"So this is to be my punishment, is it?" The Gendo Ikari that had perished, the Gendo Ikari that was no longer Gendo Ikari, stood at the edge of the platform, staring up at the newly sealed Lilith. "The inevitable downfall of my hubris. Mankind's infinite desire."

He had always been ready to face death. After all, Third Impact would itself be a pseudo death. He never feared it, always facing it head on.

Shinji was the same, he thought.

"I was wrong," he murmured to himself. "That child still feels fear."

Footsteps behind him. They closed in at a steady and relaxed pace until she stood next to him.

Rei Ayanami. "I apologize," she said softly.

"Don't. You did what you had to do, and I did what I had to do. I was simply mistaken in my assumptions that we wouldn't be on opposing sides."

Rei gazed up at Lilith with a small frown. "It always feels strange coming here. I can feel the nails sometimes. When I wake in the morning it feels as though I am trapped and cannot move."

"You've changed, Rei."

"Yes. The other pilots have, as well, and the staff at NERV. They are overcoming their fears, working together towards a goal greater than themselves."

Gendo looked down at his right arm, his right hand, now completely normal. "I am not as... disappointed as I thought I would be."

Rei nodded. "Perhaps you were also mistaken in what you truly desired."

"Even if I was, it's too late to go back and find out now."

"I was like you once. Scared to let people in."

"Scared..."

She continued. "You feared growing close to other people without your wife at your side. That's why you didn't let Shinji in. Even up until the end, Shinji thought you viewed him and I as tools and nothing more. Shinji is very adept at understanding the people around him, but he allowed his bias to color his perception of you."

"I see, but it is that same bias that allowed you to break free of me."

"Yes. I am only human," she said with a smile.

Gendo smiled back. "I am proud of you, Rei. Shinji, as well."

"Thank you... sir."

Rei's eyes opened. She was in her bed.

She felt a single tear roll down her cheek.

End of Evangelion

Part 3

Class was a welcome distraction after everything that had transpired. A small bit of Rei Ayanami still felt regret at her betrayal. She did not know if what she saw was a mere dream or the final vestiges of Gendo's soul reaching out to her through the angel that now resided within her, but it had given her some amount of closure. She smiled and greeted her classmates as she walked down the hall of the school, and several people said that she'd been doing that a lot more often lately.

Had she?

It felt so natural that she couldn't tell.

"There's Wondergirl."

Asuka Langley Souryu waved her over to the door leading to their classroom. Next to her was Shinji Ikari.

Odd, they seemed to be standing even closer to each other now. "Hello Shinji, Asuka."

"How are you feeling?" asked Shinji.

Rei tilted her head, "About what?"

Asuka brought a hand to her face and laughed, "She may be learning but damn it's slow."

Shinji continued, "Well, about the uh... new guest you've got."

Ah, ADAM. She had felt no differently since that day, physically or mentally, but there had been that strange dream. "There is nothing that has caused me to feel alarm. I still feel like Rei Ayanami."

"Good," he said with a nod. "That's what I like to hear."

"Hey Rei," said Asuka, garnering Rei's attention. She frowned, her cheeks turning red as she lowered her head. "Thanks... for what you did with the fifteenth. You could have just ignored Gendo's order and made things easier later."

Rei stepped forward, and in a gesture that surprised both her friends and caused people in the hallway to stare and murmur, wrapped her arms around Asuka. "I could not stand to hear you suffer."

If Asuka was blushing before, she was on fire now. "H... hey! What's the big idea?! We're in the middle of school!"

Rei wasn't sure why the two had insisted on following her into the apartment, but she was sure they had a good reason. Shinji had mumbled something about making sure, and Asuka insisted on tagging along, probably out of curiosity more than anything else.

She inserted the key, giving it a turn.

"Good," she heard Shinji say behind her. He must have been worried about the lock.

The three made their way inside. "So, this is the First's apartment. Pretty nice place. Not as decorated as ours, but I'm not gonna knock it." Asuka strode forward, inviting herself to sit on the bed and crossing her legs with a smug smile.

Rei tilted her head. Was it really so important to have a nice looking place? She had thought all that was needed was a bed. Come to think of it, the disarray of her room before Shinji cleaned it for her reflected the room she had been first created in. Is that what one would refer to as sentiment?

Speaking of sentiment...

Her eyes drifted towards her night stand. On it were a pair of glasses, slightly cracked. The same pair Gendo had lost pulling her from an overheated plug barehanded.

She had thought about parting with them after they initiated their plan, but ultimately forgot.

Or perhaps wanted to forget.

Shinji's gaze followed hers, and settled into a glare. "You still have those, huh?"

"Yes," she said, stepping towards her night stand. Asuka watched her with a curious expression. "Gendo Ikari was a complicated person." She reached down and picked up the glasses, a small smile playing her lips. "It is only thanks to you, Shinji, that I understand what that means. I know you have... strong feelings about the way your father was, but his plan for the Third Impact was born from a simple wish to see his wife again."

"That just makes it worse. He was being selfish."

"Yes, he was," she said, setting the glasses down. Shinji looked surprised at her agreement. "I am not defending his actions. If I agreed with them I never would have betrayed him, but at the same time... he still risked himself to save me. There was a part of him that cared, and his fear of growing close to people made him bury that part of himself so deep that no one else, not even his own son, could see it."

There was a long silence, and then Asuka sighed. "I take back what I said earlier, she's learning fast."

Shinji looked bewildered. "He was... scared?"

"Perhaps that was the reason he did not wear clear glasses after he lost this pair. He found himself growing close to me, and withdrew even further."

"I think Wondergirl is right, I never saw him treat her as anything more than a pilot, but if he did that before we got here... it fits with what she's saying."

"I'll be honest," said Shinji, "I thought it was a lie when I first heard about it."

Rei crossed her hands in front of herself, and turned so she could sit on the bed next to Asuka. "Maybe you can never forgive him," she said, "But I think we should carry his memory with us while we battle the final angel and SEELE."

Shinji said nothing for a long time, lips pursed. Rei could tell he was thinking many things. She had learned a lot from Shinji, including how to read other people. It was a talent that came almost naturally to her once she started applying it.

Finally, he let out a breath. "Okay."

It had now been a week since the battle against SEELE to protect NERV headquarters, and Rei found herself falling into what she could probably call a routine.

Wake up, make breakfast, go to school, spend time with Asuka and Shinji, return home, do homework, read, go to sleep.

It was mundane, simple even. Yet she found herself strangely comforted by it.

One day after school, a knock sounded on her door just as she was about to settle down with a book. She walked to it and peeked through the peephole.

Red hair.

She opened it with no hesitation. "Hello Asuka."

"Hey, you and me are gonna hit the town." Rei tilted her head. Asuka frowned and groaned in frustration. "I'm taking you shopping Rei."

"Thank you, but I have everything I need."

Asuka laughed and shook her head, "Mein Gott. Come on, let's go." She reached down and grabbed Rei's hand, pulling her out of the apartment.

"Ah..." Rei was not sure how to react, and that gave Asuka the time to close her door for her.

Rei never found much need to go downtown, so the different train route and the unfamiliar streets felt strange to her. She followed Asuka to a street with many storefronts, and couldn't help the slight curiosity that was starting to bloom. There were many people, some on their phones, some with books, some running because they were late for work.

Asuka lead her to a particular store, and a rather large one at that. A clothing store. "Here we are. Let's get you something nice."

"I did not bring my wallet."

"No excuses," said Asuka, making her way behind Rei and pushing her forward. "I'll pay, you just gotta get more clothes."

There were many to choose from. Rei didn't even know where to start. Dresses, t shirts, pants, skirts, boots, shoes. It was all so overwhelming. The store had several isles of racks and was brightly lit. There were many people inside. Asuka dragged her to and fro, pushing various outfits against her to see how they would look. Eventually she came upon a light blue sundress. "Now THIS would look good on you. Let's get a pair of shoes and some socks that match."

"I do not understand the point of this."

Asuka sighed, folding the sundress over her arm and adjusting the hanger. She stepped towards Rei. "How do I explain this..." She paused, looking like she was struggling to think of something. "I only ever see you in your school uniform or a plugsuit."

"It is convenient."

"I get that," said Asuka with a sad smile. "But I just want you to be your own person."

Rei tilted her head. "You have changed a great deal."

"Yeah... Yeah I have. Look, I'm gonna be honest. If we're not counting Hikari who I kind of just hang around, you're really the first girl my age I've wanted to be friends with. I dunno... it's stupid, I guess I just wanted to do something normal before... before the angel."

Rei could not describe what she felt at those words, but she felt like it would be appropriate to smile.

She had, after all, been doing that a lot lately.

"Very well," she said. "I will try on these clothes."

Asuka beamed.

"This is unacceptable," 01's booming voice sounded through the meeting chamber. "We thought the lance irretrievable, but now it is in the hands of NERV once more, and a NERV that is no longer under the control of Ikari, much less SEELE."

"What is the plan of action?" asked 02.

03 interrupted before someone could answer him. "What plan of action could there possibly be? With the Eva Series destroyed we have been set back at least two years, and with the Lance of Longinus in the possession of NERV our options are limited."

05 let out a bitter laugh, "So this is the best the Dead Sea Scrolls had to offer, then? Maybe we shouldn't have relied on the angels in the first place."

"Speaking of angels," said 02, "Where has the child gone?"

"To Tokyo 3 of course," said 01. "We were planning to terminate him, but it seems he has other ideas, and with our failed attack on NERV HQ I doubt the UN will as handily reply to our calls. Let the newly rebirthed NERV handle him. We have bigger things to worry about."

"And what if he causes Third Impact without our Instrumentality plan in place? Don't we still have the JSSDF?" asked 04.

01 sighed, "The JSSDF saw what happened just as much as we did. They are not exactly volunteering to go toe to toe with the Eva units. If the final angel succeeds, then that is the way things will be. Either way we will need to prepare. We have limited time to get the resources we need. If the boy is killed by NERV then our window of success will be short. It is only a matter of time until they remove Lilith from the board altogether."

"So we're on the backfoot, then," mused 04.

It was on my way home that I ran into him. The streets weren't exactly crowded that day, and he stood out like a sore thumb despite his plain clothing. We stood across from each other on the sidewalk, and I couldn't help but stare. There was something off about him.

Just one more day.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Oh uh... sorry."

I don't know why he got my attention.

"Shinji Ikari I presume?"

"You know me?"

He laughed, "You're something of a local hero around here. Details are sparse due to the nature of your work, but everyone knows you're the pilot of that Evangelion. I'll be honest, I hardly expected our first meeting to be like this."

He seemed friendly enough, if not a bit creepy. "I suppose I am. I didn't really wanna do it at first, though."

For a moment, he looked surprised, and then he was smiling again. "Oh? That's not what I expected at all. So what makes you want to pilot it?"

"Before I answer that, what's your name?"

"Forgive me. This place is very unfamiliar to me and I'm afraid I'm not accustomed quite yet. My name is Kaworu Nagisa."

"Kaworu Nagisa, huh? Sounds like you're new around here."

"Oh yes, very new."

A pause in the conversation. Time felt like it froze until I heard a cicada.

"You asked why I pilot it," I said.

"I believe I did."

"There's a lot of reasons. When I get into it it's always a new risk, always a battle where someone gets hurt." I reached down and grasped my side where a lance had pierced Unit 01 in the battle against the other Evas. I was still feeling echoes of that pain in particular. "But I do it to protect people.

"The ones I love."

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER."

"The ones I cherish."

"REI!"

Kaworu chuckled, "I see. You are a very admirable person Shinji."

"Given name, huh?"

"You can call me Kaworu, if you wish."

"Hey Shinji!" I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned and there was Asuka, a big grin on her face, "Why'd you run off without me idiot?!"

"Wha..."

She lurched towards me, latching onto my arm. "We're dating now! We're supposed to walk together."

I let out a sheepish laugh. "S... sorry Asuka."

I turned back to face Kaworu, who was now looking to the side with a sad smile on his face. "I see," he said softly. He turned his head to face me once more, "It was nice to meet you, Shinji." With that, he turned and walked away.

Asuka poked my shoulder, "Who was that, huh?!"

"I dunno," I said with a laugh, "Just some guy. You jealous?"

"Idiot."

The warehouse had closed for the day. It was a perfect opportunity. Especially since there was minimum guard detail.

"16-19-87-60-56, looks like this is the one." Kaji slid the lid from the crate and gave a devilish grin. "So this is where you were hiding it."

Inside the crate was a body. A young high school boy, naked and with light hair. His eyes were closed, as if he were peacefully asleep.

"SEELE's been playing the same games as Gendo, huh?" muttered Kaji. "Looks like it might not have worked as good though."

The files said that only one was viable. The rest of these were used for dummy plugs.

"I have to get this info to NERV somehow, this probably has something to do with those Evas that attacked them."