward the bedroom to change,
while Micah took in the apartment, making his way to the kitchen.  
	All in all, it wasn't that bad a place.  While there were a large
number of both empty and full boxes lying around, giving a feel of
cluttered-ness to the apartment, Micah wasn't concerned.  She had just
moved in, and besides, anyplace that he lived in tended to be
cluttered.  In fact, it felt somewhat comforting.  
	Maneuvering past boxes, he walked into the small, yet efficient
kitchen.  Glancing around, he noted that a good portion of the
counter-top space was taken up with beer cans.  Setting down the food,
he looked around.  Opening the refrigerator, he realized, with a wry
smile, that a *very* good portion of it was devoted to beer.  He rolled
his eyes heavenward.  Having tasted beer when he had been in his
original body and universe, he would never understand the reason people
liked the stuff.  There were so many other alcoholic beverages out
there, too, that were a lot better.  He also noticed, due to the
take-out and microwavable refuse in the trash can, that Misato either
didn't cook, couldn't or never had the time.  He guessed it was a
combination of all three.  He mentally began to make plans to put the
kitchen to its proper use.  
	"Hey Misato, what's this other fridge in here for?" he asked when he
noticed a separate and smaller fridge also in the kitchen.  
	"Oh, don't worry about that," she replied, busy changing into something
more fitting to be running around at home in than her uniform.  "He's
probably still sleeping."
	"Sleeping?" Micah softly wondered.  "She has something sleeping in a
fridge.  Why *doesn't* that surprise me?"  Putting it in the back of his
mind, he began to set the food out on the table.
	Misato emerged from the hallway, dressed in a pair of cutoff jeans and
a tank top.  "Ready to dig in?"
	Micah blinked, a performed the herculean task of trying not to stare. 
He had known the she looked good, but, like wow?  "Of course," replied
Micah, Averting his eyes somewhat and trying no to be too obvious about
it.  "I take it that you'll want beer to drink?"
	"How'd you guess?" replied Misato.  Micah passed her a beer while he
got a glass of water to drink, which wasn't all that unusual for Micah,
to tell the truth.  Micah watched, entranced, as Misato downed the beer
in a few massive gulps, letting out a "WAAAAAAAAAA!  YYYYYEAAAHHH!",
which caused Micah to smile.  
	"You do that all the time?" he asked, amused by her behavior.
	"Of course!" replied Misato.  "Only way to drink beer."
	Micah merely gave a "Whatever" shrug as he began to eat.
	"Isn't this nice?" asked Misato after a while.  "Two for dinner instead
of eating all alone?"
	Micah nodded.  "True.  I haven't done this..." he trailed off, and,
just for a minute, he shadow of infinite sadness fell across his face,
to be replace by icy determination.  So he may never get home again.  So
what?  Now he would never have to see all those bastards he went to
school with again.  They could all go to hell and burn for all he
cared...
	*Yea, but what about your friends?* a small voice in the back of his
mind said.  
	Shit.
	They were the only reason he had stayed at that school for so long were
because that was the only place were his friends *were*.  And what about
his family?  
	They would understand, he guessed.  But, still...
	"Well!" said Misato, forcing cheer into her voice.  "Why don't you have
a bath and wash all those bad thoughts away?  Bathing cleanses both body
and soul," she finished with an air of someone who knows.
	"Right," replied Micah.  He was suddenly aware that he felt incredibly
tired.  Not only that, but for some reason he felt both mentally and
emotionally drained.  "If you don't mind, do you have a extra towel I
can use?"
	"Sure, they're under the sink," replied Misato.  
	"Thanks," said Micah, heading off to the bathroom.  Closing the door
behind him, he stripped naked, and took a good look at this new face
that was now his own.  
	It was weird, to say the least.  Every time he looked in the mirror, he
expected to see a 16 year old blond-haired teenager with a large amount
of mix ancestry wearing a roguish grin on his face.  Instead, he saw a
14 year old dark-brown haired Japanese teenager wearing a roguish
smile.  Micah realized that, when his body smiled, he looked very, very
cute.  Charming was another word he would use.  Trying out facial poses,
Micah came to the conclusion that Shinji could have been a very
interesting person.  Another idle thought was that Shinji could have
made a very wide range of friends, and a number of them among the female
variety too.  From what he could recall of Shinji's personality type was
that Shinji was rather... timid.  Shy.  Micah sighed.  He could
certainly sympathize with that.  Although, considering his lot in life
Fate had given him, Micah could hardly blame him.  It was rather similar
to his own life, in a ways.  And his life had been rather miserable,
what portions of it he cared to remember.  At least, the first 14 and a
half years of it had been.  And most of it, no, nearly *all* of it had
been due to Fate.  And other people.  
	But then he had changed.  For the better, he hoped.  And he found, for
the first time in his life, friends.  
	Shinji, on the other hand, never did.
	And it was only in that that they were different.
	Sighing, Micah slipped off toward the bath itself.  
	Micah was always one never to be surprised by anything.  It took a very
startling thing to get a reaction from him.  Which is why when he pulled
the curtain back, and very nearly ran into, of all things, a penguin
carrying a towel, he was merely confused.  Cracking the door, he asked
Misato, "Did you know you have a penguin in here?"  
	Said penguin waddle out the door, walked over to the smaller fridge--So
that's what its for--pulled back the door, and, with a jaunty wave
goodnight, closed it.  
	"He's your other roommate," explained Misato.  "His name is Pen Pen. 
He's one of those new hot-spring penguins."
	"Ah," said Micah thoughtfully as he closed the door to take a bath.


	Micah, relaxing in the bathtub, his eyes closed, his fingers steepled
on his brow, was thinking.  Had he been more rested, he would have been
up to a bit more intense brainstorming session.  Instead, he was merely
recounting the past two days events, and searching through his crystal
memory of Starfleet and Ranger training.  
	To say that his life had gotten interesting would have been a massive
understatement.  To say that his life had totally and completely
stopped, shifted into reverse, done a 540, shifted back into drive, and
then smashed the gas pedal into the floor, popped a wheelie or two and
done a couple of flips for good measure would have fit *much* better.  
	There was all so much now to take in, Micah merely stopped trying to
comprehend and let his mind wander.  Although, one of these days he was
going to stop reeling it back in and race after it instead.  Although,
he sometimes wondered if he hadn't done it already.  
	However, each train of thought that he followed lead back to exactly
one statement:
	*Exactly what in God's, Satan's, and all the deities under the heavens
name am I *doing* here?*


	Misato, taking her turn after Shinji, was relaxing in the hot water,
talking on her phone.  
	"I don't know, Ritsuko, I'm just a little scared.  I'm way out of my
depth, I don't know anything about kids."
	"You took this as part of your responsibilities to NERV," Replied
Ritsuko.  
	"I know," responded Misato.  "Its just that I had though of him as a
asset to keep watch on.  I don't think I can do that, after tonight."
	"Tonight? Why?" asked Ritsuko, a slight edge to her voice.
	If Misato could have thrown something at Ritsuko, she would have. 
"Nothing like that!  Its just that... he's so different than what I
expected," she replied, her shoulder's slumping.  "He's so kind, and
gentle... he's not exactly acting like I would have expected him to
acting.  Especially after I saw that fight in the Eva."
	"Yes," agreed Ritsuko.  She had been looking over the battle reports
herself.  The scary thing was that Eva Unit 01 had gone berserk.  There
was no other way to put it.  The fact that the pilot had been in full
control of the Eva only made it even more scarier.  
	"Well," said Misato's old roommate.  "If he gives you trouble, you
could always throw him out."
	Misato glared at the phone in her hand.  "You're a big help," she
replied as she slammed the phone down.  
	Soaking in the hot water, she though of when Shinji had smiled at her
with that warm smile of his when they had watched Tokyo-3 rise from the
ground.  
	*Maybe,* she thought, *this won't be as bad as I thought.*


	Micah, toweled off and wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, was too
tired to search through any of the boxes that had 'his' name on them. 
Instead, he merely walked to his room, and made sure his head was aimed
for the pillow.  As he fell to the bed, one last thought occurred to
Micah as he hit the pillow.  
	*Well, you asked for it...*
	*Shut up,* the other part of his mind that thought that this was *good*
thing quickly responded, as Micah fell quickly asleep for once.  


	Misato walked toward Shinji's room, intent on congratulating him on
winning the fight with the angel.  Receiving no response, she carefully
opened the door and peeked inside.  Their, lying prone on the bed, was
Shinji, asleep.  Turning to go, she stopped herself as she looked back
at Shinji to make sure.  Their, on his face, seemingly permanently
affixed, was a small, pleasant smile.
	And for the first time in a long time in her fight with the Angel's,
Misato found herself feeling happy.


	In Central Dogma's infirmary, Rei Ayanami was having her finial visitor
for the night.
	She looked up from her reading as Professor Ikari entered the room.
	"Hello, Rei."
	"Hello Professor," replied Rei, with something approaching cheerfulness
in her voice.  
	"How are you recovering?"
	"Very well Professor.  I should be able to return to work sooner than
expected."
	Ikari nodded.  "Good, good."  He noticed the book lying in her lap. 
"Rei, where did you get that?"
	"Shinji gave it to me to borrow," she replied.
	"Shinji was here?" asked Gendou, intrigued.  Rei nodded.  "For how
long?"
	"Most of the afternoon,"  replied Rei.
	His brows furrowed in thought, he continued.  "What was he doing here?"
	"Reading."
	"Reading?  Odd," Gendou stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully.  
	His son was somewhat of a enigma to him.  His action's the other day
made it even more so.  He was not put off by the impersonal way Shinji
had acted toward Gendou, in truth he was pleased.  Before Shinji had
collapsed, he seemed extremely strong-willed.  In fact, right now Shinji
could be a very useful ally, regardless of the fact he had mysteriously
collapsed before accepting to pilot the Eva, or a very dangerous enemy.  
	Gendou didn't know on wether or not to be extremely worried or
extremely pleased.
	"Is there something wrong?" asked Rei.
	"Hmm?  No, nothing." He paused.  "Tell me Rei, what did you think of
Shinji?"
	Rei seemed somewhat taken aback by his question.  Pausing for a few
moments, she finally anserwed.  "I geuss I like him."  She added almost
tentatively, "Is that wrong?"
	"No," responded Gendou, not really noticing the tone of Rei's voice. 
"I guess its time for you to have friends your own age."  Had Gendou
been paying attention to Rei, he would have noted a extremely slight
undercurrent of relief to her actions.  It was slight, but it was
there.  "It's time for your sleep if you are to recover."  Marking her
page obediently, which Gendou noted was rather far in the back of the
book, he walked toward the door and turned off the lights.  
	"Good night, Rei."
	"Good night, Professor Ikari."
	Rei remained awake for several minutes after Gendou closed the door,
contemplating the silence of the room, her mind wandering yet again to
that unusual feeling she had felt when she had been near Shinji.  
	Her eyes closing, Rei slipped silently away to the land of wonder and
terror that only the human mind could have conceived.  
	And she slept.
	And Dreamed.	

***************
    //Artist:Savage Garden  CD:Savage Garden  Track: "To the Moon &
Back"//

-- 
- Micah D. Potasnik                                      
aka Cyclone   				potas@i-55.com

Homepage at:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Lair/6195/   

"This is the White Star Fleet.  Negative on surrender...we will not
stand down."
"Who is this?  Identify yourself."
"Who am I?  I am Susan Ivanova, Commander, daughter of Andrei and Sophie
Ivanov.  I am the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to
kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth. I am Death incarnate, and
the last living thing that you are ever going to see.  God sent me."
--Commander Susan Ivanova and Earthforce Advanced Destroyer Captain
James, From the Babylon 5 episode "Between the Darkness and the Light"