Angelic Haven *COMPLETED*

With all three Evangelions fully repaired and resting with their backs to one another, the three pilots wondered where to go from there? There was definitely a reason why they\'d been brought back, but was their purpose as clear as they\'d hoped? If they were going to create the world they wanted, wouldn\'t several sacrifices have to be made? That aside for now, Asuka and Rei\'s thoughts were separated when Shinji looked at the two ladies.



"Let\'s go home for now. We can try this again tomorrow..." he yawned.



"Agreed." Rei nodded.



"Yeah, I need some sleep. A lot has happened in just one day than in just two years."



The three teenagers headed back to the restored apartment. Rei\'s heart leapt at the massive, cataclysmic changes that had befallen Tokyo-3. When she was originally \'born\', she remembered it as a bustling city with people. Lots and lots of people. Were they really the only three left on the planet? Rei prayed with these new emotions, she could override this feeling of immense loneliness that had befallen Tokyo-3 and her heart. When they reached the only restored apartment in the middle of all the destroyed apartments, Asuka announced she was going to bathe first. With a lot of struggle and work, Shinji had actually been able to get running water and bits of unsteady electricity that went on and off from time to time. While the girls bathed, Shinji rolled out the futons he\'d managed to salvage from the other apartments. He placed the one for Ayanami in his room, one for Asuka in her own room and as usual, he slept in what used to be Misato\'s room.



"Ikari?"



Shinji turned, looking over his shoulder, seeing Rei standing in a white t-shirt that went all the way down to just her thighs.



"Oh, Ayanami. I was just rolling out your bed for you."



"Thank you."



She kneeled down by him, helping him smooth out the blanket.



"We managed to salvage a lot of stuff from the other buildings and places affected by Third Impact. We\'ve got food, clothing, water...Everything, so we should be alright for a while."



Rei looked at Shinji with a small blush. He was very strong.



"I...Ikari?"



"Hmm?"



She closed her eyes, slowly leaning in and kissing him softly on the lips. His eyes widened with surprise. Her lips were warm. Her lips were very, very warm. What did this mean? Did this mean that this Rei, the original Rei, had feelings for him? Was she just happy to see him after so long? Eventually, his eyes closed and he kissed her back. If that\'s what it meant, then he\'d gladly show her how happy he was to have her back. This kiss was much more pleasant than the one he\'d shared with Asuka, but then again, maybe if he hadn\'t been lured into it, it probably would it have been much more enjoyable. They broke the kiss, looking at one another, blushes coasting across their cheeks.



"Um...I feel...strange, Ikari."



"What do you mean strange?"



"My heart...I feel very, very happy. My heart feels very...warm."



Shinji blushed a little and smiled. Asuka slid open the door with a yawn, standing in nothing more than a green towel, her flaming red hair dripping wet.



"Hey, First Child, your turn."



Rei looked at Shinji and stood up. It felt odd leaving him after just kissing like that, but she went to take her bath nonetheless. Asuka instantly noticed the look on Shinji\'s face.



"What are you so red about?"



Shinji sighed, turning his head back to fixing Rei\'s futon. Asuka was definitely returning back to her normal self.



"Maybe if you\'d put on some clothes..." he huffed.



"Shinjiiii..." Asuka smirked.



Oh, no. He\'d be damned if he fell for that trick again, yet the healthy male part of him couldn\'t resist turning around. At that point, Asuka was kneeling down next to him.



"It hurts my feelings you\'re so uninterested. If you think my body was something before, imagine what it\'s like now."



Shinji didn\'t need to imagine the visual. During the entire time she was catatonic, who did she think washed and bathed her after she went back into her trance-like state for almost a year? It was hard on Shinji, yet at the same time, he knew she needed him, even if she didn\'t realize what he was doing. Shinji looked at Asuka who he just knew was baiting him.



"Asuka...don\'t."



"Aw, spoilsport. Anyway, I was just kidding."



"I know." he sighed.



Asuka smiled a little bit. She was grateful for all he\'d done for her while she was \'out\' so to speak. But she\'d kill herself before she admitted it. When she finally came to, it was like waking up from a very long sleep, nevermind the fact she\'d \'slept\' for almost a year.



"Hey, Shinji...?"



"What?"



"What do you want to make the world into?"



The last time he\'d been asked that question, Third Impact happened. Sort of. He sighed a little bit.



"I\'d want...everyone to come back for starters. I was lucky enough just to have you and Ayanami return. If I\'d been alone, I think I would have gone insane."



Asuka sighed heavily. Shinji\'s greatest fear was being alone and the fact that he wanted everyone back just so he wouldn\'t have to be made her a little resentful of him. At the same time, she mentally scolded herself for being such a hypocrite.



"But...more than anything, I\'m glad it was you by my side, Asuka. Thank you."



Asuka blushed, huffing a little.



"What...what are you talking about? Don\'t say such stupid things."



Shinji smiled a little.



"What do you wish for the world, Asuka?"



Shinji already knew the answer. Because they were so much alike. Asuka didn\'t want to be alone because she always wanted atleast one person praising her for doing a good job. She was desperate for people to acknowledge her and her worth. Shinji and Rei were no exceptions.



"I just want a world with no Angels or Third Impacts. I want to..."



Asuka sighed, standing up.



"Well, hopefully, we can use the Evas to accomplish our goals. I know if we really want, we can make this world to suit us."



Shinji didn\'t doubt it for a minute. An hour or so later, he was sitting in the bathtub which smelled sweet. A mixture of the girl\'s natural scents. He sighed, looking over his life. Most of it, after third-impact atleast, had been spent securing food, clothing and other necessities to live, all the while taking care of Asuka. For a long time, he lived with a strong, self-hatred, but at the same time, he wished to come back to this world where people\'s AT fields would separate them into their own, individual person. More than anything, Shinji had hoped his friends had the will to come back to life, just like his mother said they could, as long as they could imagine themselves within their own hearts. He believed that was half the reason Rei had returned with her fully-functional Eva which had been blown to pieces. But come tomorrow, it wouldn\'t matter how they returned, but why. Shinji was positive, more than anything, they had returned to fix this world and make a new one. All with the help of the Evangelions. But with no dominant soul inside of either three, how would they be directed as to what to do? Shinji shook his head as he got out of the bath. No, they\'d be the ones to to take control of the future. No one would tell them how to do it. A part of Shinji felt as if once he reactivated his Eva, he\'d know what to do. He dried off the mirror, sighing a little. Physically, he\'d changed a great deal, but mentally and emotionally, he shunned himself for being so weak. A part of him told him that he deserved more credit. After all, he\'d kept Asuka safe and managed to build a life for them.



"Asuka..." he muttered.



For the past year out of two long ones, Asuka had been doing much better. She was still a little arrogant and conceited, but she was Asuka nonetheless. However, she was a little more open with her feelings, if not towards him, but towards other things. He almost never forgave himself for what he\'d done when she\'d been first put into the hospital before all of this had happened. Before Third Impact, however, time healed. As he toweled off his hair, he couldn\'t help but think about how long Ayanami\'s had gotten. She was maturing beautifully, more so than anything. A woman if he\'d ever seen one in his life. What would Rei wish for, he wondered and what was with that kiss earlier? The more he convinced himself she was just happy to see him, the more phony that reasoning sounded to him. By the time he was dried off completely and dressed in his usual pajamas of of a white shirt and a pair of boxers, he was laying down on his own futon, which still smelled of Misato. He remembered how the beautiful woman had kissed him two years ago and promised to \'do the rest\' when he came back. He sighed. Misato only made that promise because she knew he\'d never see him again. But even still, it was something to live for, even if he\'d never accomplish it. He wore her white cross around his neck like a promise he\'d one day see her again, sexual favors involved or no. More than anything, Misato had really been a good mother-figure to Shinji, though, a role model would have been going a bit far. Shinji wondered if Misato and Kaji were finally happy together. Nevermind the fact that once they\'d all become one, consummate entity, their diminished AT fields let Shinji see the real Misato. Shinji was barely asleep when the door to his room slid open. He rolled over, seeing Ayanami kneeling down beside him.



"Ikari-Kun?"



Her voice was no more above the soft whisper she usually talked in.



"A...Ayanami...What\'s wrong?"



"May...I be in here with you? I don\'t feel comfortable sleeping alone."



Shinji sat up, the fear of Asuka coming in and assuming the worst plaguing his mind.



"Why don\'t you sleep in Asuka\'s room?"



Ayanami was quiet for a moment, looking down at her lap with a small sigh.



"If I must."



Ayanami stood up, leaving Shinji\'s room and going to Asuka\'s. She knocked on Asuka\'s door and was answered with a groggy,



"What?"



"May I come in?"



Asuka wondered what Rei wanted this late at night. Ayanami opened the door without waiting for her response and sighed a little.



"May I sleep here with you? I...do not enjoying sleeping by myself."



Asuka shot up, her eyes wide. Her first instinct was to turn her away, but for some reason, she couldn\'t. Asuka sighed, rolling over on her futon.



"Whatever. Just go get your own bed."



Ayanami promptly returned with her own futon and pushed it close to Asuka\'s. The redhead rolled over, alarmed by how close Rei had gotten to her.



"What the hell...?! Why are you so close?"



"I\'m sorry..."



She said she was sorry, but didn\'t move an inch. Asuka sighed, groaning mentally. The girl was just as weird and creepy as ever.



"Sohyru-San?"



And now said weird and creepy girl was trying to strike up a conversation. Great. Asuka rolled over, realizing how red Rei\'s eyes really were and how enhanced they were by the darkness.



"Now what?"



"Why don\'t you want to get close to me?"



Asuka was obviously taken aback because Rei saw that line form between her eyes. For Asuka, it was a loaded question; close as in physically close or close as in relationship wise? After all they\'d been through so far, honesty was the best policy, right?



"Well, it doesn\'t matter now, does it? Besides, I hated how you\'d act like a stupid doll, following orders no matter what!"



"I am not a doll."



Asuka\'s eyes flew open, a deep-seated rage forming in her blue eyes.



"I do not know what impression my clones gave you, but I am not a doll. I can move, act and think on my own."



"That\'s not what you said two years ago before third impact...!" Asuka yelled, sitting up.



"That is because the Rei you spoke to wasn\'t me. I am the real one. I am me. I am...not a doll. I feel emotions."



Asuka wanted to scream right now. She hated being wrong, but after all she\'d been through with her mother killing herself and then hanging that stupid doll that she called her baby, what else could Asuka think about the girl who did whatever she was told? But, she was even more enraged that the First Child had a point.



"Really? So, you\'re not just a wind-up doll?" Asuka sneered.



Rei sighed. She knew it would be a bad idea to be in Asuka\'s room tonight. Asuka watched Rei stand up and gather her futon, blanket and pillow.



"Hey! Where do you think you\'re going?!"



Rei was at the door before turning and looking over her shoulder.



"If I were a doll, I wouldn\'t be able to tell you that the meaner you are to people, the more no one will want you around. If I were a doll, I wouldn\'t be able to tell you that you push people away because you\'re so afraid of getting hurt. You will end up pushing away the same people who only tried to help you."



Rei opened the door to Asuka\'s room with a small sigh.



"I pity you. Didn\'t you learn the first time?"



Rei hadn\'t even been allowed one step out of her fellow pilot\'s room before she heard,



"Stay."



Rei turned, seeing Asuka\'s red hair surrounding her face as she leaned forward. Silent sobs racked her body.



"Don\'t leave me..."



Rei simply respected the girl\'s wishes and laid out her futon back next to Asuka\'s, however, maintained a little space between the two futons.



"Why do you want me to stay?"



Asuka laid down, looking at her, tears lightly staining her cheeks.



"You don\'t like to be alone either, right?"



Rei said nothing more, save for a simple,



"No one likes to be lonely. That is why we have other people to be by our side."



So, it wasn\'t bad of Shinji to not want to be alone, Asuka thought. As humans, they were all created to want human interaction. So, she didn\'t have to feel guilty about wanting people to be beside her. She slowly closed her eyes, blushing when Rei reached out her hand, placing it gently on the side of her face. She\'d never admit it, but Rei\'s touch was soothing and gentle. Just like a mother\'s. Asuka closed her eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep, Rei following shortly.



Shinji, Asuka and Rei wasted no time the next day heading to the Beach of Beginnings. Their Evangelions were still stationary and cold.



"Well? You guys ready?" Asuka asked.



"Yes." Rei replied.



"Y...yeah. Let\'s do this."



Shinji looked at his Evangelion. At the same time, all three Evas opened their entry plugs. Shinji climbed up to his and looked at Asuka and Rei before climbing in.



"See you girls on the other side." he smiled.



Once they were seated inside of their respected Evangelions, all was quiet and dark inside. Shinji felt odd piloting Eva again, especially after he\'d spent all that time wondering why he did. Now, this time around, he knew. He had a purpose...To make the world a better place. THIS was Eva\'s true meaning!



"Eva Unit-01, activate!" Shinji yelled.



Once more, there was silence and Shinji knew this was all in vain. Until the entry plug began to fill with LCL. He closed his eyes in startle, when the liquid flooded the entry plug. The entry plug flashed in psychedelic colors before Shinji had a clear view of his surroundings from within Eva-01. For some reason, he felt more at peace than anytime beforehand. Was it because there was no longer a dominant soul in it\'s core? A screen appeared off to the side of him with an excited Asuka saying,



"We did it! We started them up! With no umbilical cable nonetheless! I wish Ritsuko were still here, I\'d totally rub this in her face!"



A monitor appeared beside Asuka\'s with Rei.



"Did you use yours yesterday?" she asked.



"You...!!!!" Asuka glared.



Shinji settled back into the seat with his own, proud smile. Shinji willed his Eva to stand up. He\'d fallen backwards just once, but stood up with ease the second. He looked at Asuka\'s bright, red Unit-02 and he could imagine the feeling of exhilaration, but also fear, the redhead was feeling. Rei\'s Eva Unit-00 was fully functionally. The readings from within the Eva let them know of their sync ratios; both were even.



"Now what?" Asuka asked.



Shinji was quiet for a moment before an emotion touched his heart. No, not an emotion...Intuition.



"We head for what was the Geofront."



"Why there?"



"That\'s where the Egg of Lilith is."



Rei and Asuka had no idea what he was talking about. Rei had some knowledge, but she wasn\'t completely sure. Afterall, during all of Third Impact, she was still trapped in Eva Unit-00. The three massive Evangelions made their way through the destroyed city. It made all three pilots\' hearts wrench to see the devastation caused by third impact. When they finally reached the Geofront, half an hour, Asuka\'s eyes widened upon seeing the a massive, red orb where the Geofront should have been.



"What the hell is that?!"



"That is where everyone is. Humans came from the Egg of Lilith and during Third Impact, became nothing more than souls trapped within it\'s sea of LCL."



"How do you know all this, Ikari-Kun?" Rei asked.



Shinji closed his eyes a little with a sigh. Between the knowledge Kaoru had given him and from what he had experienced first hand, he just knew it to be pure truth.



"I just do."



"Well, how do we get everyone out? Break it open?" Asuka asked, ready to use her combat Eva.



Shinji shook his head, piloting his Eva to move forward. His hand touched the Egg of Lilith and it began glowing slightly.



"Ayanami, Asuka, this is it. Let\'s create the world we want."



Rei and Asuka looked at each other before kneeling down and touching the Egg of Lilith. All three Evangelions began glowing a bright, heavenly glow. From the back of each Evangelion, a pair of wings erupted forth. For Eva Unit-00, it was a pair of pure, white wings. For Eva Unit-01, a bright pair of orange wings, and for Eva Unit-02, a pair of jet-black wings. Slowly, the Egg of Lilith began to absorb the Evangelions inside of it\'s shell. Shinji braced himself this time around. A bright light encased all three Evangelions before there was nothing but silence and darkness.