[A/N] Still here? Good, I'm glad you're having fun. It's been refreshing to indulge in creative writing having spent so long lately on revision work, and I've no doubt I'll have to revise this chapter a few times over the next couple weeks before it's perfect, but you're not here to listen to me ramble, so let's pick up where things left off…

Chapter 10: Cycles

Shinji stood by Aria near the airlock. He glanced carefully at the Asari, noting that she seemed even more tightly wound than usual. Tisala was stood behind him, her pistol drawn and at her side. His eyes then turned to each of the Turian guards lined up behind them, each of them clad in the Talon's colours, weapons readied and trained on the aperture.

"What are you expecting?" asked Shinji, glancing about at the assembled force.

Aria didn't turn her gaze from the airlock, "Most likely nothing, but it doesn't hurt to make our guests feel appropriately welcome."

There was a slight hiss as the pressure was normalised between the docked shuttle and the station, the airlock door unsealing a moment later.

"I'm telling you, as soon as we walk out there we're probably going to be face to face with-" Joker's voice died as the door fully opened, a loud series of mechanical clicks filling the air as half a dozen weapons were suddenly aimed in his direction. He raised his only free hand in submission, the other currently hooked around the arm of the form standing at his side. He let out a tired sigh, "Yeah…called it again. Didn't I call it, EDI?"

The android avatar for the Normandy's AI inclined her head slightly, not seeming bothered by the weapons aimed at them, "Your predictions have not been without some accuracy, Jeff."

The officer slipped his hand free of EDI's arm and took an uneasy step forwards, limping slightly as he raised both of his hands to show he wasn't armed, "Okay, folks. How's about we all just calm down? You invited us, remember?"

Aria had her own gun raised and levelled at the human, the others splitting their aim between the synthetic and the third member of the group: an Asari who was standing calmly behind them, "I do," said Aria, "But you're going to tell me exactly who you are before I consider letting you take another step forward."

Joker's shoulders sagged slightly, "Jeff Moreau, acting XO of the SSV Normandy," not lowering his arms, he cocked his head at the figure by his side, "This here is EDI, "he then briefly indicated the asari behind him, "and that there is Dr Liara T'Soni. You asked for data specialists, and I can guarantee you won't find any better in the whole galaxy."

"Hello, Aria," said Liara cordially, "I see you're as welcoming as always. Though you must've mellowed; normally you shoot first and don't bother to ask questions later."

Aria's eyes narrowed at the other asari, "Liara…" she intoned, and Shinji could've sworn there was a note of grudging respect in her voice.

Suddenly, Aria's eyes flashed, as if something had just occurred to her. Her aim snapped up and orientated clear at EDI's head, "EDI?" she echoed, her teeth bared, "The Artificial Intelligence EDI?"

EDI inclined her head curly in response, "That is correct. I am an AI."

Aria's grip tightened around her pistol, the guards having taken the hint and trained their weapons on her also, "The Cerberus AI?" her aim then turned on Joker who flinched in momentary pain as he staggered back a step, EDI's arm going to support him without looking, "You brought a Cerberus AI onto my station?"

"You are correct," replied EDI, "I was created by Cerberus, but I made the independent decision some years ago to cease any affiliation with the group. They had, shall we say, morals which conflicted with my own."

Aria returned her aim to the AI, "And I'm supposed to just take your word for that, am I?"

EDI nodded, "I think you will find that, even taking into account your expulsion of Cerberus from Omega, I have caused far more financial damage and disruption to their organisation than you through my electronic espionage alone."

"Like that time you clogged up their servers with all that porn?"

"Yes, Jeff."

"I liked that one."

"Do you need me to vouch for EDI, Aria?" asked Liara, and Shinji noted that, like the AI, the new asari had been oddly undisturbed by the weapons aimed at them.

Aria snarled slightly, "And I'm supposed to take your word instead, am I?"

"For what it is worth," cut in EDI, "this body is merely an interface. My actual processing cores and memory storage centres are on the Normandy. Should you open fire, you will merely destroy this shell. And while such an event may be an inconvenience in terms of my personal relationships, it would not be too hindering in the long run."

"Basically," said Joker, "you pull the trigger and all you do is break EDI's sexy robot body. And really, do you really want to deprive the universe of such a wonderful thing?"

EDI inclined her head, "It would not take too long to have another fashioned, Jeff."

"Aww, but I like this one so much. I've gotten so…familiar with it."

"Your appreciation is as always welcomed, Jeff. I have come to garner an affection for your physical form also."

"You say the sweetest things, EDI."

"If I might interrupt," cut in Aria with a note of incredulity. Her eyes narrowed at the human, "We were talking just earlier on the comm, weren't we?"

Joker's eyes widened a fraction. He suddenly looked quite nervous now that there wasn't several hundred thousand miles of vacuum separating him from the Pirate Queen, "N-no, ma'am," he replied quickly, "that wasn't me. That was my…my twin brother…Crazy Steve."

Aria regarded him in silence

"You buying that at all?"

She shook her head, "because I don't want this situation getting any more complicated than it is, I'll forgo putting a bullet in you, but I suggest you don't open your mouth from now on."

"Hey, consider these lips zipped, ma'am."

Aria glared witheringly at Joker before returning her gaze to EDI, who had half-positioned herself between Aria and the Alliance pilot, "And as for you, you will stay by my side at all times whilst on board. And if I even get a hint that you're attempting to access this station's systems without my permission, then I'll terminate your...interface. "

"Your warning is noted and analogy understood."

"Are we quite finished with this?" asked Liara almost tiredly, nodding at the assembled troops.

Aria tilted her head at the lead Talon, who nodded and dismissed himself along with his soldiers. Both Aria and Tisala put away their weapons and returned their attention back to the trio, "Come with me…"

-Ω-

Aria led the way through Omega's streets, Tisala following behind the three visitors to make sure none tried to slip off.

Shinji turned his attention to EDI out of scientific curiosity (now that he had some). He watched the way she moved for a moment. It was obvious that the one called Joker wasn't in the best of health by the way he fought to walk by himself, but it appeared that EDI took nearly the entire weight off his legs with the arm about his, allowing him to walk almost normally, the AI herself not needing to miss a single step to compensate for the assistance she was giving, having matched his pace with absolute flawlessness.

"Matriarch Aethyta is on board," said Aria as they walked, Liara almost by her side, "though I suspect you already knew that."

Liara inclined her head in acknowledgement, "Yes, I am aware of that. I should…probably visit her at some point. Assuming you will let me, of course."

Aria's gaze narrowed, "It's not you I'm worried about. Do whatever you like. Why are you here anyway? The AI can probably handle all the accessing by itself."

"She probably could," Liara replied, correcting Aria on the personal pronoun, "however, I thought you may want someone capable of disseminating the correct information to the right ears."

Aria humphed slightly, "I see your point."

"I thought you might."

Shinji was listening to their conversation, and though Liara was making it seem her attention was focused on Aria, he could tell that she kept her gaze affixed on him out of her peripheral at all times. He was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Aria, may I have a word?" asked Shinji suddenly.

Aria paused and looked back, frowning slightly, "What is it?"

Shinji cocked his head mutely in the direction of the other side of the street. Aria briefly turned to Liara, "excuse me."

"Of course," she replied politely, turning to Joker and EDI to talk as Aria broke away. She left Tisala to watch over them, but still kept a beady eye on the trio. She rested a hand on Shinji's back as she approached, orientating him mutely away from the three.

"What is it?" she murmured, keeping her head tilted enough away to prevent Liara or EDI from reading her lips but not enough so that she couldn't keep her eye on them.

"That other Asari…" said Shinji, his voice just as quiet.

"Liara," confirmed Aria, "What about her?"

Shinji glanced quickly over and back, confirming that although Liara was talking to her companions, she was still keeping an eye on him too.

"I'm not sure what it is. I mean, she seems kind of nice and unassuming…sort of…but there's just something…" he trailed off in thought, looking quickly over and back again, "the way she looks at me. I know looks, and I know people. And I know when someone's trying to read me. She…reminds me of the way Aethyta looked at me before we started talking. What I wanted to ask was if there was something I should know about her too."

To Shinji's surprise, just as Aria's eyes narrowed at him, a small smile graced the edge of her mouth, "Very good."

"What?"

"I said that I'm impressed. I hadn't had the chance to warn you since they arrived, but I did notice you'd been even quieter than normal, and you did well not to say anything.

"That, over there, is Liara T'Soni, better known in our circles as the Shadow Broker. And she has, as you humans say, her fingers in a lot of pies. Good to notice that about Aethyta too; Liara happens to be her daughter."

"And now both are on Omega... A coincidence?" murmured Shinji.

"Highly doubtful. And do not let Liara's attitude fool you. She may seem all polite and proper, and I've no doubt she sees herself that way too, but I will tell you this now: she is as sharp as an Omniblade and just as capable of stabbing you if handled wrongly."

A small smile graced Shinji's face, "Sounds like you, sans the polite and proper part, of course…"

Aria cocked her head, "A compliment and an insult in one. It's lucky I like you so much, else I'd be tempted to kiss you and then kill you for that remark."

Shinji blinked, "w-what?"

"Let's get back," said Aria, ending the conversation and walking back to the others.

"Have you finished discussing Doctor T'Soni?" asked EDI curiously.

Aria glanced irritably at the AI, "Okay, should have seen that coming…"

Liara fell into step once more, "Don't worry about it, Aria. However, the fact that you would simply reveal my main job to your friend has told me far more about your relationship than if I had queried you directly. For that you have my gratitude."

Aria scowled, "And I thought your father was good at getting under my skin."

Shinji suddenly felt irritated. He was getting tired of people observing and trying to interpret him; he'd had enough of that back at NERV, "So…" he began, not really making any effort to keep his voice down, "what exactly is a Shadow Broker, Liara? It sounds to me like the sort of job you wouldn't have much freedom in, especially if it became public knowledge."

Liara was quiet for a moment as she dwelled on the obvious threat, her gaze darkening for a split second, but the expression quickly turned to confusion, "I am still not an expert at dealing with humans and their customs, but…I have offended you somehow, I believe."

"Don't worry about it. I've just spent far too much time around people who liked to talk as if I wasn't there. Besides, I'm sure doing that is probably some kind of asari custom around strangers."

"It is not," objected Liara, "It is considered extremely bad manners, and I…now see that I have indeed been discourteous. I apologise. I do not, as you humans like to say, get out very much."

Shinji wondered how someone with influence like Liara's could become so self-conscious so easily. He shook his head and walked on, Aria taking the cue and continuing also, "Like I said; don't worry about it," muttered the pilot, Liara falling silent behind them.

"Admonishing Liara T'Soni temporarily out of Shadow Broker mode?" murmured Aria under her breath as Shinji walked at her side, "and you knew just what buttons to press too. Now I'm even more impressed."

"Yeah," grumbled Shinji, "my father would've been too, I'm sure…"

The asari realised then that Shinji really had learned people far better than he may have known himself. Even if it had been out of momentary anger, he'd just used what Aria had said about how Liara probably felt about herself being proper in order to emotionally disrupt her intelligence gathering capabilities.

Aria's eyes focused on Shinji out of her peripheral, watching as he walked with a slight scowl on his face. She may have just discovered a talent in him very worthy of encouraging…

-Ω-

Shinji noted that Aria had posted a lot of security around the storage area where the EVA was currently being kept. The main door from the streets had two heavily armed Krogan posted, and a few feet in front of them stood a large mech, it's pilot visible behind the hood as he gazed out across the walkway.

The Third Child gave the machine a wide berth as they entered, "What was that thing?" he asked, glancing back as they walked.

"An Atlas," replied Aria offhandedly, "One of the many parting gifts left behind by Cerberus."

Several layers of security later and they finally reached the main door into the secure storage bay.

"It's just through here," Aria informed, unsealing the door with her Omnitool.

Shinji took a slight involuntary breath as the EVA was revealed. The way it was suspended from the gantries was startlingly reminiscent of the cage back in NERV headquarters.

Aria was watching him and noticed the reaction, "Is something wrong?"

Shinji shook his head, "No, it's…just been a while since I've seen it from the outside."

The pair entered the bay along the walkway, the trio behind them entering just behind.

"Whoa-hoa," exclaimed Joker, "That is so cool. I mean, yeah, absolutely terrifying and freaky, but still, very much cool.

"Man, they weren't kidding when they said it was big. That thing must be well over a hundred feet tall." He glanced down over the side of the gantry, "Yeah, gotta at least be the size of a Reaper."

"The scale is indeed comparable," said EDI as they followed over to where Shinji and Aria had halted in front of the head, the AI already initiating several intensive scans with her Omnitool. Liara's gaze was torn between her own device and the beastly construct itself. Shadow Broker or not, the sight of the Evangelion had shaken her somewhat.

"So how does it work?" asked Joker as they all came to a halt.

"It doesn't," replied Shinji, his eyes locked on the EVA's core just below. Aria, observing his focus, punched the control to lower the gantry down.

EDI gripped Joker to steady him as the walkway jerked and descended slightly, "You mean it's broken?"

"No," replied Shinji as they halted before the dulled red core of the EVA. He looked at it for a quiet moment, as if confirming something, "more like it's…empty. The control system, the mind of the EVA, is gone. There's nothing for the pilot to synchronise with any more. The heart of the pilot and the soul resident within resonate together to create an AT field."

"An AT field?" asked EDI, glancing at the former pilot.

He shook his head, "It's not important right now."

EDI's gaze narrowed at him slightly, but returned to her Omnitool, "Regardless, I am not detecting any quantum field operating within the core."

"Of course not," replied Shinji, "It's dormant at the moment."

"So how does that all work?" asked Joker, "How do you get a soul inside a machine?"

Shinji kept his eyes on the dull red orb in front of him as he spoke, "it was my mother whose essence used to be in the EVA, but she's gone from it now. It's possible to synch yourself to the EVA to such a degree that you lose your mental ego borderlines and physical presence. That's how I was stored for so long. It's also how my mother first gained entry: attempting to synchronise with it when there's no control system is like being sucked into a vacuum. She was quite literally...absorbed."

"Your mother told me that her 'soul' –if there's really such a thing— had faded because of the passage of time. So why didn't yours if you were kept the same way?" asked Aria.

Shinji's brow knitted in thought, "Something was protecting me. All that time it felt like something was surrounding me, keeping me safe, like there was another layer of protection behind my mother's AT field."

Aria frowned, "you mean there was someone else in there with you?"

He shook his head, "I'm not sure if it was an actual person, but the presence felt so familiar…it actually felt like there were…two of them."

"I'm not actually sure what all this soul stuff means," said Joker, "but am I right in thinking you need a mind to somehow be in this thing for it to work? Like, the machine needs a brain?"

Shinji nodded, "It's sort of like that, yeah."

Joker looked cautiously up at the EVA's head, "good luck finding a volunteer."

Shinji smiled slightly, "I wouldn't worry about that; none of you would be compatible. The EVA needs the AT field of a human to operate."

"Umm, in case you didn't notice: quite a few humans about, kid."

He shook his head, still smiling, "That's not what I mean. You're all human, but you're not Lilim. You have minds and souls, but you're not bound together as one colony by an AT field."

"Meaning…what?" asked Joker, not following at all.

Shinji sighed and thought how best to summarise, "Basically, it has to do with an ancient godlike entity and her blood mixing with the primordial waters of earth so that, unlike yours, our human race evolved essentially as one combined entity, separated only into individual people and minds by the AT field of the Lilim. The EVA is a clone of that ancient being and, as technically its children, we are able to synchronise with it.

"The downside of this was that, when the godlike being, Lilith, awakened, she cancelled out all of humanity's AT fields, forcefully combining them back into one gestalt entity, but thankfully I fixed that. It could also never happen again, as there are no AT fields left to be affected. And as for Unit-01, well, there is only one Lilim left who is compatible with it."

"You," concluded Aria.

Shinji nodded, "and it's not like I can just synchronise with myself. Even if I were to enter the core, nobody else could pilot it. With my universe and humanity gone, there are no more pilots."

"Wait!" cut in joker, waving his hands, "Jumping right past that big sack of crazy you upended on us about gods and magic fields, are you trying to say that you and this…EVA, are from an alternate universe?" asked Joker, who made no effort to hide his disbelief.

Shinji shrugged, "I have no idea. That's what I was hoping to find out from the EVA."

"Which you can't do because the damned thing's essentially dead," said Joker, extending a hand toward the vacant core.

Shinji cocked his head, "I wouldn't say that," he said, his voice distant. Without another word, Shinji raised his right hand up and gently pressed his palm flat against the core.

Everyone but Shinji backed away a step as the core of Unit-01 began to subtly glow, its lustre returning. The gem on the Third Child's right wrist seemed to glow dazzlingly with the same light.

"Energy readings confirmed," said EDI, looking down at her Omnitool, "I am detecting a clearly defined quantum field now active within the core."

"Shinji," said Aria cautiously, "How are you doing this?"

Shinji's brow furrowed into a confused frown, as if he only now realised what he was doing, "I…have no idea," he breathed, not pulling his hand away, "It's as if I just suddenly knew what to do."

"But I thought the core needed a human consciousness inside to be active, and only yours would work," said Aria.

"It needs an AT field," clarified Shinji, his voice quiet as if realising something, "it's an AT field…but it's not mine. In fact the only one whose soul should be this compatible with Unit-01 – a clone of Lilith— would be-" Shinji cut himself off as his eyes went wide in shocked realisation. He thought back to the feeling of that light that surrounded him whilst in the EVA for all those years. He remembered how it felt familiar.

He remembered how it smelled.

His eyes were drawn to the gem in his wrist. It glowed, but the one on his left didn't. 'Because it's not compatible,' he realised, the added knowledge from his mother rapidly filling in the gaps, 'Unit-01 is a clone of Lilith, not Adam. Oh, god…it's both of them; they're both inside me.'

Horrified, Shinji tore his hand from the core, not noticing the crystalline surface retain its sparkle; the connection remaining even though the gem on his wrist had gone dark again.

He shook his head, "What's wrong," asked Aria, sensing his distress, "Shinji, I need you to talk to me," she said, demand rising in her voice.

Without a word, Shinji just shook his head and turned about and ran from the room, "Wait!" called Aria, quickly running into pursuit, Tisala following, "You three, stay here!" called back the pirate as she departed.

-Ω-

Aria found Shinji outside in the street. He hadn't gotten far and seemed to have stopped at the end of the walkway and was now pacing back and forward, muttering rapidly with fear etched into his features, "-like Kaworu said: they're made of the same material, with no resident soul…of course it would work like that…"

"What is it?" asked Aria, grabbing his arm to halt him. He flinched, going suddenly quiet, "Shinji, for fuck's sake, I need you to talk to me!"

"You need to keep me away from the EVA," he said, his tone deathly serious, "I can feel its presence fading the further I go. So long as I keep my distance, then maybe-"

Aria cut him off, swinging him round by the shoulders to face her, "Don't make me repeat myself, Shinji. What is wrong?"

"Aria, do you know what this is?" demanded Shinji almost angrily, holding up his right wrist to show her.

She scowled, "Of course not."

He looked her right back in the eye, "It's a core: the heart of an Angel. It's also called an S2 engine. And this," he said, nodding at the gem, "is Lilith's core, what remains of it, anyway. The remnants of the fruit of knowledge, all condensed down..." He rubbed his thumb over the other red gem, "and Adam's fruit of life too. A remnant, but I guess that explains why I'm just aging slowly as opposed to living forever."

"But what does that mean?" demanded Aria.

Shinji suddenly had a quite haunted look on his face, "it means that the EVA might not be quite as dormant as I had first hoped…"

Aria frowned, "you mean you could make that thing move?"

Shinji closed his eyes to think, as if checking something, "No…all I did was resonate with the core. There should be no way I could actually force it to activate."

"There should?" echoed Aria.

"I'm almost sure I couldn't do something like that. I think I'm still too human to pull something like that off, but like I said," replied Shinji, "It'd be best to keep me clear, just to make sure…"

Aria regarded him thoughtfully, weighing her options, "So the further away you get, the less you can feel that thing?" she asked, cocking her head in the direction of the storage area.

Shinji nodded in confirmation.

"But we still need access to the core." She inhaled a breath, pausing briefly to think, "Right, I want you to remain in the viewing area above the storage bay. Will that be close enough to just keep it active?"

Shinji frowned, "I don't like it, but I think I should be able to do it."

Aria rested a hand on his shoulder and led him back inside, "Then let's get this over with…"

-Ω-

Shinji lounged against the console, his head resting listlessly against the window as he looked down at the EVA. EDI and Liara were busy attaching numerous sensors and interface equipment to the exposed core, Aria standing watch to observe them. The Third Child was also aware of Tisala standing by the doorway, watching him in silence.

"Hope you don't mind me joining you," Shinji almost flinched at the voice and turned to see Joker enter the observation deck. He limped over to a console and, with a grunt, sat himself down on the edge of it to watch the proceedings below, "They're all rambling on down there about quantum entanglement interfaces, data compilation and interpretation; basically crap that's just shooting right over my head. Aria probably isn't faring much better, but I don't think she wants to let EDI out of her sight again."

Shinji shook his head, "It's no problem," he glanced at Joker as he pushed himself up and hobbled toward one of the chairs, "Do you…need a hand at all?"

"Thanks for asking, but I'm fine," replied Jeff, gently dropping himself into the seat and sighing as he sat back, "There we go."

Shinji turned to look back at the proceedings below, the audio relay barely picking up the conversations going on.

"Okay," said Joker from behind, "so I gotta ask…"

"What?" asked Shinji, turning to look at him.

The officer nodded down below, "Just what is up with you and Aria?"

Shinji blinked, feeling his cheeks reflexively heat up, "W-what? What makes you think anything is… up?"

"What?" replied Joker incredulously, "you mean despite the fact that you're practically wearing matching outfits? I mean, don't get me wrong: I suppose Aria is kind of hot…hot in a terrifying, crazy, femme-fatale kind of way, but hot nonetheless."

Shinji hoped his cheeks weren't blushing too red. He averted his gaze with a slight pout, "I'm getting really tired of people thinking that we're together like that."

"You mean you're not?"

"No, we are not."

"Huh, so you're saying you and she haven't…y'know…embraced eternity?"

Shinji swallowed a gulp as a certain event came to mind, "W-well, yeah, we kind of did that, but it wasn't what you think…and yes, we may have slept in the same bed, and she might have been…" He bit off the end of the sentence, sputtering desperately, "Look, we're not…together!"

Joker cocked an eyebrow up, "Really kind of sounds like you are…"

Shinji fumbled for a retort and, when none came, settled on scowling at the pilot, "Oh yeah, then what about you and EDI then?" he asked, trying to shift the aim of the conversation away from himself.

Jeff shrugged, "What? You mean my sexy robot girlfriend slash primary mode of interstellar travel?"

Shinji's eyebrows rose, suddenly taken aback, "Wow, you are…surprisingly forward about that."

He just smirked slightly in response, "Why wouldn't I be? It's friekin' awesome." He sank down in his seat some more, "Come on then. I've spilled about EDI, so you have to spill about you and the crazy lady in violet down there."

Shinji sighed, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"No I am not."

-Ω-

Down below, EDI halted in her work, her hands pausing over her Omnitool. She tilted her head to glance back at the control room above, a small smile pulling at her mouth. "What is it?" murmured Aria, not looking up from the panel Liara was also focused on.

"Jeff was concerned about your friend's distressed mental state, so he left to render assistance in his usual way."

"What, you mean by driving people into wanting to blast him out of an airlock?" replied Aria.

EDI inclined her head as she connected up another cable, "That is one interpretation, though murdering Jeff by explosive decompression has never personally occurred to me."

"Shinji does not seem the type to be swayed out of depression by humour," commented Liara, her fingers flicking over her panel with lightning speed.

"Jeff is not utilising humour. He is using the subject of his relationship with me and Shinji's thoughts on Ms T'Loak as a vehicle for distracting him from whatever distressing matters may be weighing upon him."

"Same old Joker…" commented Liara, "I think I've got something here," she said, a line of code blinking up on her display, "Just give me a moment."

There was silence as Liara worked. Aria couldn't help herself from glancing up at the window above and back briefly, "So, what is he saying?"

"You wish to know what our men are saying about us?"

"'Our men?' just what kind of messed up AI are you?"

"I was merely attempting banter. Jeff has informed me that the mere nature of my existence can instil unwanted hostility in others. I was therefore merely attempting to diffuse your quite obvious aggression towards me."

"You're almost acting like Joker yourself in that way, EDI," said Liara with a note of irony.

The AI was quiet for a long moment, "That is a most distressing observation, Liara."

"You have no intention of telling me what he's saying then, do you?" asked Aria dryly.

"Regardless of how it may or may not lower your hostility toward me, I still believe it would be inappropriate to divulge that information." EDI suddenly blinked, as if someone had just switched her attention elsewhere, "Connection confirmed. I have an interface with the system stored within the core."

"A system?" enquired Liara, "you mean it's organised into an OS?"

EDI nodded, "That seems apparent. The particles in the core have been organised and compacted in the same way data would be kept on a backing storage medium."

"That's ingenious," said Liara, "like typing out a message using footprints in sand."

EDI nodded, "The analogy is apt. Thankfully the EVA's on-board computer systems were designed to interface with the core, so it was a simple matter of going in via its Personality Transplant OS by linking it into myself."

"A Personality Transplant OS?" asked Liara.

EDI nodded, "Yes, the EVA links a human mind via the onboard systems to the EVA. I have merely linked myself into it in order to access the information stored within the core. Code compilation is proceeding."

"Do you have something?" came Joker's voice over the loudspeaker from above.

EDI nodded, "I am attempting access into the EVA's core. The amount of data stored is quite impressive, even by modern standards. Besides the core OS there appears to be a large block of data which I may be able to independently access via the interface." EDI's eyes narrowed as data surged through her and back to the Normandy, "Interesting. The OS appears to be built around a three-tiered architecture. Each tier is almost an identical copy of the others, only with slight variations coded into its AI personality subroutines."

Liara stood up, "An AI? You mean there's an AI inside the core?"

"Or something very similar. It would appear the variations in the AIs are almost intended to create conflict. Almost as if-"

"It's called a MAGI," came Shinji's almost quiet voice. They looked over to see him standing on the edge of the gantry, but coming no closer, "I don't believe it. She actually coded a MAGI into the EVA's core. She must've used herself as a template…"

"You are correct," replied EDI suddenly, "I have compiled a small section of the kernel and can confirm that this MAGI is based on the neural print of Doctor Yui Ikari. However, I do not possess enough internal storage within this frame in order to compile the entire system. Transference of an unknown AI into the systems of an Alliance vessel would contravene several regulations and Systems Alliance laws, meaning I am also unable to utilize the Normandy for this task."

"How much space will be needed?" asked Liara.

"Approximately four point eight exabytes for both the core OS and its accompanying data. The large block of data separate from the OS will require several exabytes on top of this also."

"And I guess you'd be against loading a MAGI into Omega's computer system…" said Shinji with a sigh, seeming weary from just keeping the EVA active as long as he had.

"Now there's a fucking understatement, "replied Aria, who then seemed to relent somewhat, "but…I could get some external storage units together. We should be able to accommodate it all."

EDI nodded, "It should be possible to run it on an isolated system."

"What about the large block of data that's separate from the OS, EDI?" asked Liara, "do you think you can access that and see what it is?"

EDI nodded, "I will attempt to isolate part of the data," there was only a split-second's pause, "Done. I have extracted a segment seventeen point four six terabytes in size. The block of data seems itself to be split into almost identical segments of uniform size."

Liara downloaded a small segment and ran it through her decryption algorithms, "Strange. They appear to be little more than images. Each segment seems to comprise of a series of low-resolution image files. The format is very archaic but I should be able to decode and convert them into a modern standard. We should utilise the monitors in the observation room."

-Ω-

Joker shuffled around in his seat as the others entered, "Your data's just coming onto the monitors now, Liara. I'm tellin' you, Shinji, if this just turns out to be your porn stash, I'm going to be both disappointed and delighted at the same time."

"Technically it would be my mother's stash…and that's the most disturbing thought I've had in quite some time. Thanks, Joker."

"No problem."

"Conversion and enhancement complete," announced Liara, "Let's take a look at the first one." She looked up as the screen flickered and a still image was shown.

Shinji looked at the image in silence.

It was the Earth and its moon.

"Well that's anticlimactic," commented Joker, folding his arms, "you know, if you wanted a picture of Earth that bad I could've flown there, took a picture and flown back in the time it took to get this."

"No…" said Shinji, looking carefully at the image, "That's not your Earth…it's mine," he said, stepping forwards. He pointed to the moon, "Does your moon have a giant bloodstain across its surface?"

"Not last time I checked, "replied Joker, "You want to tell us why your moon looks like Godzilla just haemorrhaged over it?"

"It's not important," replied Shinji.

"You know, you say that a lot…" grumbled Joker.

"I say it because it's true. It really doesn't matter anymore."

Aria regarded the image, remembering the memory she saw of Lilith's death at the end of Third Impact, it was indeed the same stain caused by that event, "It matters to you though."

Shinji smiled reluctantly, "and only me…" he looked to Liara, "can we see the next one?"

"Yes, of course," she replied, pressing a control on her Omnitool.

The image shifted, and they were all somewhat startled by the next picture.

It was clearly from the exact same perspective as before. Only this time, the sun, which had been in the background before, was far larger now and dominated the image. Its colour was a dim, almost bloody red.

The image seemed to have been captured just as the scorched cinder that was the Earth broke apart, caving in under the extreme stress as the sun engulfed it.

"The end of the world…the final end," whispered Shinji. He vaguely remembered glancing out at this spectacle during his long slumber, but to see it so clearly was quite a dismal thing to behold.

"EDI? Can you tell, is that really the Earth?" asked Joker, looking from the image of the dead world and up to the AI.

EDI looked carefully at the screen, "comparison of the stars in both images would indicate they are taken from the same location if five billion years of stellar drift were accounted for. I would surmise that this is an image of Sol entering its final stage of life as a Red Giant. It is in line with current scientific theory on the eventual fate of the system."

"Deep," commented Joker, "but can we please look at something less…depressing?"

Liara nodded, "I agree." She looked back at Shinji, "Are you okay?" she asked, her tone a note softer than berfore.

Shinji came back to attention, having been focused on the small crumbling planet. He smiled, "I'm fine, Liara, thanks. Please go on."

She nodded and flicked to the next image, again similar, but the stars in the background looked far more spread out. In the centre of the screen, where once there had been light, now floated a black sphere, "If I were to go by the context of the previous images," said EDI, "I would assume this to be the Black Dwarf remnants of Sol itself, the gaseous clouds you see in the background could assumedly be residue from the burned off stellar material."

"Flick ahead, Liara," sighed Joker, having decided that watching the slow death of his own solar system to be a quite morbid thing.

The next few images were simply of the stars in the background as they spread out even further, increasing in number, only to eventually fade to black.

"That's all of them. Let's see what the next block shows," said Liara, pressing a few controls.

The next few images started with a bright flash, frozen. Then there was stellar matter, which then became the sun, the rest of the material becoming planets.

Abruptly, the next image showed the Earth again, only this one clearly did not have the bloody stain across its moon, "Interesting," said EDI, "the stellar positions in this image would put it at approximately the same time period as the first Earth seen.

"Again, given the context, one may assume the images prior to this one to be representative of the birth of the universe and the formation of the Sol system."

Liara then began flicking ahead through the images. It quickly became apparent that the pattern was repeating.

Joker shrugged, "Now they're just all the same. Only the first Earth looked different because of the moon."

"That is not correct, Jeff," said EDI, "Each of the images showing the Earth have minor variances, indicating various levels of technological development and continental shift."

"All similar, but still individual and different," said Liara, "if these images are genuine, then they could hold priceless scientific data about the eventual future of our own universe."

"Alright," cut in Joker, "Let's just assume it's what it looks like, and each of these 'sets' shows a different universe coming and going. Then we've got to then assume that the EVA took these pictures, right?"

Shinji nodded, finding the knowledge downloaded into his brain from his mother to be oddly useful at that moment, "Yes, I've no doubt my mother modified the EVA enough to capture these over the years. And considering we were outside of reality itself, where the passage of time had little effect, then it could mean simply that the universe ended in a big crunch, folded back on itself and had another big bang, and everything started again, only slightly different.

"And if that isn't what happened, then it could also be that the EVA simply then turned its attention on a new universe when the last one ended. Either way, that would still mean that…" Shinji trailed off as it suddenly struck him.

Shinji was silent, eyes wide as Aria spoke, the asari having remained oddly silent the whole time, "Shinji, your mother said 'one per cycle'. She said that it was that which would give perspective, whatever the hell that means."

He staggered back a step and sank down into one of the chairs, finding it hard to speak suddenly, addressing himself more than anyone else, "One per cycle: she meant each block of images. One block per universe, per cycle of time, but that would still mean…it would mean that she had to have outlasted each one to compile the images." Shaking slightly, he looked up at EDI, "How many blocks of data were there? How…old am I?" he asked, a note of fearful desperation in his voice.

EDI suddenly looked concerned herself, "I…could not give a definitive answer. There would be far too many-"

"-EDI," cut in Joker gently, "just give him a ballpark figure. Even something generic would be better than nothing."

She seemed hesitant, but complied, not admitting that her calculations were going to be extremely conservative for what she would later classify as compassionate reasons, "If I were to assume the time period covered in one block of images representative of the birth of the universe up until the end of the Stelliferous Era, and then multiply that number of years by the number of blocks of data within the core, subtracting of course the approximate length of time your own universe would have lived up until the time the first image was recorded…Shinji Ikari, I would have to estimate that, bare-minimum, you have existed in strictly chronological terms for at least one point six eight decillion years."

Joker looked about to comment, but then frowned. He seemed to start counting on his fingers, "Umm, how many-"

"-thirty-three, "cut in Shinji numbly, "It's a one with thirty-three zeros after it. I hate the fact that I know that…"

There was silence for a long moment, none really knowing just what to say to Shinji at that.

It wasn't surprising that Joker chose to break that silence, "You know what I was saying earlier, about the whole age difference between you and you-know-who? Well, I've officially changed my mind: you should totally go for it."

"Thanks, Joker," said Shinji vacantly, "I'll keep that in mind…"

-Ω-

Shinji was back at Aria's suite, Tisala on guard as normal as he looked out over Omega in thought, Aria herself being down below with their guests, all too eager to get rid of them.

"Will you be okay?" asked Tisala, for once vacating her usual guard spot to approach the human, gently laying a hand on his arm.

She was startled that he reached back and gave the hand an appreciative squeeze before letting it slip back into his pocket. "I get it," he finally said, his voice calm, "I get that the number of years is meaningless when I was in a place outside of time, but just knowing the sheer scale of it…that it actually has a figure; like there's now a map from my old life to where I am now…it all just seems so…"

"Real?" offered the asari, "You forget, I know what it's like to have gone from one life to another…living like it's a dream."

Shinji nodded silently, and there was peace once more. In the dim light, the Third Child couldn't see the conflict on the Tisala's face.

She took a long, calming breath, "Shinji…?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something? It's…about the EVA."

"What is it?"

"You said that it might not be dormant. Tell me, did you mean that?"

He replied after a pause, "I think it's possible, yes…"

"And that only you can actually make it do anything? Was that true also?"

Shinji nodded again, "That's right, without me it really is useless," he said, not admitting this excluded someone attempting to reverse-engineer the EVA, though it would have to be genetic reverse-engineering in order to get anything fruitful due to its comparatively primitive cybernetics.

Tisala breathed a tired breath and stepped forward, "Shinji…" she began, "despite how little time we've spent together, I've genuinely become quite fond of you. And that's not a lie, nor the sweet-talk I give to the customers downstairs."

Shinji frowned, and turned about, "T-thanks, it's very nice of you to say that. I enjoyed spending time with you too."

Tisala smiled sadly, "That's good to hear. Would you please do me a favour…and take my hand?" she asked, extending her arm out.

Shinji seemed confused, but then smiled for her, and gently gripped her hand.

"I really am sorry…" she whispered, and Shinji felt a tiny stab in his palm, and suddenly a cold chill spread up his arm and across his body.

His eyes went wide in shock at Tisala. He staggered back as the world swam about him. She moved out quickly and caught him safely in her arms as his legs gave way under him, "It's okay…I've got you."

The last thing Shinji saw was the asari's sorrowful eyes before the world finally went dark around him.

Tisala grunted with strain as she stood up and pulled Shinji Ikari over her shoulder, trying to avoid looking at his sleeping features directly. She pulled out a cutting device from her Omnitool and swiftly proceeded to open a large, circular gap in the window.

There was a blast of cold air from Omega as the sheet fell free and Tisala looked down the long slope that led to Afterlife's main entrance. Her eyes were then drawn to the Spectre logo that now freely displayed itself on her Omnitool display.

She fought to steel herself and, holding Shinji tightly against her side, she climbed out of the window and proceeded to make her escape.

As an asari caught between Aria T'Loak, her own morality, and her duty to the council as a Spectre, Tisala found she could only be sure of only one thing:

She was probably going to be dead by the time this was all over.

-Ω-

To be continued…

-XA-

[A/N] Yup, and we are done for another instalment. A very long winded way of saying 'this is why Shinji is in this world and there aren't any EVAs or records of NERV', but it really needed to be said. Very rarely is it wise to try a crossover where you try to fit two stories into the same continuity, so I hope you'll forgive the length of this one. Needless to say, now that we're done with explaining the whole 'how we got here's, I'm glad I finally get to start the real fun. And no, Tisala as a Spectre isn't a plot hole, that'll all be explained in due course too. So until then…

I'll see you all in Chapter 11: Citadel