Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion

Chapter 19: Turning Point

The eerie redness of the LCL-filled waters of what was once Antarctica made Gendo feel uneasy. Even from atop of the aircraft carrier, he could still catch whiffs of the telltale smell of LCL, a scent not too dissimilar to that of blood.

"This is the place," Commander Ikari held his arms out and gazed upon the blood-red sea. "Where Adam was awakened, and purified this continent of the original sin."

"If by purify you mean the annihilation of half of the human population, then sure," Fuyutsuki snorted, not really buying Gendo's twisted obsession with destruction.

Gendo ignored Kozo's scolding and returned his gaze to the red ocean. His son had told him to get the Lance of Longinus around this time of the scenario, while he would deal with the incoming Angel himself.

Speaking of his son…

Putting his clasped together hands behind his rear, Gendo thought of how similar they were when treating their loved ones. Nothing else in the world mattered more than Yui to him, and from his words, Gendo was sure Shinji was just like him. He would destroy the whole world along with all the lives on the planet and not blink. A chill ran down his spine as Gendo thought of what would happen if they lost the Second Child – what would Shinji do? Annihilate the whole world and go on to another cycle?

'Like father, like son…' Gendo chuckled. 'What would you have become if I didn't abandon you ten years ago?'

"You seem to have a lot of faith in your son," Fuyutsuki's voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Where does that come from?" Gendo's eyes went wide by a millimeter.

"He comes to your office a lot," the Sub-Commander of NERV looked up at the sky. "So, picking up father's role again, Ikari? Trying to make it up to him?"

"Hm," his almost questioning words created another tornado of thoughts inside Gendo's head. Who was Shinji to him? A coworker? A subordinate? An 'assistance'? His intel about the sabotage group sent by SEELE really helped him a lot – they didn't get to map the layout of NERV, which would be a considerable advantage to him during the end game between him and SEELE.

Did he consider him his son anymore?

Gendo found the last question hard to answer. Before he wouldn't even hesitate to say he only had faith in himself, and he would think of Shinji as his tool to achieve his reunion with Yui at most, but now…knowing what the other 'Gendos' had done to the Second Child, Shinji's equivalent to his Yui, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

After all, Shinji might be the only one in the world whom he could relate to, to emphasize with.

Moreover, he wasn't that concerned about Shinji betraying him in the end as much as he did in the beginning. He knew Shinji would go on for another cycle after this one, so why should he care that much? At least, it was something he should worry about later, not now.

'Shinji…how much did I hurt you?' He hated, loathed SEELE for what they did to Yui, which he was sure of. Looking up at the sky, Gendo could hear the announcer of the ship sounding. "This is the bridge. NERV transmission: we've just detected an Angel in earth's orbit above the Indian ocean."

As for defeating the Angel, Shinji had told him this one he would deal with it using the method that had never failed before. Gendo had been demanding explanations from him of his failure against the Angels; even though he had failed before, he still trusted him to put in most of his effort every time.

After all, to Shinji, the only alternative other than winning would be losing the Second Child. And Gendo was sure Shinji would never intentionally let that happen.

Turning his head to the southern part of the sky, he could faintly see a new star moving across the sky at visible speed, hordes of smaller stars that could be easily identified as N2 aerial mine explosions flashing around it.

"Do you have faith in humanity, Fuyutsuki?" Seeing the grey-haired elder nod, Gendo continued, "we shall see how it goes."

XXXXXX

"What?!" Asuka didn't even try to hold her tongue. "You want us to catch it with our hands?!"

Across the thick glass floor that remained suspended above the Geofront, Misato stood opposite the three EVA pilots. The First Child didn't seem bothered by it, though not thrilled, either. Shinji kept his calm composure, very much like Rei's, only had more determination in his eyes. As for Asuka, she was visibly taken aback by the boldness of the plan.

"We need all the three EVAs to cover the estimated impact zone we've calculated using the MAGI. Just catch the Angel before it hits the ground, and you'll be fine." Misato explained casually.

"What if it lands outside of the impact zone, then? What's gonna happen next?" Asuka probed.

"I suppose we're all going to die."

"Oh that's reassuring!" The redhead huffed. "What even makes you believe that our AT-Fields can hold it?!"

"Intuition."

Asuka found herself at a loss for words. She didn't know whether or not she should be thankful for the bluntness of the Major of NERV. "So let me get this straight," the fiery pilot of Unit 02 started up again. "You plan on having us race with some extraterrestrial creature that fell from orbit at supersonic speeds and guess where it's going to land, catch it with our hands, and kill it?"

"Right," the lavender-haired woman nodded. "Pretty much." She didn't want to sugarcoat the situation since basically the fate of the entire human race depended on the three children, lessen the severity could only make it worse. With that being said, neither did she want to risk their lives. "I understand it you don't want to partake in this sortie. If you want to quit, you can tell me right now. No one will blame you."

"Tch!" She expected that much of a reaction out of Asuka. "I'm not going to let that Angel flatten this place I consider my home!" She smirked proudly. "Besides, after I get this kill my kill count will surpass Shinji's! So why would I chicken out!"

"Good." Major Katsuragi nodded in satisfaction. "And you, Rei?"

"I accept the mission." Rei's voice was flat as usual.

"I see." The Major of NERV turned her head to the last pilot. "Shinji, what about you?"

"I'm not going to sit around and let the girls fight that thing by themselves, you know," said Shinji as he glanced at his side where Asuka and Rei stood.

"Hmph," Asuka stomped her feet on the glass floor. "I don't think I'll need your help, anyway. I can take out this Angel by myself! Just wait and see!"

"Well, you're supposed to fill out a will according to the procedures," said Misato as she scanned the document once again.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "I don't need to fill one out. I'm not going to die." "I do not deem it necessary." The blue-haired pilot concurred. "I don't plan on dying today, either, Misato." Shinji followed.

The Major, who was keeping a serious face, couldn't help but smile a little. All three of them were faced with an almost astronomical probability of dying, and yet they still stood their ground. "Alright then. Let's get ready!"

XXXXXX

Asuka felt the elevator ride down to the EVA cages had to have been the longest one minute of her life. Even though she said otherwise, she couldn't help but feel anxious about what was to come. On the positive side, this could be her ladder to the top one place of Evangelion pilots, her definitive evidence that she could be alone and rely on no one else but herself. On the negative side, she could very likely die in the mission, not to mention Shinji and wondergirl.

Speaking of that idiot…

Her talk with Kaji that day only made her worry more about the situation. Thinking about losing him had always brought a twitch in her stomach, and today…

"Shinji," the redhead sighed and patted on the boy's right shoulder. "Oi, earth to Shinji!"

"Yes, Asuka?" The brown-haired boy snapped his head in her direction, seemingly just broke out from his own mind world.

"You're not allowed to die out there, you got that?" Asuka tried to sound as threateningly as possible. However, the tenderness still flowed out despite her best efforts. "You're my…best friend here, and I don't want you to die because you can't pull yourself together during an Angel attack!"

"Sure?" Shinji replied, a bit uncertain of where it came from.

"I'm serious," Asuka hissed. "If you die today, I will never forgive you, and I will kill you myself!" Completely ignoring the impossibility of her statement, Asuka continued as courtesy, "and it goes to you, too, wondergirl."

"Alright, I promise," Shinji smiled a small smile.

"I'll hold you onto that," Asuka smiled back.

"If I die, I can be replaced," came Rei's usual response.

Rolling her eyes, Asuka facepalmed and spoke up, "well, I don't even know why I'm worried. Just witness the great Asuka Langley Soryu kick this Angel's ass! Just don't get in my way!" A cocky grin started to find its way to her face.

Shinji let out a silent sigh. He could only hope things could go well in this battle.

XXXXXX

The weather seemed to have its own ideas on defeating the Angels, though. Thick overcast that loomed over the entire sky as if deliberately making the mission as difficult as possible. Unit 00, 01, and 02 crouched in a starting position as their pilots awaited Misato's commands to engage in the mission. They had to sortie without umbilical cables to compensate for speed, and under the full-performance mode, the EVA only had 3 minutes of operational time, which meant they needed to kill the Angel fast.

"The Angel has been sighted!" Aoba announced to everyone on the command deck. "Estimated time of impact: three minutes!"

"Alright everyone," Misato spoke into the microphone. "Get ready to engage the target." After receiving verbal confirmations from the pilots, the Major continued. "We can only use the MAGI's rough estimated trajectory to get you within ten thousand meters of the target. After that, you're on your own."

Each pilot remained dead silent this time, focused on the task at hand. "I'm putting all my trust into you three." The three nodded but made no vocal reply. "Ready...LAUNCH!"

The second their umbilical cables detached, all three EVA Units shot forward, their battery timers slowly counting down. The roaring of thunders could be heard traveling across the sky as the pilots willed their EVAs dart through the fortified metropolis. Each heavy step shook the ground around them, leaving large indentions in the dirt.

Ayanami controlled her EVA leaped over a series of high-voltage powerlines, not because she was worried about collateral damage; she simply didn't want to waste energy and time on the would-be-lost momentum.

Asuka seemed to be putting her past track skills to use, leaping over the obstacles like hurdles while not losing the slightest bit of momentum. Little stood in her way except for tiny houses and the occasional tree that she could either easily avoid or just crush altogether.

"You're now within ten thousand meters of the target!" Major Katsuragi's voice echoed through their Entry Plugs. "It's all up to you now!"

Shinji looked up at the sky and tried to spot the Angel. Even though every time it would land around the same place, the uncertainty principle of Quantum mechanics made it certain that minor discrepancies were destined to occur. The airflow of the atmosphere, the effect of solar winds, and other trivial stuff all affected the final trajectory of the Angel.

Fortunately, something as colossal as the Tenth Angel wasn't going to be influenced that much.

Shinji took the most direct route to where he knew the Angel would land around, no hurry in his pace since he knew he would have plenty of time left.

That was until he saw Asuka picking up her speed and broke the sound barrier as he heard a loud BANG of the sonic boom.

Inside the entry plug of Unit 02, Asuka watched intently at the sky, trying to locate where the thunders were the densest. If the displacement of clouds created thunders, then those areas must be where the Angel was falling from. She had the determination to kill this Angel by herself, and she would put in her best effort to achieve it.

Gritting her teeth, Asuka willed her EVA picking up speed more and more, even though she had already surpassed Mach 1. Unit 02 dashed with extreme speed towards the point of impact, destroying everything along its way. Asuka had no idea an Evangelion was capable of such speeds, but now wasn't exactly the best time to question it. Once she reached the location the Angel was descending to, she reared her feet back and slid on her heels, digging the EVA's feet into the ground while she held her arms firmly up to the sky. "AT-Field Maximum!"

The clouds above her began to disperse as the giant eye forced its way through the thunderstorm, colliding directly onto Unit 02's AT Field. At first, Asuka tried to use one of her arms to pull out her progressive knife, but the mountain-like pressure quickly made her perish the thought. She bellowed out in pain as she could feel her arms began failing against the weight of the vast Angel.

"YYAAAAHHH!" Asuka cried as she summoned all of her strength, trying to merely stand up straight. The Angel sensed the obstacle below it and contracted its body, using the inertia to push itself down further.

Asuka could feel her left knee gave in as she fell down into a kneeling position. No matter how hard it was for her to admit it, she didn't stand the slightest of a chance against the Angel alone.

Throwing all of her pride and shame aside, Asuka screamed.

"SHINJI! AYANAMI! I NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE HURRY!"

Shinji felt a cold ball grow inside his stomach as he heard the desperate pleading of his love over the comms. "Asuka, hold on!" He yelled into the comm channel, hoping to give at least mental support. Then, breaking the sound barrier, Unit 01 rushed atop the hill where Unit 02 was holding the Angel on and deployed its own AT-Field. Rei joined shortly after, using its prog knife to tore a cut on the Angel's AT-Field, opening it just enough for Shinji to reach through.

Unit 01 pulled out its own prog knife as well and aimed at the Angel's eye. "Now die!" Shinji roared, thrusting the ultra-sharp blade through the hole in the AT Field and cutting into the core located in its pupil.

Suddenly, Asuka could feel all the force pressing against her let off as the Angel became nothing more than dead weight. She looked up to see Shinji pull the knife out of the monster's core, causing a spew of LCL to drench the three EVAs. A resounding shriek could be heard from the Angel as its body began to expand and bubble before it exploded into a giant ball of fire.

Back in NERV HQ, Misato let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, falling back onto the chair, resting her right hand atop her forehead. People around her exploded into cheers as she recomposed herself. "Phew, that was close." She grabbed the microphone, "Good work you three." She spoke into the device, not bothering hiding the joyfulness and appreciation in her voice the slightest. "We'll send a recovery team to pick you up."

No one noticed a certain redhead who curled up to a ball in her pilot seat.

XXXXXX

Asuka had been tossing and turning on her bed for the past hour, yet sleep wouldn't come. The nightmare she had just woken up from was the worst one she had ever since...they started sleeping apart.

Her mind drifted back to today's battle against the Tenth Angel. The fact that she lost another chance to claim her top spot of Evangelion pilots wasn't bothering her as much anymore; the real killer was her unavoidable dependence on people other than herself.

She could only found solace in the fact that she was the leading role in the sortie, the one who held the sky for her teammates.

Nonetheless, her illusion that she didn't need anyone and only rely on her EVA now seemed like a cosmic joke to her.

As Asuka stared at the ceiling above her, all the frustration, loneliness, emptiness, and anxiousness came crashing down on her just like what the Angel did today, making her suffocate more with each passing second.

The redhead let out an irritated groan. If she had already relied on him once, one more time wouldn't be too much of a deal. Even though it would make her appear needy, even pathetic since she was the one who pushed him away, she couldn't care less about it right now.

Having made a decision, Asuka got off her bed and left her room. Tiptoeing across the hallway, she carefully slid Shinji's room door open and entered the small closet. At first glance, she thought he was sleeping, so she had decided only to sleep next to him and left the room before he could wake up. However, after she lay down, she could hear him gasp in surprise. Asuka silently cursed, but there was no chickening out anymore.

"Baka-Shinji, can I stay here for tonight? I'd rather not be alone right now."

"Sure..." Came Shinji's sleepy response. However, his actions were not so sloppy. He turned around and put one of his arms over her waist, dangling down to her abdomen.

Asuka tensed up, "I didn't say you could hold-"

"Asuka," Shinji cut her off with a firmer voice. "You came here because you had a nightmare, right? I just had one, too. We did this before and I can say we both enjoyed it, so let's keep the bad dreams away from both of us, okay?"

As much as she wanted to retort, she couldn't bring herself to do it since she was indeed relishing in the warmth and the familiar physical contact. Melting into his embrace, Asuka smiled a little and let out a content sigh.

Though it didn't help to wipe out the insecurities in her head. Now she was once again relying on him, but was it the right thing to do? "Shinji," she started, her voice uncertain. "Who...am I to you?"

"You're my best friend, why ask?"

"Don't give me that!" Asuka snapped. "I want your honest answer: why do you care about me?!"

Shinji fell silent for a moment. What should he say? Not the actual truth - that he was sure of. Or could he tell the reason why he was attracted to Asuka Langley Soryu in the first place? "Because...I feel you're the only one who can understand me, Asuka." The said girl went wide-eyed. "No one else could understand what being an EVA pilot is like. All they see is the shining front. The pain we suffer, the risks we take..." He trailed off as his voice became more sorrowful. "Aside from you're pretty, of course." Chuckling, Shinji added.

'So he wasn't objectifying me...' Asuka felt warmth growing inside her chest. Unlike most of the boys she encountered in school, Shinji saw her as a person, not just a hot foreign exotic girl.

With that being said, she was still flattered by his acknowledgment of her figures. "What about wondergirl? She's a cute butt, and an EVA pilot as well," Asuka probed.

"Actually...I see her more of a sister," replied Shinji truthfully.

Somehow his admissions made Asuka feel more relieved. 'So he treats her as a sister? Then does it mean he treat me as...' Before her train of thought could reach its final destination, though, Shinji started up again. "Asuka...all I want to say is you don't have to be alone. There's life outside of EVA...have you ever considered playing music?"

"Huh? Music? Like, instruments?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because you need a life outside the EVA world, me too," said Shinji as he relished in the scent of strawberry shampoo emitted from her long red hair.

"But I don't have time for it!" Frowning slightly, Asuka raised her volume a little bit. "Besides, there're more Angel attacks right now!"

"What did I say about life outside of EVA, Asuka? Getting away from it and have fun while you can is the point." Shinji patiently led her. "Don't you ever get tired?"

Tired? From the EVA, or from maintaining the masks? Asuka felt he was questioning both. Getting no responses from her, Shinji continued, "You're tired...but you won't do anything about it. That happened to me once, too."

"You can understand me, Asuka."

The redhead mused. Was it the real reason for his unrealistic affection for her? He thought she could understand him...but could he comprehend her like how she wanted? She didn't want sympathy from anyone. "Shinji...you told me your mother is dead...right?"

"Yeah..." Came his sullen reply. "She died...after an incident with the EVA." Asuka blinked in shock. "And my father...abandoned me afterward." Shinji knew this was the time, Asuka was trying to open up to him. If he didn't offer his support right now, she would go down her downward spiral once again, and there was no way he would allow it to happen.

"My momma...died as well, also after an accident with the EVA..." Asuka slowly let the words flow out. If he could be honest with her, if he could open up to her, she could as well. "And my father...hooked up with another woman right after...and I was ignored."

Silence descended upon them. "You're just like me." None of the two knew who said it first, but Shinji was sure it was a side effect of his countless sync trainings with her.

As for Asuka, she could feel a new sensation flowing through her body. Like spotting a hunter's lodge with firelight inside the deepest part of a dark forest, or catching the ray of piercing light from a lighthouse on a vast storm-raging ocean - it was a feeling of connection and mutual comprehension. Finally, she found the one, the person who might as well be a reflection of her, who also cared about her. They were two sides of the same coin, and once they found out about each other and join together, they became a whole.

Asuka felt the emptiness in her heart was gradually filled with joy and surprise.

In the end, he actually could understand her like how she wanted.

"Idiot..." Asuka whispered. What now? Now she wanted him more than ever. He was the one in the world she had been seeking from the deepest part of her heart; now that she had him at her side, what should she do next?

Which brought up another question that she dreaded his answer might not be what she wanted to hear.

Would he ever want her the way she wanted him?

Nonetheless, Asuka knew if he ever dared to toy with her feelings, she would make him suffer in more than one way.

She didn't want to lose the...relationship they had right now, and moving forward too fast without knowing how far he wanted to go with her would very likely put an end to it. Still, Asuka Langley Soryu knew she had to take action from now on - before everything could become too late. "Well, actually I'd like to play some instruments someday later. With you."

"Sure. I'm looking forward to it." Cracking a warm smile, Shinji let out a content exhale, satisfied that he made real progress bringing her out of her shell.

The redhead smiled herself to sleep as well, her nightmare was replaced by sweet dreams for the first time in a long while.

XXXXXX

"The Tenth Angel really did a number on Unit 02," looking at the damaged form of the crimson EVA Unit, Ritsuko frowned since she knew the repairs would be extensive.

"Well, better get started." Said one of the technicians beside her. "How do we deal with the lost organic tissues?"

"I'd say we use the newly delivered protein blocks," Ritsuko pushed her glasses up her nose. "We don't know when's the next Angel attack, so we'd better hurry."

"So we're delaying the construction of Pribnow Box?" The technician raised an eyebrow.

"Still, it's an acceptable trade-off."

The head of the logistic department sighed in resignation. "Alright, if you say so." The idea of the construction of Pribnow Box came from Dr. Akagi, so if now she wanted the materials for other uses, he didn't have anything to say in the matter.

After the technician left the Evangelion Chamber, Ritsuko Akagi returned her gaze back to the crimson Unit 02. Looking at the creation of her mother and herself, the head of Project Eva doubted.

'Do I actually know what they are?'

XXXXXX

AN: Special thanks to SheriffJohnStone, MAD Marty, Iraki01, Skyf0x, bandiras2, spartanman2, Asushin Shipper, a guest reviewer, and fonte20nit's reviews! "You're just like me" is an A&T ref.