Evangelion: Continuum

By Daetor

A/N: Oh ,boy, here we go again, just one chapter ago and I already had the gary-stu comments (sigh) well, I would have been surprised if I didn't get them. Anyway, people, I'm wondering if you understood what you read in chapter four on evamade, or what you'll read here on FF (dot) Net. I'll leave some author notes at the end of this chapters to explain some things, though I have to warn you that they'll contain spoilers.

I managed to get this out more quickly because I'm getting used to how the site works and I had a more flexible initial formating that didn't go to hell because of it.

Chapter 4: Answers, questions and decisions

Disclaimer:If you didn't get the idea until now you never will...

The day after the party obviously started slowly, due to the lack of sleep or of very consistent hangovers, neither of which were really pleasant. Still John planed to wake everyone up and get them in the kitchen by 9 in the morning, this was the day many of them had been waiting for after all. That and he knew that it would take a long time to get things done anyway, there was a lot to talk about and a few decisions to be taken. So he decided to wake up those who were staying in the free bed rooms first.

He asked a few people to remain after the party and join them in the more special meeting and skip orientation. Those were the following: the former Sub-commander of NERV, the bridge crew(Maya, Shigeru and Makoto) and Toji because he was involved with the Evas directly that obviously meant Hikari as well but not Kensuke. John had a soft spot for couples, anyone could tell you that. Also, Kaji and Misato were also going to be present, the first because he was supposed to be dead for good, the second because of her involvement in the events.

So John decided to start breakfast and then wake up everyone slowly and get them to eat and try to get them out of their hangovers if they had such problems. He knew a few people which certainly would, number one on the list being Misato of course. Thankfuly he could use his powers to eliminate toxins out of someone else's body, and alcohol was one of the easy targets, he learned that trick for poisons, but he still wasn't at doctor level. John was the kind of person that could handle a lot of jobs and do anything quickly.

Due to his age, the man learned a lot of things, still he wasn't perfect in a lot of them, but he had his strong points. One of his more unusual strong points was the fact that like his avatar he had the eight blade tentacles coming from his shoulders. That made him pretty unusual but the inhabitants of the house got used to it, since he used them in this or that while at home. Momentarily he used them to get breakfast done at a greater speed, also helped by the light of his soul. Unlike Shinji and Asuka, he was experienced in using it and he knew far more complex things that creating barriers of different sizes or changing the temperature of the before mentioned barriers.

Still, no one that saw him considered him weird, he had this strange way of moving and speaking that made him look like the most normal person in the world. You tended to trust him when you saw him, he didn't even try to convince you to trust him, he was simply kind and considerate. Also, he seemed to love everyone just the same, not a sexual or romantic love, but a strange connection that told everyone that he would be there for them. His attitude melted anyone's defenses around him, his honesty disarmed you and his face made you think that you were looking at a higher being.

John was well aware of these facts, he was what some called the hero type. He wanted to save everyone and to bring an end to unnecessary suffering, to bring an end to injustice. Also he was realistic enough to know that was most likely impossible, but he could strive to improve things for those around him. That would reach grater heights today, it would be a very important step.This day will change everything. I just hope that after all they've been through this won't cause a to big shock. Most of the strain will be on those two children, but it will probably be over after today, if they chose it to be so.

--

Asuka woke up to the smell of cooking, fact which was odd since Shinji was still with her in bed, well actually under her. Waking up with her head on his chest was definitely something she wanted to get used to, it was very pleasant and his heart beat had a surprisingly relaxing effect. She felt safe sleeping in his arms like that, especially since Shinji was less perverted than normal boys his age. She knew that all to well, she had seen a lot of his mind and she knew how he felt. It was funny to realize that he thought so deeply, that he was more impressed by who she was than how she looked.

The before mentioned boy was already awake and felt the red headed beauty beginning to stir, he had been awake for an hour or so, but he couldn't get up without waking her up, that and he couldn't stop staring at her while sleeping. She had a such a peaceful smile when she slept and her face was relaxed, it was divine for him, he knew that he would never get tired of it. Reason for which he waited and knew 

that he would wait even if she would do this every morning, actually, he's like to do this every morning for the rest of his life.

"Morning Shinji."The girl said after a brief yawn."How long have you been awake?"

"No idea." He replied honestly."Sleep well?"

"Like you have to ask."She replied with a devious smile.

"Good, then we should get up."

"Yea, we hopefully get those answers we were looking for today. I just hope that he isn't tricking us." Asuka said as she got out of bed.

"Somehow, I don't think he is."Shinji said as he got out of bed himself and went for his room, he checked to see if no one was in the hallway then stepped out. Before he could get very far though he heard the red head calling him."Shinji aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"He asked turning to face her. Before he could say anymore she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a deep kiss."You forgot to say good morning properly."

"Yea, how stupid of me."He said, then changed tactics."Could you ever forgive me?"

"Only if you say it again."Instead of a reply he kissed her and when they broke of he spoke again."Good morning Asuka, I love you."

"Oh you're so corny. But you better not stop or I'll kill you!" She said in a mock serious voice.

After that little exchange they each went in their own rooms to change and get ready for the possibly difficult day ahead. Both of them failed to notice Hikari standing at the other end of the hall, though she didn't see Shinji come out of Asuka's room, she did catch the last part of the exchange and she was blushing furiously. Somehow, she knew that things would be a lot different from now on with her best friend, in the good way.

--

It took a while to get everyone to the table, but due to John's intervention no one was having a hang over, not even Misato who was a rather legendary drinker. Everyone ate in silence, thinking about what would follow and wondering what would happen after all this. Some were afraid more or less, others were anxious, everyone had some opinion on the matter and no one could be neutral about it. Eventually, Toji decided to break the awkward silence.

"Ok, this is getting on my nerves, why are we all acting like we're preparing for our own funerals?!"

"Good question. I for one was expecting questions, some of you were pretty eager to get answers, so I imagined that the show would start right from breakfast. Should I understand that you don't want to know anything after all?"John said everything with a neutral tone but the last part was finished with a mischievous grin.

"No way!"Asuka snapped, though her raised voice and sudden reaction had no effect on the older man's expression, except for a knowing smile."You want to start now? Ok! Who the hell are you anyway, how are you so old and what's going on here?"

"Ok that part of the story I can tell you here." He replied."Everyone please listen carefully, because I don't like repeating myself."After everyone nodded he continued."Ok, first of all, you must understand that the Earth on which you were born was not the planet on which human life originated. Then you must understand that Lilith as you know her is not the mother of humanity and Adam isn't the Father of the so called angels, neither of them were gods, just very powerful."

He was forced to wait until everyone calmed down from their shocked reaction and after they stopped asking about what he meant or saying that it didn't rally make sense."I said listen!" He stated, his voice 

wasn't angry, but it had strength in it, it was a command that everyone obeyed instantly."Wait until I'm finished, this will make sense, just have patience."

"The fact is that there was another planet on which human life began, but that was many million years before, I'm not sure myself how long it has been. At any rate, the fact is that I modeled this planet for about 100 years before humans began to awake from their slumber here. You see, on the first Earth, humans evolved a lot, they learned how to use the light of their own souls, allowing them to do incredible things. Things went so well that humanity was united under a single rulership, there were no wars, most diseases had been eradicated and those that existed weren't fatal, crimes were almost nonexistent and death by something else except natural causes was just a fairy take with which to scare children. In other words it was almost perfect, sure there was suffering, there were accidents, there was pain, but these are just part of life.

Unfortunately things were not meant to last because a conflict ensued, it was inevitable that something would change things in a bad way. At that time the planet was ruled by a triumvirate, my father was lead triumvir and those which you call Adam and Lilith were the other two triumvirs. Both of them feared that humanity had reached it's limits in a way or another and they were both power hungry. To be a leader in those times meant that you had to have a considerable power besides knowledge and love for your people. My father was the strongest man alive, stronger than the two combined, the light of his soul was incredible, still, he didn't care about power, he just loved humanity and wanted to protect the world he loved.

The other two had other ideas unfortunately, Adam wanted power, a lot of it, he wanted to become a god. Lilith wanted to change humanity, to make it perfect so each man an woman would never be alone again to create a link between everyone that would allow anyone to share anything with whoever they wanted while also maintaining individuality. Still, this in itself wasn't that bad, but both wanted to enforce their visions of the world. Adam would evolve humanity in his vision while he was a god while Lilith would do pretty much the same thing but from the other angle, by evolving humanity she would become a god.

They secretly gathered allies which supported their visions and prepared to enforce them. My father had no idea of their plans at that time, no one did except those who were directly involved. The two made their moves at the same time, starting an incredible war, not expecting an enemy. When the madness started, my father and a number of people who didn't trust either side created Sanctuary planning to allow as many people to escape as possible. They created a Dirac sea and in it they built the structure in which we're living now, it was supposed to be their main base.

Meanwhile the war escalated to absurd heights, in a matter of months it was hell. One thing you should all know, the first Earth had two moons and in this two moons the two rivals had constructed their bases. Adam brought forth a new weapon to the battlefield, the so called angels, soulless beasts powered by S2 engines. He went so far as to transform himself into such a creature and craft a weapon for himself like none had ever seen, what you know as the Lance of Longinus. Though others could use this weapon, only his power could raise it to it's full potential. Lilith responded to this threat by teaching her followers new ways in which to use the light of the soul.

That was not everything, Lilith, knowing that she had to match Adam somehow turned herself into a form of angel, and this led to our world's down fall. A titanic clash took place between the two, their enormous powers tore through our beloved planet and effectively destroyed it in a matter of minutes. The planet was completely annihilated, without leaving any trace behind. The two moons were thrown into space, the survivors placing themselves into stasis, hoping to awaken when they would reach a safer place and hopefully gain some distance between the two factions.

The irony of it all was that the opposite forces of Adam and Lilith actually created a strange attraction between the moons. They circled one another while slowly getting closer to each other. Meanwhile, I was the last survivor of Sanctuary, I was the only one hidden in the base when the first Earth exploded, a 14 year old boy which somehow inherited all of his father's enormous powers. I was angry, but I wasn't stupid, I didn't let anger get the best of me, so I kept my body in stasis while my mind directed the Dirac sea to keep close to the two moons.

My body didn't age during that time and I don't hold that time at my age, but I did spend several hundred years waiting. Then, it happened, the two moons finally collided and the result was not pleasant. Thankfully the location was favorable, the second Earth, your old home. Adam's moon was mostly destroyed in the impact and collided with the planet, at the current south pole, burying itself well in the planet's surface. Lilith's moon was more lucky, most of it's structure survived, but the core was ripped from it's shell and crashed on to the planet as well due to gravity and the effects of that unnatural attraction.

In Adam's moon, those which survived were still in stasis, the same could be said about Lilith's and I had no intention of awakening anyone too soon. First, I repaired the shell of Lilith's moon with the help of my tremendous power and I turned it into a new moon. Then, I began working on this planet, I dreamt of resurrecting my fallen world at that time, but even after hundreds of years of waiting and trying to 

absorb knowledge, I lacked something very important. I never truly lived so I lacked wisdom, and so I created a false history for this world, taking humanity back in it's distant pasts of my home world.

In reality, no on actually inhabited Earth before what you know as year 0 and the beginning of the first century after Christ. Still the absurd powers I had allowed me to do just that and create a fake world, and then I began awakening individuals. I reformed memories and I tried to avoid a disaster like that from ever happening again. Still, my methods were flawed, because I failed to solve the real problems that caused that tragedy. I used my powers to trap Lilith and Adam in deep stasis, hoping that they would never awaken again, I had woken up most of the other humans that survived and sent them to new lives.

I thought that I could solve humanity's problems somehow, but I was stupid. As I worked on Adam, five of his councilmen awoke. They had all of their memories and full powers, I was stuck trying to ensure that Adam never woke up again. The battle that took place in that situation lead to very bad results. Though I was able to complete my work with him, to do so and defeat the five cost me most of my powers and it almost cost me my life. At that time I believed that I had killed the five and I was devastated, the thought of taking someone's life was disgusting it still is.

I survived only because I somehow stumbled into a town and some people were willing to take care of me. I was devastated and they helped me back on my feet, I began leading a normal life even in those times. I fell in love and I raised a family, by doing so I decided to return to sanctuary. Then I transformed Sanctuary into a place were the civilization of the first Earth could truly be resurrected. We isolated ourselves from the world, thinking that it would take a long time for humanity to reach a state where we would have to worry about it's survival, not that there was much that we could do at that time anyway.

Still, the councilors I thought dead were still alive, crippled but alive and powerless. They formed SEELE, they're the top ranking members and their attempt that lead to Second Impact was to awaken Adam. Thankfully, my work held and they almost killed him instead of awakening him. I sensed that event and I began to intervene silently, I decided to start my own project related to the angels which lead to the avatar, but I'll get into that later. As for the angels you know, they were Adam's servitors that had awoken after the attempt. They tried to awaken him as well, but that was not in SEELE's plans, since their lust for power lead to them wanting to become gods instead of their mentor.

I had settled some operations with which to help the population of the planet in secret, and I got to work on trying to create something that was equivalent to Evas and angels. The irony is that I succeeded, and at the same time as your mothers had a similar accident that left me in a coma for 11 years or so. I 

awoken from it only 2 hours before Third Impact began, I rushed with my avatar to the scene but I was too late. So I discussed the matter with the two that started this, Lilith and Adam. I helped them return the souls after Shinji made the decision to end Instrumentality then the rest is well known fact as I rescued the two of you from SEELE's servant."

John stopped and waited, closely examining everyone at the table as they digested the information. He knew that most of it was somewhat irrelevant to their situation but they had to know non the less. Finally, Fuyutsky decided to speak."So, SEELE is actually much older than we know, at least the leading five are. What happened to your powers in the end?"

"I never recovered completely, one day maybe I will."John replied."Oh, since we started talking I can inform mister Kaji here as to why he is alive. Still, I'll have to warn you that you won't like the answer and you might not want to hear it."

Kaji chuckled a bit before speaking."After a story like that and going through Third Impact I doubt it can be that bad."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."John said with a serious glare to everyone."Ok, I'll be swift, your soul was used for one of the Mass Production Evas, number 8 or 11 I think, I don't know for sure."Everyone at the table gasped and Asuka looked at Kaji with an expression that could kill. She still had issues with that event and that kind of link between her tormentors and anyone in the room could serve as death sentence for that person, presuming that Shinji wouldn't be restraining her.

"How is that possible, I don't remember anything about it!" Kaji almost screamed, the thought of being an Eva wasn't exactly nice.

"Due to your unusual extraction and resurrection it's pretty normal, especially since you had no control over the thing, they just needed you as a catalyst for AT fields. There was nothing you could have done to stop that thing, you weren't in the Eva long enough to become self aware like Yui Ikari did."John said."Also, even she couldn't really do much."

"Excuse me sir, but I'd call a berserk Eva as pretty much."Maya hesitantly spoke.

"Oh, she wasn't really the cause of that, she allowed it to happen yes, but it was Shinji that truly made the Eva go mad."John said.

"If you were unconscious during this time, how can you know so much?"Misato asked.

"When I said that I talked with Lilith and Adam, you shouldn't take it literally, back on the first Earth no one talked, we exchanged thoughts. Since all three of us are pretty good at it, that meant they could feed me information directly in my own memory."John replied."Now I must show you some things and proceed to more explanations.

--

After leading them in the basement in a certain room, they discovered that the whole room was actually an elevator that lead right at the avatar's resting place. The elevator stopped right in front of the avatar's chest and they could look at it in all it's glory. During this time Shinji felt a calling from the avatar, he went as close to the edge as he could and out of some unknown instinct he spoke only one word."Come!"

The avatar's armor was pierces in a few places as a red liquid flew out from the holes than formed the Lance of Longinus right in front of Shinji floating. Shinji looked at it and nodded, then spoke again."Wait, I will return."

The weapon began spinning around it's axis staying in it's position and it was emanating a clearly visible blue glow. Even Asuka was shocked by Shinji's behavior and by what she saw, but she knew that he would explain himself and his strange actions. Though before Shinji could do so John spoke.

"Well, since Adam left you his powers it's only normal that his weapon submits to you as well. Now it's your weapon, you can even take a piece of it for your own use, you can do what ever you want with it."

"I know." Shinji said, unable to say anymore.

"Wait, you're saying that Shinji has the power of the first angel?!"Misato asked not really believing her ears.

"Would you please stop calling those things angels?!"John replied."Anyway, even that idiot realized that he was wrong and that his plans could only corrupt souls and lead to suffering. So he left his power to the person to whom he had caused the most suffering personally. We all know that the pilot's lives have been hell from the very beginning. Also, besides Kaji you are all aware of the Kaworu incident.

You must all know that as Rei had Lilith's soul within her, Kaworu had Adam's soul. Of course that doesn't really explain why he'd leave all of his power in Shinji's hands or why Lilith would leave all of her power to Asuka, but that which is done cannot be changed, we can only deal with the facts."

"So in other words both children have enough power within them to cause an Impact if they wanted to and together they could very well restart Instrumentality."Fuyutsky stated.

"Yes and no."John said."They have the power, but using it at such a level is a completely different thing all together. They can't use the power at such a level yet, it would kill them both before they could succeed. Still as Shinji demonstrated, they can use parts of their powers and can improve them by a lot, eventually they'll be able to use them at their full potential and obviously expand them since your powers become greater as you use them."

"So you're saying that eventually me and Shinji will be able to use all those powers. Ok, I understand that they're equal to some extent, but you also said that they're very different."Asuka said.

"Oh great now the wanna be she-devil is a real she-devil!"Toji lamented, which of course earned him a severe ear pulling from Hikari and a menacing growl from Asuka."Maybe I'll use you as a test subject for my new powers stooge! I already have a few ideas of what tricks I can do with them!"

"You wouldn't dare devil!"

"Is that a dare?! I'll show you!"Still the red head stopped when she felt a hand on her right arm and turned to look at Shinji who had an expression that said 'it isn't worth it'. So Asuka simply gave him one of her patented death glares.

"Watch it with your powers you could actually kill him by looking at him like that!"John said with a dead serious voice, he wasn't joking at all. Even Toji got the hint, fact which lead him to become pretty pale in the face. The idea that someone could kill you by looking at you was enough to scare most men.

"Shouldn't we return to the reason why you brought us here?"Makoto asked."And you still didn't explain the differences between my and Shinji's powers." Asuka continued.

"I'll explain those differences in private, also, I'm offering to teach you both how to use those abilities to their maximum potential." John replied." As for the reason we're all here, I'll start with the avatar which by now you've all noticed that it's not restrained. The reason for that is that the avatar isn't a separate entity, it's an extension of my body. In other words, I don't sync with it, I am it." As he finished the avatar got on it's feet and extended a hand into towards the elevator than touched John's right index finger with the tip of it's right index finger. The movement was perfect and natural as if a real human was moving not a giant bio-mech.

"Wow, that's awesome!"Toji said.

"It's useful, but if I control the avatar while outside it's body my this body is in danger as well. In other words, I sustain full injuries and this part of my body doesn't regenerate as well as that one."John said. The Evas were pretty close to becoming avatars themselves, instead of needing pilots they would have been connected with their respective pilots mothers. Of course SEELE wouldn't have wanted that to happen, Yui Ikari and Kyoko Zeplyn Sohryu knew too much.

That's why they've been set up. Still the next part of the explanation must involve them as well."John said with a saddened expression at first then switched to slightly amused one afterwards.

"What do you mean. They're both dead."Fuyutsky stated.

"I'll explain immediately, follow me please."

--

John lead them trough the halls of the complex to a room at quite some distance from his avatar's resting throne. He lead the group to a room and first allowed Shinji and Asuka to enter. In the room they saw the transparent images of the two before mentioned women. They sat in chairs facing each other and apparently playing chess, they didn't notice the two children enter the room since it was pretty large and the two were paralyzed in the door way not really believing what they were seeing. A couple of minutes pass then Kyoko speaks with a short German insult.

"Well you beat me again Yui. What's taking that man so long to bring our children here, I haven't seen my daughter face to face in ages! If I'd have my body I'd kill him!"

"Calm down Kyoko, I'm sure he has his reasons and he promised us that we will get our bodies back eventually, until then we're stuck to these holograms."Yui spoke, obviously calmer than her companion.

"Three to four years! That's a lot of time!"Kyoko replied obviously unnerved. The last comment broke Shinji out of his trance."At least now I know were your temper came from."

"How long have you two been standing there?" Yui asked."Never mind that come closer, we can't move that far out."

The two children complied while the rest of the group was being held out by John until the reunion was over. Asuka went in front of her mother's hologram and examined it intently trying to determine if she was dreaming or not. Eventually she spoke.

"Moma, is it... is it really you?"

"Yes my darling Asuka, I missed you so much, if only I could take you in my arms. You've grown a lot and I've missed so much of your life."Kyoko said, her voice overwhelmed with emotions."I thought I lost you!" Asuka cried out.

"I thought I lost myself too, but that unnerving man, John, pulled my soul out of the remains of Unit-02 and set this room up for me and Yui over there. After the incident with those Evas I was so confused that I wasn't even able to speak with you. To be honest I never imagined that once started Third Impact could be stopped."Kyoko said.

"Well, Shinji isn't that dense. He took the right choice where all this is concerned."Asuka replied.

"Shinji? What you're not calling him idiot anymore?" Kyoko asked slightly surprised, but wearing a comfortable smile."Am I missing something out of this picture?"

"Mother! How do you even know about that?!" Asuka asked, failing to hide the obvious."Well I was in the Eva and some of your thoughts would slip through during the times you synced with me. So I know a lot more than you'd probably tell me. Though a lot less than what Yui knows from her son, I wasn't nearly as aware as she was, otherwise those Evas would be dead and Third Impact averted in another way."

"I already told you that I only made things easier for Shinji, but the berserker bit was pretty much his."Yui replied with a rather exasperated tone.

"I doubt I'd be able to do that on my own mother." Shinji replied.

"I don't know, I remember when you thought the 14th before you ran out of power."Asuka said."You looked pretty much berserk to me, but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself to notice how awkward the situation was."

"I was really, really angry..."Shinji replied remembering that specific battle and how he felt also why he felt that way.

"Yea I know..." Asuka replied in a slightly dreamy voice.

This exchange was not lost on the two mothers, who were confused a bit, since they knew a more or less about their children's situations. Yui knew her son's feelings for the German girl, but she also knew how shy and withdrawn he normally was. Still he seemed more confident than before, she also knew how Asuka used to behave towards him, so the girl's current behavior didn't make sense, she hadn't insulted the boy once. Kyoko was just as confused since she was aware of her daughter's hidden feelings and her monumental pride, a fake pride used only to attract attention while also keeping people away from her preventing her from ever feeling hurt, or loved. Something was of, both knew that.

"Ok, are you sure that you're the same two children from before Third Impact?"Kyoko asked.

"God I hope not!" Asuka replied, she didn't want to feel like that again and she didn't want to push away Shinji either, maybe even let others get close to her, in time.

"I'm certain that it's not the case Mrs. Sohryu." Shinji replied.

"Yui, someone replaced our children with something else."Kyoko said with a mock serious voice."Your son is taller than he should be..."

"Leaving the jokes aside that is odd!"Yui said examining her son."What's going on?"

"That we don't know yet."Shinji replied.

"I bet I know who does!" Asuka said."John move your ass down here! You've got a lot of explaining to do!"That was followed by several German curses."Asuka! I never want to hear such language again you hear me young lady?"Kyoko said with a scolding tone, in German as well. The odd part was that Shinji was able to understand them.

"I don't even want to know..."Yui said rolling her eyes.

"You really don't..."Shini said."Since when can I speak German?!"

"Wait you understood us?" Asuka asked.

"Yea, though I wonder if I really wanted to know those things."Shinji replied."Sooo, it wasn't just a dream..."

"Then it worked!" Asuka replied smirking.

"Now, didn't you two want an explanation?" John said after leading the group in.

"What's happening to my son?"Yui asked slightly worried, she didn't know what could cause those changes and if they had negative effects or not.

"Oh it's nothing abnormal, Adam's powers are improving his body that's it. They created a short growth spurt, they've developed his muscles by changing the natural form of his muscle fibers, that's why he doesn't look more muscular but he isn't as skinny as before either. His bones are probably as hard as steel by now, well actually steel is softer. If he'd have an avatar, he'd even develop an S2 organ in his body. Before you ask, Asuka received the same treatment, but the changes aren't visible because there was no need for a growth spurt, not to mention that the changes in her body are more moderate and they tend to affect mental abilities." John explained calmly.

Everyone in the room was silent and staring at John, though no one wanted to comment on those facts, because they knew they were facts.

"Well I'm definitely not complaining."Asuka whispered to Shinji."It does explain how I was able to pick you up like that."He whispered back.

"Ok, I'd like to discuss the so called deaths of these two ladies. I know it's a touchy subject but one which has to be taken care of since there are certain things of which you must be aware."John said and the two women simply nodded.

"I'll start with Kyoko and I'll start by saying that she didn't commit suicide!"

"But... but then what happened?" Asuka asked while the horrific images of her mother hanging from the ceiling took a short swing though her mind. Shinji took her right hand in his letting her know that he was there for her.

"Well, the situation was pretty ugly, SEELE wanted to obtain the same results as with Unit-01, since they were still working on proper techniques for transferring souls. Still things didn't go as planed, Kyoko survived the contact experiment with Unit-02, her soul was bonded to the creature just as much as it was bonded to her own body. This caused her to temporarily loose track of reality, but she never had a chance to recover.

SEELE realized that there she would recover so they used drugs to ensure that she'd go mad for good, leading to the hospital incident which you remember Asuka. Still even those couldn't push her of the edge and because of her link with Unit-02, she was going to recover pretty soon. Fact which lead to SEELE killing her and staging a suicide, planning on you finding her that way.

To make things worse, the whole episode in the hospital was suggested to her specifically to lead you to that state of mind. An arrogant girl with Eva as her sole purpose was easily controllable, you didn't fail them in that regard. This will come as a blow to you, but you actually became their puppet by choosing the course you did."John stopped seeing that Asuka was on the verge of collapse and Kyoko had a very shocked expression on her face. Shinji was now holding Asuka who clung to him as well, he was her life line and she wasn't afraid to admit that.

"I shouldn't continue, it's pretty obvious that this is a bad idea..."John said."No, go on, we have to burry our pasts, this is the only way."Asuka's voice came as a whisper, but a very determined one. John looked at Kyoko who nodded, knowing all to well that this had to be dealt with.

"Very well, another thing which you should know is that Mr. Sohryu was in on all this and he was there to ensure that things went according to the scenario, so you can pretty well imagine what kind of person he is. He was the one responsible with Kyoko's treatment in the hospital and, if my sources are correct, I personally hope not, he murdered you personally, without the slightest bit of remorse, since the worst of it is that he wasn't ordered to kill you, just to solve the problem somehow and ensure that the soul was put in it's Eva and that the pilot was controllable."

"That bastard! I should kill him!"Kyoko said, similar thoughts were going trough Shinji's head for different reasons, while Asuka was too shocked.I hope I never meet that man, otherwise I WOULD kill him for what he did to Asuka. Come to think of it, I really could do that now, heck I'd probably have the blessing from Asuka's mom to do it too.

"Well, if you want me to I could do it if I ever run into him." John said."He's probably still involved with SEELE, though I can guarantee that his death would bring you no satisfaction. Setting that aside, I guess I should explain the only thing about Yui's death which you two are not aware of. The fact that the accident was made possible through the intervention of Naoko Akagi, though when Gendo found out, he set up her suicide and placed her soul in Unit-00.

It's ironic that, despite his methods, the end result of Gendo's plan wouldn't have been Third Impact, it would have lead to Yui's resurrection, period. Though he was so obsessed to get you back that he used all the wrong methods, that and he thought himself too worthless to try and be a father, he thought that he would have hurt Shinji even more if he tried to take care of him. In other words he was plain stupid, he had the right intentions to some extent, but he used all the wrong methods considering that the end justifies the means, which is wrong."

"I know." Shinji said in a low voice."My father never hated me... he just ran away."Shinji looked at away before continuing."Like father like son I guess..."

"Oh stop it, you're nothing like the man!" Asuka said then leaned near his ear." I could never love a man like that, I know I love you and I know that you're nothing like him."

Everyone in the room remained silent after John's explanations, no one knew what to say. Everyone had their own thoughts concerning what they had learned now and everyone wondered exactly why did that 

man explain this to them. It was obvious why Shinji and Asuka needed to know these things, but even to them it seemed that there was something wrong in the picture.

"So, what are your plans concerning this mess?"Surprisingly it was Shinji who spoke, his tone was different, it reminded everyone in the room of his father. Still, unlike his father it wasn't cold, rather concerned yet emitting a great strength.

"I intend to kill the 5 SEELE members that caused this, then I'll use Sanctuary's resources to help your world recover. Unfortunately, they were prepared in case Instrumentality failed, they're making their own beasts now, so called angels. Also, they're using soulless clones as soldiers, Toji, Hikari, those were the soldiers that attacked and destroyed Tokyo-2. The soldiers that fought them were Sanctuary's armored units acting at my orders, though things could have went better.

You've probably realized by now that I'm the leader of Sanctuary, I'm it's Founder and I intend to use it's power for once. I've never required anything of my people before, but it is time to act. You've all been involved more or less and I have a few announcements to make. First of all, professor Fuyutsky, I'm arranging a paid retirement for you here, but we might require your help when we track down Gendo."

"So the bastard is still alive."Asuka growled.

"Yes, and though he doesn't know what SEELE is truly doing he already has his own plans in motion. He's still trying to get you back."John said directing the last part towards Yui."Is he using the same kind of methods?"

"I don't know, all we know so far is that Ritsuko Akagi is most likely with him. Still, he has to be stopped as well. As for SEELE's plans, they're trying to get you two, alive, for now."

"Don't tell me, they want our powers, right?"Shinji asked.

"Bingo, that's exactly what they want. That's why I'm recommending that you two remain here and wait until it's all over. That would be the best course of action, since they have no means of accessing 

Sanctuary or moving properly in a sea of Dirac."John said looking at the two teenagers then turned to the rest of the group."The three of you from the bridge crew, we could find you jobs related to the avatar, since you were involved with the technical details of Evas. Of course that doesn't mean that you can start right away, there are quite a few things you'll need to learn. Not to mention that everyone will receive some courses in trying to awaken the light of the soul, though don't get your hopes up, the children will surely succeed, but adults have fewer chances, unless they have a great belief in this sort of thing, faith precedes the miracle.

Toji, Hikari, one of the reasons I brought you here is to explain something about your lives. You have something in common with the rest of the Eva pilots, all candidates have the same problem. I believe you know what that is."

"We all lost our mothers, even Kensuke!"Toji said."I think I get it, the souls of our mothers have been taken for Evas, so in other words, everyone in our class could have been a pilot, right?"

"I'm afraid so."John replied, sorrow could be felt in his voice."You two will receive orientation as well, but you should know Toji that you'll probably awaken the light of your soul with ease. You have the potential to become an armor pilot eventually and you'll probably be quite an athlete. Unfortunately, we don't really bother with sports here because of the different uses of the light of the soul, which makes most sports impossible to balance."

"Ok, we get the idea, what about me and Kaji? What do you want from us?"Misato asked, obviously curious.

"I'm glad that you asked, you see I'm in need of a second pair of eyes for the battlefield, a tactical advisor if you will. You're an experienced officer and we'll be fighting things similar to angels from time to time. You won't have to take any decisions unless I'm knocked out of battle, you'll be more of a safety net. Also, there's no paperwork involved and you're not called to the office daily since there's no real chance for a surprise operation since I'm in charge anyway. what do you say?"

"Is it well paid?"

"Well duh."John said."You'll earn triple compared to what you used to learn and you have a lot less expenses to worry about."

"Then I'll take it!"Misato replied.

"As for Mr. Kaji here, I have one job that might fit him. He'll help us gather information from time to time. If you want the job of course. Most of the time you'll be wasting time around here and I won't give you any job nearly as suicidal as you used to have."John said with a slight smile."So, what do you think."

"I was always a man that wanted to search for the truth. So why not, I might even be able to help you locate Gendo more easily, I still have a score to settle with him for ordering my death."Kaji replied.

"I see well that will be all."John said.

"Wait! What happened to Unit-01?"Shinji asked calmly.

"It's in our possession we intend to destroy it since we have no use for it. The only reason I brought it back was to remove your mother's soul from it. It's nothing but a vessel awaiting a soul now." John said.

"Or a potential avatar."Shinji replied.

"Yes, but there's no one in Sanctuary with a strong enough light of the soul at the moment to attempt to connect to it and transform it into an avatar. Unless... You can't possibly think to turn it into YOUR avatar!"

"You'll need help out there, you won't be able to handle it alone. I have this power which only I can use, just like with Unit-01 back before Third Impact. I have a responsibility, as much as I hate fighting, as much as I'm afraid that I'll hurt someone, I know that I have to do something. Doing nothing is much worse than actually trying something! I promised I wouldn't run away and that's exactly what I'd be 

doing if I'd try to hide in here!" Shinji said, determined, his voice never faltered, he showed no sign of weakness, even though this decision frightened him to the death, but he knew that it was the only way.

"Truth be told, many deaths could be averted if I accept your help. Still I'm reluctant to allow you to attempt to merge with Unit-01, it could kill you! Still with your power and with the proper training you'd be able to help me in ground interventions as well. Plus when we'll find your father you'd be able to confront him directly. Fine Shinji, you're in, I'll prepare an armor for you and I'll start training you tomorrow, you have a lot to learn about fighting."

"I'm in this too!" Asuka said."Don't even try to say no Shinji! I'm not going to let you out there alone!"

"Ok Asuka, ok..." Shinji replied reluctantly.

"Oh boy... what am I getting myself into?" John asked."Anyway, I'll take the rest of you out. Shinji, Asuka, I'll leave you here with your mothers, I'll be back in a couple of hours to pick you up. Is that ok?"

The children nodded and John lead the rest of the group outside. The two mothers exchanged knowing looks between themselves before returning their eyes upon their children. Yui was the first to speak.

"That was something very noble of you Shinji, I'm proud of you. I only wish you could be safe... Still, you're more mature than I remember, you've changed."

"Not really, Shinji here has always been the hero type, he was just to afraid to do what he wanted."Asuka asked, causing a slight blush from the boy.

"I'm proud of you Asuka."Kyoko said, honestly smiling at her daughter.

"What for?"

"For being honest with yourself. I imagined that your pride would still get in the way, but it seems that you've been able to bury it and accept your feelings for the boy."Kyoko replied."Oh, that, thanks, I think..." Asuka replied, obviously embarrassed by the situation."Shinji, take good care of my daughter and don't do anything stupid! Or else I'll kill you!"

"Mother!"Asuka yelled."How could you say that?!"

"Don't worry Mrs. Sohryu, I wouldn't even think of it."Shinji replied, trying to maintain the confident facade.

"I'll let you know right here and now that Shinji is nothing like other boys!"Asuka fumed.

"I'm your mother, I'm allowed to be worried. Plus, you were the one that called him pervert all the time, that's the only reference I really have. Your surface thoughts at the time and some of your serious emotions. This is the first time I meet him in person."Kyoko said while Yui and Shinji exchanged knowing looks.

"Well Shinji, I can only say that you're very lucky."Yui whispered to her son while the two Sohryu's were arguing.

"Very lucky mother, you probably already know how important she is to me."Shinji said.

"I know, it's rather surprising that things turned out so well. How did it happen?"She asked.

"She saw some of my memories and that cracked her, I guess. She's very much like me and from what I know, I'm the first person to honestly love her since her mother. I don't understand this perfectly, but I don't care either, even if she'd hate me and I'd still be there for her. I won't run away again, since I know that it won't bring me any good!"Shinji said.

The boy's walls had shattered during Third Impact, he wasn't able to hide his true self anymore, his inner strength. He didn't want to, now he had a reason for which to be strong and as long as that reason existed, the shy boy from before, the coward that ran away was as good as dead. Similar things had happened to Asuka, Shinji's memories had pierced through her walls, then shattered them when combined with her own experiences regarding the boy. Still, her walls still held against others, he was the only one she was truly willing to turn to for support. In the end their similarities broke the walls between them and the traits that were opposite ensured attraction in the simplest of terms.

The four continued to talk, there was much left unsaid between the two mothers and their respective children, all four trying to bury their pasts. This experience only strengthened Shinji's decision, he knew now for sure that whether John approved of it or not, he had to be able to use his powers from an avatar. Also, he suspected that Unit-02 was also there, meaning that Asuka could gain an avatar as well. He knew that since he had Adam's power, he could influence an Eva just as Kaworu did, if not better, since he had the full power.

John returned exactly two hours later and after saying their goodbyes, they went out of the room. Shinji knew that this was the time to make his move, so he spoke with John."Listen, can I see Unit-01? It's something I must do, even if you won't let me use it. I have to confront it one more time before you destroy it." John nodded, he understood that fact, still he couldn't imagine the plan behind those words, so he began leading the two towards the place where Unit-01 was held.

--

In a matter of minutes they found themselves standing on a railway before the ugly monster that was Unit-01, it's armor looked undamaged, but the core was still exposed after it had been revealed in the events preceding Third Impact. Shinji could feel the creature, it could feel the fact that it didn't have a soul, he could connect to it, it's body was made just for that fact. In a way he was already connected to it, ever since he became a pilot, a bond was created to the body of the Eva. Now that the soul of his mother had been removed from the body, the bond had become even stronger, they didn't know it, but the only reason for which the Evangalion was even alive was that Shinji's soul was partially supporting it already.

He could feel it now, he could feel the link, all he had to do was to complete it and the Eva's body would become his body, it already had his DNA, after the incident with the 14th. All he had to do was to stake his claim and command it to be his body, he had to impose his soul and take control. Of course, the boy 

didn't really understand this, not in these terms anyway, for him it was something instinctive, he felt what he needed to do. Asuka and John waited near him as he seemed to be having a staring contest with the dormant Eva. John felt that something was wrong, he could feel the air charging with energy, he began to feel the link between the boy and the beast. He realized that it had always been there, but he didn't feel it before because it was to weak, which meant only one thing, it was getting stronger!

John's eyes widened when the realization struck him, he also knew that there was nothing he could do, he couldn't influence the link and even if he took Shinji out of there, it wouldn't help, the link defied space and time. A link of the soul doesn't respect the laws of the physical universe, it is far above them. So he resigned himself to watch what would follow, hoping that no harm would come to the boy.

Shinji raised his arms and the Eva's eyes began to glow, it opened it's mouth and roared, the armor began to bulge on it. Veins came out of it and merged with the armor, then they began to melt it and change it, the Eva was becoming an avatar. The boy closed his eyes as the creature before him changed it's armor, covering it's frightening grin and thickening it's armor. From purple and green, the armor became blue and white, with hints of red, four red stripes went over it's chest converging above the core which was now covered by the new armor. It was still a fearsome sight, but the newly created avatar didn't seem to be the same evil monster which it was before.

A blue light surrounded both Shinji and the avatar as the link was being completed and internal changes took place in the both of them. Though the boy had no idea at the moment, he now had something in common with the avatar, his heart was changed, though still pumping blood and still beating, it was harder and if you could see it, you would have noticed that it became more crystalline, it now doubled as an S2 organ. Finally, the glow faded and the avatar raised it's hand over the boy and slowly examined him with it.

"It's funny to look at myself like this."Shinji said without opening his eyes."This will take some time getting used to, but I'm sure that I'll be able to help you somehow."

"I have to admit that I wasn't expecting this. You must know something about avatars, as you've noticed, you can change their appearance, you can influence their armor and so on. You can also make more drastic changes, like the blade tentacles, but those changes will affect this body as well. So if you let's say, grow a few claws or spikes on the thing, you'll get them too, so you better make sure that whatever you grow is retractable. Otherwise you might change your body in permanent ways, permanent grotesque ways. Get it?"John replied, you could hear that he felt very worried, he didn't like this one 

bit.I'm pretty sure that they want to do the same for her. I'll wait and see though, might as well solve it all today, I don't like it, but I do need their help...

"What about Unit-02?"Asuka asked."I don't expect much of it, but I'm sure that we can do something about it."

John sighed, he hated when he was right in such matters."There's not much left of Unit-02, we have the upper torso, with the core and left arm, it's still alive, but barely. I don't know if it can be regenerated and I don't really recommend a connection to it, the feedback could kill you. Still, if you want to see it and try something it's your call."

"Is there any point of even asking?"Asuka asked obviously annoyed.

"Follow me then..."John said rolling his eyes and cursing his luck.

--

Unit-02 was in a pathetic state, though it was still salvageable and it still had few pieces of it's armor left on it's back, enough to allow a merging to take place. Asuka could already feel a dull pain where the wounds were and a strange numbness in the missing limbs and body parts. Shinji watched the creature, he could command it if he wanted to, it had no soul, and being made from Adam, it was made to obey him. Still, he had no intention of doing that, all he wanted was to help Asuka succeed, and he knew what he had to do.

Shinji raised his right arm towards the creature, concentrating his will on the dormant Evangelion and commanding it. It's core began to glow as it developed it's S2 organ based on the genetic information which lay within the body, then it began regenerating at great speed, stopping when the body was completed. Then the boy lowered his arm, he was sweating all over, that had been a great effort and he felt tired, but it worked.Well, thank you Kaworu, you taught me well.

"You didn't have to do that!"Asuka said, but he cut her of."Yes I did, this thing is made from Adam and you would have needed an S2 anyway."

"Show of. I guess it's up to me now, to bad you couldn't order it to regenerate it's armor to. It looks absolutely ugly like this!"

"It's not an avatar yet."John replied."Well, since you're already linked to it, you can proceed. Worried as I was I forgot that you two were already linked to the beasts, thus you couldn't face the same risks I did when I made my connection with my avatar."

Asuka didn't reply, instead she began focusing, it was surprisingly easy for her to impose herself. Her mind became it's mind and she shared her soul with the monster, the Eva becoming her avatar, the link was easy to achieve, but it was harder for her to command the body. She merged the pieces of armor to the beast then she forced the armor to regenerate all over the body, like an exoskeleton, but this task was surprisingly difficult and she was soon quite exhausted by the task.

At the end of it all, Unit-02 looked pretty much the same, still, it didn't have any markings on itself, the armor was obviously thicker and at the same time more flexible. Also, Asuka herself was barely standing on her feet, unlike Shinji, she had to do active regeneration for her avatar and she was drained. So she collapsed, but never reached the floor as the boy caught her and took her in his arms. This was only the beginning.

"I think it's time to go home."Shinji said."Also, move the lance near Unit-01, it will come in handy when we'll actually fight."

John nodded and lead the boy out of the complex and back to his villa, things were becoming quite interesting. Yet the man knew that they would have a long way to go, still, with their help, maybe things would improve at a faster pace.

--

Later that day Shinji and Asuka were standing together on the balcony of their floor, watching the sun set, both of them deep in thought. It had been an interesting day to say the least, and both of them took some decisions which would affect their lives for a long time to come. The future seemed somewhat uncertain now that they would fight an enemy which they once thought they knew, only to discover that they knew nothing.

"Do you think we made the right choice?"Shinji asked, more to himself but Asuka heard him.

"I don't know Shinji, but, you said it yourself, we can't stand around doing nothing. I'm sure we'll be all right."She replied, even though she had her own doubts about the situation.

"I just hope that you'll be ok, I don't want you to get hurt again."Shinji said."I failed before when I tried to protect the ones I care for. I failed you..."

"It wasn't your fault. We were both screwed up back then, maybe we still are. Now though, no one will stop you from helping, except for being beaten in battle. I know that won't happen."She said as she leaned on him.

"Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right, are you insinuating that the great Asuka Langley Sohryu can be wrong?"The redhead asked, barely being able to maintain her old tone.

"Me? Never!"Shinji replied chuckling.

"Good, now stop worrying so much, you're making me nervous."She said in a soft voice.

The two remained silent as the fake sun disappeared slowly, if they didn't know it was fake, they would have never realized it. Everything was quiet as the day ended, but the two didn't worry about it anymore, they had each other and nothing would force them apart again.

To be continued...

A/N part2: Well, if you think that John is some uber warrior who's invincible, think again. If you read the whole chapter, you'll see that he's lost most of the powers he had after fighting the 5 councilmen long before the Angel wars. His incredibly mind bending powers won't make a come back either, the only reason I even mentioned them and those events is to clear some things around Adam and Lilith since I don't like that whole religious symbolism crap, seeing that I'm Christian and all.

To top this of, the only reason he seems stronger now than Shinji or Asuka is that they don't know instantly how to control their powers, they have to LEARN! Even now 1 on 1 with Shinji he could loose because Shinji has the freakin' Lance of Longinus that doesn't give a damn about any AT fields in its way.

To top this of, he doesn't show any invincible characteristics in chapter five either, actually Asuka is more over powered than he is if you actually READ the fight scenes.

As for making Shinji and Asuka the leaders of Sanctuary, I can't do that right now as they don't have the knowledge to do so just now.

The final note on John and you shouldn't read this if you don't want to have this spoiled (I have no choice but to place it here since I can't reply to anonymous reviews) is that he dies, get it, about half way if my plans go as I want them to. (that meaning at about chapters 8 or 9, I'm planing around 16...)