Gendo stared up at the gigantic, normally-frightening visage of Evangelion Unit-01, which was currently offline. He was alone in its cage, and had checked beforehand to make sure there was no one else around.

"The time that has been given to us runs short," he said to no one in particular; though in truth, it was if he was trying to speak with Yui, thinking she could hear him from within the EVA's core. "Though the Lance of Longinus was not disposed of according to plan, there may still be some use for it when the moment comes. Soon, the final Angel will make its move. If we destroy it, our wish will come true." He then looked down at something in his right palm, which we couldn't see due to the camera angle looking at the back of his hand. [Cinematographer's idea, trust me.] "Just a little longer, Yui. Just a little bit longer, and soon, the scenario will be fulfilled."

"No it won't!" a far off voice shouted in response.

Gendo's eyes widened with surprise upon hearing that as he looked back up. He then looked around, only to see the cage was still empty. The Commander of NERV was now annoyed, and due to his habit of always wanting the last word in, he replied to the mysterious, doubting voice.

"Yes, it will," Gendo said, unmoving from his spot.

"...Won't!" the voice shouted in return.

Gendo looked around again, scratching his head in confusion, before ultimately shrugging with a grunt as he turned to exit the cage. As soon as he left, Freakazoid peeked out from behind Unit-01's head. He looked around to see if the coast was clear, and then faced us, a big mischievous grin on his face.

"Ain't I a stinker?" he slyly said with a wink.

Episode 38 - Live, from the Chamber of Gauf...

The afternoon sun was setting as the group of students made their way to one of the usual hangouts for kids downtown. The only difference from their previous outings was the addition of a new face in their group, as Kaworu was joining them. The whole time they walked around downtown, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Kensuke, and Mayumi warily kept an eye on the ashen-haired boy for any signs of him possibly tipping his hand. Eventually, their wanderings took them to the arcade for a round of games. Surprisingly, even for being a self-described first-timer, Kaworu proved to be adept at most of the games. The group made their way through a few of their usual games-the racers, the fighting titles, and with the case of Toji, the hoop-shooters-before Mayumi noticed one particular game that stood out.

"Hey guys, you ever see this one before?" the bookworm asked.

When the others turned to look, except for Rei and Kaworu, surprised looks adorned their faces. The game they were looking at was one they hadn't seen before, but to Freakazoid and Freakazette (observing as they were from their respective Freakazones), they recognized it right away.

Aw, no way, they brought it back? Freakazoid wondered excitedly.

Wowza wowza wowza, I haven't thought of this game in years! Freakazette said in turn.

The teens walked over to take a closer look, where Hikari then read the game's title out loud.

"Virtual Tussle?" she said, slightly perplexed by the sight of the new game.

The console setup consisted of four platforms, each with a virtual reality helmet hanging above them. Behind the platforms was a screen where the action in the game itself could be observed. Standing on each side of the platforms were two life-size statues of two of the avatar characters from within the game. Aside from color scheme, the models were the exact same: tall, futuristic armored soldiers. The red one was identified as "Portho, of the Glim System", while the blue one was "Mel, of the Suburb of Morton Grove".

"Shall we give this one a try?" Kaworu suggested. The others blanked for a bit, looked at one another, and decided to take Kaworu up on his idea. He, Kensuke, Shinji, and Asuka volunteered to give it a shot, and each soon was on a platform and had a VR helmet on their heads. As the others watched on the screen, the avatar characters appeared on the planetoid setting one by one. Shinji had taken on Mel, Asuka was playing as Portho, and Kensuke and Kaworu had each been given some newer characters introduced for more multiplayer functions: a yellow one named Argessian for Kensuke, and a green one named Bob for Kaworu. The next few minutes saw the quartet playing through what amounted to a virtual combination of laser tag and capture the flag, while fending off virtual pterodactyls in addition to each other. Freakazoid, being quite familiar with the game, gave Kensuke a number of tips and tricks to help him through the challenges, and when the timer finally reached 0, Kensuke had come out on top, managing to out-shoot three well-trained EVA pilots.

"Not bad, Aida," Asuka said as she lifted the helmet off her head and shook it to regain her hair's shape. "Not at my level just yet, but still."

"What she said," Shinji added. "I didn't think any of us would win, since we've never played this one before."

"I wonder what led to this particular game's arrival in this establishment," Kaworu commented.

Upon saying that, the kids were met by a man wearing a jacket that had the logo of the game's manufacturer on the back. He was a short, slightly portly Westerner with gray hair and a placid, unemotional look on his face.

"How do you do," the man greeted in monotone, "the name's Francis Pumphandle, but everyone calls me 'Pip'. I'm a rep with the company behind Virtual Tussle." He held his hand out to shake, which Kaworu took. "It's an interesting story, actually. You see, the game itself was based on the creator's attempt at a screenplay for a sci-fi film that kept getting turned down by everyone in Hollywood, so he took it to a game developer..."

For the next hour or so, the group stood there, bored out of their skulls, as Pip told his long-winded story about how the game was added to the arcade. The whole time, he never let go of Kaworu's hand, stuck as if in a perpetual handshake while the Adam-derived Nephilim struggled to free it from the man's grip, to no avail. The others were close to falling asleep on their feet, since Pip's ramblings were just as potent as that of the teacher Boa-Magnon was currently filling in for.

"...Which brings me to the time where I met Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Mario himself, at a trade show back in that watershed year in video gaming that was 1990..."

Unlikely salvation came for the group when the doors to the arcade burst open as a colorfully-costumed villain leaped in, his two henchmen at his side. He appeared to be quite geeky for a villain, and held what looked like a strange-looking vacuum cleaner in his hands.

"All right, people, just stay where you are, and this'll all be over soon!" the villain declared in an almost non-threatening, somehow nasally voice. "Allow my associates and I to relieve you and the consoles of your hard-earned money, and we'll be on our way. Consider this payback for all the quarters taken from me over the years by unrelenting programs and coding disguised as harmless gaming fun! So says the head of the Arcade Fireplugs!"

Yeesh, where's the creativity with this guy? Freakazoid mused.

I know, right? It's like he stepped out of a low-rent Dozier show, Freakazette concurred.

Kensuke and Mayumi briefly looked to each other and nodded. They then quietly crept backwards towards the hall where the restrooms were, and after making sure the coast was clear, said only three words:

"Oooh, Freak Out!"

In a flash of light and static, Freakazoid and Freakazette now stood where the two bespectacled teens were and quickly zipped behind the Arcade Fireplugs, taking them by surprise as they turned around.

"Sorry, pal, but there's only room on this planet for one angry video game nerd!" Freakazoid said.

-X-

The moment that was said, somewhere in America, one James Rolfe sneezed. He looked around his home office/studio confusedly, wondering what had prompted the sneeze in the first place.

-X-

One requisite Adam West-style fight scene later (glossed over for convenience's sake and for the sake of moving the plot along to the good stuff), the Arcade Fireplugs were being loaded into a police car while Sgt. Kusagabe and another officer took statements. Meanwhile, the Freaks had reconvened with the EVA pilots and their friends, and had told them that Kensuke and Mayumi had snuck off to call the police.

"Thanks again for saving us," Shinji said.

"Though honestly, I could've taken that guy with one hand behind my back," Asuka said. "I mean really, other than a glorified vacuum cleaner, he looked pretty harmless."

"Still, you never know," Freakazette said with a shrug. Hers and Freakazoid's attention then turned to the new face among the teens.

"You must be this Freakazoid and Freakazette I've been hearing much about," Kaworu said as he shook Freakazoid's hand. "I never expected to see an example of your exploits up close like this."

"I'll bet," Freakazoid said in turn. "But hey, I wouldn't be surprised if we run into each other again soon." He gave Kaworu a knowing wink, which surprised the Nephilim a bit (though he did his best not to show it). "Anyway, love to stay and chat, but me and 'Zette gotta go see if there's anything else that needs thwarting, foiling, or otherwise. Later!" The two Freaks then got into their usual 'flying' runs as they 'sped' out of sight, much to the befuddlement of the group of teens they left. (Well, save for Rei and Kaworu.)

There is no doubt about it, the Seventh Child thought to himself warily, this is indeed one of those universes. *Sigh* This will be more difficult than I thought...

Lake Ashi, the following early morning...

A light mist floated over the water as Kaworu stood on the same statue where he first met Shinji and Asuka only a couple of days before. He was preparing to report in to his handlers on the progress of the mission. When he turned on his personal holo-comm, he grew surprised when the face of Armando Gutierrez greeted him.

"Expecting someone else now, were you?" Gutierrez asked.

Kaworu didn't answer at first, but then replied "What happened to SEELE-02?"

Gutierrez let a small smirk appear on his face before answering. "He, along with 05 and 07, in response to their attempted defiance of my orders, are currently enduring a punishing stay in the 'Lounge of Terror'." He then briefly looked at his watch. "And if my timing is correct, by now the Tony Orlando tribute act should be coming on."

Kaworu shuddered at the very thought of 1970's easy listening acts. While he may have had a great appreciation for Lilim music, that particular genre was one of his major exceptions.

"Which brings me of course to you, Mr. Nagisa," Gutierrez continued. "Or rather, Tabris, correct?"

Meanwhile, the two of them were unaware that they were being watched. Kaji and Misato, utilizing a pair of high-powered binoculars and sophisticated listening equipment, had been spying on the conversation from the latter's car.

"So that's Gutierrez, huh?" Misato wondered quietly.

"Yep indeed," Kaji replied. "If you're wondering why half his face looks like the going-out-of-business sale at a Circuit City, apparently it's from when he fought Freakazoid after learning how to tap into the Pinnacle chip's flaw."

"Where'd you learn about that?" Misato asked, surprised by his knowledge of such a specific event.

"I checked the Wiki, where else?" Kaji replied with a wink to us.

"Funny, he kinda reminds me of the guy from Fantasy Island, for some reason," Misato noted.

"And it looks like, based on how I'm reading his lips, that he's on to whatever the rogue Committee members were up to," Kaji said. "Must be telling the kid to abort the mission or face the consequences..."

Suddenly, Misato saw Kaworu turn to face her direction, almost as if he were looking straight at her.

"Uh-oh," Misato said as she put her binoculars down, "I think we'd better go..."

She and Kaji then quickly stashed the equipment in the back seat of the car and promptly sped off.

A bridge near the Tokyo-3 city limits, an hour or so later...

Kaji and Misato met with Makoto to compare notes on their way into work. He'd told them that Ritsuko and Maya had some new information that definitely confirmed what they were all thinking. As soon as they reached HQ and found a nice, secluded spot far from any prying eyes, the two members of Tech Division One shared their findings.

"Well?" Misato asked.

Ritsuko and Maya nodded to each other briefly before the former replied. "It's definitely confirmed," she said.

"Kaworu's data from the sync test is theoretically impossible," Maya reported. "But based on the analysis of a DNA sample Ritsuko's mother was able to get a hold of..."

"It can only mean what we've all dreaded," Ritsuko said. "Kaworu's likely the final messenger."

The EVA cages, around the same time...

Kaworu looked around carefully as he sneaked his way into the cages. The conversation he'd had with Gutierrez was on his mind: the current leader of SEELE had ordered him to essentially pack up his things and prepare for extraction from Tokyo-3. On the surface, Kaworu had begrudgingly accepted; however, the Call was too strong for him to ignore, so despite being the Angel of Free Will, he opted to attempt to carry out his purpose and seek to reunite with Adam. He also figured that, in this way, he could avoid the pitfalls that came with being in this particular kind of universe.

"Now then, which of you shall aid me in my journey into Terminal Dogma...?" he said quietly to himself as he looked over the Evangelions. He quickly passed on Unit-00, seeing as how it was too unpredictable. Unit-01 and Unit-02 were seemingly locked out to him, since the connection between the pilots and the resident souls of the EVAs' cores was quite stronger than he'd imagined. Finally, he found his candidate as he looked upon the obsidian form of Unit-03.

"Very well. You shall do," Kaworu/Tabris said. With that, he turned and began to float above the liquid Bakelite as Unit-03's eyes then began to glow.

The bridge, minutes later...

Alarms blared and emergency lights flashed throughout the complex as everyone scrambled to get a bead on the threat that had suddenly emerged in their own house.

"Unit-03's activated!" Makoto alarmingly reported.

"And Toji's not in the plug!" Shigeru added as he brought up security footage of the Sixth Child, who'd just walked out of the locker room and was surprised by the sudden state of emergency.

"Confirmed!" Maya stated as she pored over her screen. "Unit-03's unmanned! No entry plug present!"

"Then that means..." Misato started to say as she looked towards Ritsuko.

"He's doing it," Ritsuko said, anticipating her friend's question. "The 17th Angel's making a break for Terminal Dogma."

Meanwhile, Kaworu/Tabris and the EVA he controlled sped through the long shaft down towards Terminal Dogma, undeterred by the multiple locking attempts that had been ordered by Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki. Speaking of the sub-commander, he turned to Gendo to voice his thoughts.

"Looks as if Gutierrez didn't give the boy enough incentive to return to Berlin," he noted.

"Yes," Gendo concurred, his hands in their usual position. "In the end, he truly is living up to his moniker of the Angel of Free Will."

A meeting of the SEELE council, right at that moment...

"What's the meaning of this?" Gutierrez demanded, "I gave the boy strict orders to await his extraction!"

"Er, sir," SEELE-03 started to reply, "it could be that the 'Call' was too strong for even the Angel of Free Will to overcome."

Gutierrez grunted before responding. "Very well," he stated. "It appears that this will be in Ikari's hands now. We can only hope NERV is successful in preventing catastrophe..."

The bridge, Central Dogma, presently...

"They're breaking through the armored partitions!" Shigeru reported.

"Understood," Misato replied before turning to the main screen. She'd ordered Shinji, Asuka and Rei to scramble and get into their EVAs. Toji had been found and brought to the bridge for safety's sake.

"Aww, man! Why'd my EVA have to get hijacked again?" the Sixth Child lamented.

"Guys, your target is Unit-03 and the Angel controlling it," Misato commanded. "Stop them from making it into Terminal Dogma, or else we might as well kiss everything we hold dear goodbye!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the three pilots replied as they made their way down the shaft to catch up with the human-looking Angel and the enthralled EVA. Soon enough, the trio got them within their sights. Kaworu/Tabris turned to face the new arrivals.

"I've been expecting you," he stated, a sad smile on his face.

Unit-01 reached out and found itself grappling with Unit-03, as if it were a long-awaited rematch.

"Kaworu! You don't have to do this!" Shinji pleaded. "We could've found another way!"

"Save it, Shinji!" Asuka barked as she drew her prog-knife. "There's no backing out of this!"

Unit-03, freeing one of its hands, drew its own knife and the blades soon clashed, sparks flying everywhere.

"Rei, take him out!" Asuka shouted as she continued to parry Unit-03's blade.

"I cannot," Rei replied, "I do not have a clear shot!"

"Kaworu, why are you doing this?!" Shinji pleaded again. "You've gotta know things are different! We don't have to fight!"

Kaworu/Tabris sighed before responding. "I am truly sorry, Shinji. Though I may call myself the Angel of Free Will, this is one instance where I cannot ignore the Call."

By the time he finished that sentence, the EVAs had reached the lowest level and were struggling to keep the intruders from entering the innermost chambers. Misato, back up on the bridge, leaned over to quietly speak with Makoto.

"Is the 'last resort' set?" she asked.

Makoto nodded 'yes'. "Self-destruct is in place. If the EVAs fail..."

"Then let's pray they don't," Misato said in turn. "Truthfully, I'm not ready to meet my maker just yet."

Terminal Dogma...

Kaworu/Tabris flung the doors to the Chamber of Gauf open, child's play for one with power such as his; at the same time, the EVAs were wearing down Unit-03, which finally collapsed in defeat as the 17th Angel's control wavered. Speaking of, what met the Angel's astonished eyes as soon as he looked inside proved to be a different matter entirely. (The pilots, and those observing on the bridge, felt the same way.)

"What in the progenitor's name...?" Kaworu/Tabris wondered aloud, dumbfounded.

Lilith was still there on her cross, the Lance of Longinus sticking out of her, but the rest of the Chamber's interior had been turned into a game show set, a sort of bizarre combination of Jeopardy!, The Price is Right, and Wheel of Fortune.

[Suggested music: The Family Feud theme song (Harvey era version).]

Announcer: "Geeeetttt ready, because it's time for everyone's favorite game show..."

Studio Audience [as a stylized title animation appeared]:

"WIN A DATE WITH LILITH!"

Announcer: "And now, here's your host: Freakazoid!"

Freakazoid then came out stage right, waving to his 'audience', dressed in a suit version of his costume. A smiling Freakazette appeared from behind one of the set pieces, dressed in a Vanna White-like getup with a long, flowing blue dress as she also waved to the 'audience'.

Freakazoid then appeared to knock on his chest as he faked a cough, before switching to a pair of waving jazz hands. "Thank you, thank you, how are yaaaa?" Freakazoid greeted in a Bittman-like fashion as the applause died down. "Welcome to another exciting edition of 'Win a Date with Lilith', where one lucky contestant gets the chance to, what else, win a date with the Second Angel! Let's meet today's contestant-take it away, Joe!"

Kaworu/Tabris suddenly found himself behind a podium with his name on it as a spotlight shone on him, much to his surprise.

Announcer: "Competing today is 15-year-old Kaworu Nagisa, also known as Tabris, the 17th Angel, aka the Angel of Free Will. He's a student at Tokyo-3 Municipal Middle School, works part-time as a back-up Evangelion pilot (designated the Seventh Child), holds the soul of Adam the First Angel, and is a fan of classical music."

Freakazoid then popped up beside Kaworu/Tabris, a microphone in-hand.

"Welcome to the show, kid, how're ya doin' today?" Freakazoid asked as he pointed the mic at Kaworu, who was growing more perturbed by this turn of events.

"Oh, uh, er..." the 17th Angel started to say, "I guess I'm, um, glad to be here?"

Freakazoid gave him a light slap on the back. "Don't worry, it's okay to have a bit of stage jitters, we all get them from time to time, isn't that right folks?"

The unseen studio audience then laughed a bit at Freakazoid's comment.

"Glad to have ya on today, kid," Freakazoid continued. "Let me be upfront here, while a date with Lilith is the main prize, even if you come up short, that doesn't mean you'll go home empty-handed! There's plenty of other prizes up for grabs, isn't that right Joe?"

Announcer: "Today's selection of consolation prizes include the following..."

Freakazette then presented that which was behind the first curtain that opened.

Announcer: "A brand-new Schwinn mountain unicycle, able to run on the roughest terrain!"

Freakazette then walked to a second curtain and presented what was behind it as it opened.

Announcer: "A year's supply of aglets, those little plastic tips that go on the ends of your shoelaces!"

Freakazette then walked to a third curtain and presented that which sat behind it as it opened.

Announcer: "And finally, an all-expenses paid trip to see every Howard Johnson's still in existence in the USA!"

Freakazoid then walked over to the center of the floor. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's get to playing! Here's how it works..." He then pointed to a row of blank white squares. "Through three different challenges, your goal is to get the right letters to fill in all these blanks! Simple enough for you?"

Kaworu/Tabris looked our way for a moment, greatly confused, before turning back to Freakazoid. "Er, yes, I understand."

"Alllllll righty then!" Freakazoid replied. "Let's kick things off with our first challenge!"

Freakazette then presented a set piece that lit up on her cue, which looked like a large drawing easel.

"For challenge number one," Freakazoid instructed, "while Freakazette sketches an object, you have to guess what exactly it is she's drawing to fill out the first three blanks. Ready? Annnnd, start!"

A timer then appeared on Kaworu/Tabris's podium as he carefully, slightly nervously observed Freakazette as she sketched on the large pad of paper with an enormous pencil. She first drew two perpendicular ovals, with one a good distance above the other; she then connected the two of them with a straight line on each side, from one edge of one oval to the other. She then drew a couple of horizontal curved lines in the center, but before she finished drawing another shape within, Kaworu/Tabris quickly pressed his buzzer.

"A can!" Kaworu/Tabris said. "She's drawing an aluminum can!"

A bell sounded off as the letters C, A, and N appeared in the first three blanks.

"Nice job, kid! But we're not done just yet," Freakazoid said as he pointed to the next set piece. When it lit up, it was revealed to be a large sign with one thing on it: a blue letter E turned on its side, looking as if it were balancing on one of its points with the three prongs facing diagonally up and to the right.

"For challenge number two, it's a trivia round!" Freakazoid explained enthusiastically. "I'll read to you a trivia question inspired by the image on this sign here. The answer to the question is related to this image, which comes from an iconic logo. Answer correctly, and three of the letters from the answer will fill in three more blanks! Think carefully before answering, but don't take too long! Otherwise, time's up! Ya ready?"

Kaworu/Tabris briefly looked toward the staring EVAs before looking back at Freakazoid and reluctantly nodding, still befuddled by the situation he'd found himself in.

"Then let's tickle that brain of yours!" Freakazoid said as he held up a notecard with one hand while still holding the mic with the other. "The question is: 'Founded in 1984, ranking #51 on the Fortune 500 list until 2014, and known for their innovations in electronic commerce and supply chain management, which American multinational computer technology company has this image in its logo?'"

Kaworu/Tabris looked at the image and began to plumb the depths of his knowledge for possible answers. He thought back to his time at NERV-Berlin, then to when he arrived in Tokyo-3. When he thought about his first day at school, he began to remember when he was given an assigned laptop. It was then that he had his 'eureka!' moment when he remembered the logo on top of the device when he was handed it...

Kaworu/Tabris quickly pressed his buzzer before the timer ran out. "Dell!" he answered. Once again, a bell sounded off as Freakazette pointed to the row of blanks, three more of which were replaced by the letters D, L, and E.

"Boy oh boy, aren't we on a hot streak today!" Freakazoid commented with slight applause. "Well, buckle up, kid, you're almost there! Just one last challenge, and you either win the big one, or go home with a nifty consolation prize or three! But we'll get to that, after a brief word from our sponsors!"

Announcer: "Today's episode is brought to you by Anubis Markets, a division of Osiris Foods. Just shop at the sign of the jackal-headed man for food so good, you can eat it!"

The bridge, at the same time...

While the 'commercial break' was going on, the rest of the staff on the bridge was stunned into a to near-speechless state by what had been happening. This was especially true of those observing from the command perch, as Gendo and Fuyutsuki traded wide-eyed double-takes.

"How on Earth did he even get all that in Lilith's chamber?" Fuyutsuki wondered with befuddlement.

"Forget that, sensei," Gendo replied, a slightly furious edge to his voice. "How on Earth did he even know about Lilith's chamber in the first place?!"

Terminal Dogma...

"Annnd we're back, folks!" Freakazoid said. "It's now come down to the final challenge in today's episode-will our contestant manage to win big, or will he be going home with a brand new mountain unicycle? We're about to find out!" He then pointed towards Freakazette, who then pointed to the set piece that just lit up. On this board were three sentences laid out, each with a missing word indicated by a blank space.

"Here's your challenge, kid," Freakazoid explained to the still-dumbfounded Kaworu/Tabris. "For this lightning fill-in-the-blank challenge, each of these sentences has the same word or name in common. Figure out the connecting thread between all of them, and you've won the game! In the words of 2 Unlimited, are ya ready for this?!"

[Suggested music: "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited.]

Kaworu/Tabris warily looked our way briefly before facing Freakazoid. "I am ready. Let's get this over with," the 17th Angel replied, slight resignation in his voice.

"Great!" Freakazoid said. "Then let's begin!"

He then pointed to the first sentence, which had a light turn on next to it.

Announcer: "'Star of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, As Good As It Gets, and A Few Good Men, _ Nicholson'."

A second light then turned on next to the second sentence.

Announcer: "'_ and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water...'"

A third light then turned on next to the third sentence.

Announcer: "And finally, 'Hit the road, _, and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more!'"

Freakazoid then turned to face Kaworu/Tabris. "All right, kid-what's the name all three sentences have in common?"

The timer on Kaworu/Tabris's podium then began to count down, as the Angel began thinking of a possible answer. The pilots and the staff up in Central Dogma looked on, some of them sweating with anticipation, a few crossing their fingers, and very few (namely, Gendo) looking on while attempting to show little emotion.

Kaworu/Tabris again thought back to his time at NERV-Berlin, when his form was younger. Something about the second sentence struck a minor chord with him, as he began remembering how one of the many caretakers who attended to him at Lorenz Kihl's behest read to him from a book of nursery rhymes...

Kaworu/Tabris then quickly pressed his buzzer. "Jack," he answered. "Jack Nicholson, 'Jack and Jill went up the hill', and 'Hit the road, Jack'."

Freakazoid looked at him intently. "Is that...your final answer?" he asked, with no sparse amount of dramatic ham. Kaworu/Tabris nodded his head 'yes'. A very dramatic tension hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity (even though it was only for two minutes) before Freakazoid spoke up again.

"That is..." A subtitle labeled DRAMATIC PAUSE then appeared underneath him briefly. "...CORRECT!"

He and Freakazette then pointed towards the row of blanks, whose final four spaces were replaced by the letters J, A, C, and K as a winning bell sounded, along with cheers and applause from the unseen studio audience.

"I won...?" Kaworu/Tabris wondered, slightly confused, before a smile appeared on his face. "I-I won!"

"And that's not all," Freakazoid hinted as the cheering and applause died down. "To take home one of the additional prizes, please state what the completed word on the board is!" He then pointed to the completed row.

"Oh! Uh, certainly," Kaworu/Tabris said. "It says Candle Jack. Just out of curiosity, why did you have me say it?"

"Hello..." a new, spooky whisper of a voice sounded. On hearing this, a slightly-startled Kaworu looked to his left and found himself face-to-face with a figure who'd suddenly appeared as if from out of nowhere. This wasn't lost on those watching, as many a pair of eyes widened at the sight of the stranger, with some people on the bridge reminded of a certain story told around the fire at summer camp.

The figure was lean and wiry, and wore a black bodysuit, along with a pair of gray short boots and gloves, and a pointy, gray, stitched-together hood and shawl combo with large, white eyes above the stitched mouth. The figure held an old brass candle holder with a lit candle in his right hand, while in his left hand was a coil of ACME progressive rope. Most notably, the figure was floating a couple of feet above the ground.

"Glad you could make it," Freakazoid said as he greeted the new arrival. "It's been so long!"

"Not a problem," the figure said. "Lucky for you, I had time to get more rope."

Kaworu/Tabris did a double-take from the figure to Freakazoid and back as the figure proceeded to loop the prog-rope around him. Finally, the Angel of Free Will looked our way, an un-amused look on his face, and said only two words:

"Oh, nutbunnies."

With Kaworu/Tabris all tied up, the figure then floated away, 17th Angel in tow.

"Thanks for playing, buh-bye now!" Freakazoid said as he and Freakazette waved goodbye.

The three pilots (and by extension their EVAs), their jaws dropped, looked to each other, speechless.

Up on the bridge, much of the staff felt the same. Clearing her throat, Misato spoke up.

"Status?" she asked.

"Oh! Uh, confirmed-pattern blue is gone," Makoto reported.

Up on the bridge, the commanders were completely dumbfounded by all that they just witnessed.

"Well, that was certainly a close one," Fuyutsuki noted as he wiped the sweat from his brow, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

Back in Terminal Dogma, the music started up again as Freakazoid turned to address his audience.

"Well folks, that's all the time we have for today's episode!" he stated. "Tune in next week for another thrilling, exciting installment of..."

Unseen Studio Audience:

"WIN A DATE WITH LILITH!"

"Until then," he said as he started to sign off, "I'm your host, Freakazoid-see ya next time!"

To be continued...

**Author's Note(s)**
You all were probably expecting Janos Ivnovels, or maybe Mary Beth, weren't ya? ;)

The opening teaser follows the actual scene from NGE's 24th episode, up until 'No it won't!'. The dialogue that follows riffs on a scene from the eighth season episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment". Freakazoid then closes out the teaser with a well-known Bug Bunny line, made most famous by the 1953 Looney Tunes short "Duck Amuck".

"Virtual Tussle" comes from the second season Freakazoid episode "Virtual Freak", and was a parody of the 1991 arcade game Dactyl Nightmare.

Pip Pumphandle (voiced by Ben Stein) originated in the Animaniacs episode "Chairman of the Bored", where his shtick was telling long, boring stories. He later appeared in the Pinky and the Brain finale "Star Warners" as Girth Plotz's means of extracting information from Princess Dot, and then in Wakko's Wish as the 'Desire Fullfilment Facilitator'.

Freakazette references William Dozier, the producer behind both the Adam West Batman and the Green Hornet TV show from around the same time (starring a young Bruce Lee).

Freakazoid refers to James Rolfe, the title host of the long-running YouTube series The Angry Video Game Nerd.

Kaji refers to the events of Freakazoid's season one finale, "The Wrath of Gutierrez". Misato makes note of Gutierrez's resemblance to his original voice actor, the late, great Ricardo Montalban, who among many iconic roles played Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic overseer of the titular landmass in Fantasy Island.

Freakazoid's bit with the fake cough and jazz hands is a nod to Eugene Levy's Bobby Bittman character from SCTV, who is supposed to be a banal comedian and singer.

Howard Johnson's was a chain of American restaurants that operated for over 90 years. You might know the name from the 1984 Val Kilmer comedy vehicle Top Secret!.

When Kaworu answers the final challenge, Freakazoid invokes Regis Philbin during his tenure as host of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?.

Ah yes, finally, the one Freakazoid villain I hadn't done anything with, until now. I knew right from the start that this was how I was going to deal with Kaworu, because of course this is what happens when Evangelion crosses over with Freakazoid. And besides, I wasn't worried-it's a dead meme, anyway. I absolutely had nothing to fear when using Candle Jack, so therefore-

...

...

...

Just kidding!

On a sad note, given the gameshow gimmick in this chapter, RIP legendary gameshow host Alex Trebek. Part of me's betting that wherever he is now, he's trading opinions with Sean Connery on their portrayals on Saturday Night Live.