Authors Note: I kinda like this chapter, and I hope you do too. Though I will say I'm starting to understand how hard making fics are, and my respect for all the authors who make so many stories has only increased, but I'm determined to finish this story because it's my passion project.

Disclaimer: Me no own NGE

A teenage boy with scruffy silver hair, pale skin, red eyes and a perfectly normal sized neck was walking alone, whistling his favourite tune. He wore white button up over an orange undershirt and black pants whose pockets he had stuck his hands in. His name, Kaworu Nagisa, or Tabris, or Kaoru if you really want to go into semantics. He walked through a park enjoying the sun shining down on him.

"Ah, it's such a nice day today" He said as he broke his tune. It was Ode to Joy, Beethoven's ninth symphony, his favourite piece of music. The sun was starting to get low, making the sky brilliant shades of pink, orange, purple, and blue.

Now in actuality, this teenager was the seventeenth angel. So why is he early? Simple, he wanted to see what it was like out in the city, as he got bored while waiting. All it took was for him to convince, and by that he means pester the crap out of, Lorenz Keele, the head of Seele, into letting him go stay in Tokyo 3 until it was time for him to fulfill his role. Recently more and more people choose to leave the city and never return because of the angel attacks, but they don't really effect him, probably because he has an A.T field that can protect from whatever his siblings throw at him.

Only thing is, he wasn't allowed to interact with a majority of people. Lilum as he liked to call them, as they were the children of Lilith, like how he is a child of Adam. But anyways, he wasn't allowed to go to school, not that he needed it, he wasn't allowed to be around others, not that he knew anyone to hang out with, and he couldn't talk to anyone unless it was necessary.

Overall, he couldn't do anything that had to do with anyone. As such, he's had a hard time trying to entertain himself. He tried watching tv as he heard so many people do to pass the time. It only took an hour before his mind started feeling numb, after that, he decided that was enough tv. He just honestly couldn't see the appeal.

Though his apartment and food was being paid for by Seele, he himself had little to no money. He didn't have a job afterall, and it's not like Seel paid him. If he had to describe his relationship with Seele, they were currently allies, nothing more. There was no real trust between them, only a deal. They would give him access into the heart of the Geofront and allow him to reclaim his father, and in return, they get instrumentality. He found them condescending however, they talked down as if they knew something he did not, he couldn't help but feel as though it was something important that he should know. But he decided to ignore it, for now. Though that only left him bored.

Thats why he had decided to go take a walk to the park today, not only because he was bored, but because it was free. But as he sat down on a bench he felt the novelty start to wear off as the familiar feeling of boredom start creeping into him.

'What to do, what to do,' Kaworu thought to himself. He had to wait until all his sibling were 'killed' before he himself could attack, why? Because it thats when it would be his time. 'It's my fate... to wait until all my sibling have gone and attacked before it's my turn'.

He sighed, sometimes he questioned fate, just a little bit. He had learned about his fate when Seele had made contact with him. They told him about the dead sea scrolls and how they had predicted the second impact as well as his siblings attacking the Lilum. They told him that he, Tabris, would be the one to reunite with father and bring about instrumentality. It was his fate.

'Father lies right below my very feet, yet I must wait to free him. But what would he and the others think if they knew that? What would they think if they knew I had been acting as a Lilum all this time? Would they be upset?' He couldn't help but think that, but at that moment, he decided to think about what to do. He could walk around more, the only problem was, he wasn't allowed to go within a mile of Nerv related facilities, because if he accidentally activated a certain amount of his A.T field, they would detect it.

He was also told not to be within sixty feet of any of the eva pilots. As such he knew what all three looked like from their files. There was Asuka Langley Soryu, the second child. She had reddish brown hair, blue eyes, and usually wore her interface headset clips from her plugsuit. He remembered thinking she was kind of cute. Then there was Shinji Ikari, the third child, who had brown hair, blue eyes, and usually wore a similar outfit to him. Kaworu thought he didn't look half bad either. Then there was Rei Ayanami, the first child, she had blue hair, then pale skin and red eyes like him and always wore a school uniform. Most people would think it's a form of albinism, but no, he knew the truth. She was like him in a way. Only intead of Adam, she was a hybrid of Lilum and Lilith, how poetic.

'Should be easy enough to avoid them' he thought, seeing as how they rather stood out, wearing the same outfits, or having bright vribrant colors, like some kind of anime protagonist.

That's when he noticed two other figures in the park who were nearby. One had brown hair along with...

'Blue eyes and was wearing an outfit like his'

While the other had…

'Red eyes, pale skin, and blue hair'

Kaworu sweatdropped as he realised that two out of the three people he was told to avoid were now near him, in less than sixty feet, and they seemed to be walking in his direction. Seeing his position, the term sitting duck seemed somewhat appropriate.

'Oh Shi-'

Rei was now calm as she held Shinji's hand, the couple walking through a local park in the dying light of the sunset.

They had stopped to eat beforehand, settling for a nice cafe. It was nice, they had only been out to eat at restaurants and such places only a couple of time, most of their dates happening at Rei's apartment. The place they ate at however, was the second place they chose, as the smell from their first choice had caused Rei to vomit into a trashcan. She ended up eating more than usual too, a fact which made her feel self conscious in regards to what Shinji would think, but he just smiled and told her he didn't mind if it meant she was getting enough to eat.

She understood that she would start getting cravings and start putting on more weight, concerns which she told Shinji, who only assured her that he wouldn't mind. She was still only in the first trimester, meaning there was still a way to go before she would actually give birth. But she would enjoy herself while she was still relatively the same.

"It is nice out" Rei said to Shinji, to which he smiled at her.

"Yeah, I kind of wish we spent more time outside today" He replied.

"It was unavoidable, at least we were able to enjoy some of it, rather than missing out entirely" She commented, to which Shinji nodded.

She noticed a bench with only a single person on it, so she decided to pull at Shinji's hand to gesture him towards it. However, she and Shinji were able to get a better look at the figure. It was a boy around Shinji and her own age, he had silver hair, which she just assumed was due to hair dye, a neck that was longer than a normal persons, as well as red eyes and pale skin.

"Shinji, I have an uneasy feeling about that person" She wispered as they stopped, causing Shinji to look and access them, noting that something did seem odd about them

"We can leave if you want" He quietly told her as he looked back to her.

"No... I can't explain it, but I don't think we should... I think we should try and speak to them, but go about it with caution" Shinji gave them another glance.

"Um, okay, I trust you Rei, so if you really think we should talk to them, then it can't hurt to try" Shinji said as they then continued walking to the bench.

Rei gave decided she would give this person the benefit of a doubt and that he was perhaps a natural albino. However the fact that his eyes widened slightly before they looked away when they saw her and Shinji did not ease any suspicions of hers.

When they got to the bench she and Shinji sat on the opposite end from the person.

There was a very awkward silence.

Shinji hummed, the other boy also humming slightly.

Nobody said a word.

Rei tried to think of something to start conversation, but found it hard to do so.

This prompted her boyfriend to try something.

"Nice day huh?" Shinji said in an effort for small talk.

The other boy wasn't fully focused when he did so, as he was trying to think of how to get away with out seeming suspicious. This unfortunately caused them to say the first response off the top of their head.

"Uh, tha… nks?" The figure said realising in terrible agony halfway through that he replied the wrongest way you possibly could have to that statement but had no choice but to finish it. The boy wished he could disappear at that moment, Shinji just deadpanned as this boy effectively killed any current chance at conversation while Rei found the ground interesting to look at.

More awkward silence followed.

Shinji then had a brilliant idea that perhaps if he introduced themselves, it would cause the other boy to have to engage in conversation with him. He then thought that Rei's vocabulary had been rubbing off on him.

"Im uh Shinji Ikari, and this is Rei Ayanami" He said as he gestured to himself and Rei.

"Im… Kaworu…Nagisa..." the teen replied,

"Well it's... nice to meet you Nagisa" Shinji said, an obvious lie, as even Rei found this interaction unpleasant so far.

"Just call me Kaworu, and it's uh nice to meet you too" 'It's really not though' Kaworu mentally added, right now this was the worst possible way he could think to meet them.

"Then you can call me Shinji," He replied scratching the back of his head.

Even more awkward silence.

This time Rei tried to break the ice as she had thought of a possible topic to discuss.

"Are you a student at one of the local schools?" She asked, as she noted his outfit was similar to what the male students wear at school.

"Um no, I just moved here recently" He bit his cheek, thinking that he probably should've just lied as he had now opened an avenue in which they could converse with him in the form of discussion.

"But why here?" She questioned.

"Huh?" Kaworu said as he was brought out of his thought

"Yeah… why would you move here of all places?" Shinji asked as he considered it.

"W-well I mean. . . why not?" Kaworu offered lamely, it was becoming clear he didnt talk to people a lot.

"The constant angel attacks have been enough reason for most people to emigrate from Japan entirely" Rei stated.

"Yeah, I mean, almost all of the angel attacks have happened in Tokyo 3 so. . ." Shinji continued as he wondered why anyone would move here.

"Well they um… don't really bother me…?" Kaworu was starting to sweat a little bit. Shinji and Rei stared at him.

"Now that I think about it, you seemed to know who we were when we arrived here," Rei said as she recalled Kaworu's initial reaction to them.

"H-huh?" He was caught off gaurd by the jump in their conversation.

"The way you seemed to have been nervous when you saw us would suggest that you know about us. Therefore you most likely knew of our association with Nerv, but seeing as how you do not attend our school means that you must have found out another way. But how?" She interrogated, leaving Kaworu and even Shinji a bit dumbfounded.

"I…" He started sweating.

"And your appearance, it is not natural, from your skin, hair, and eye colors, to the length of your neck" She explained.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my neck, I'm just tall!" he said offended as he unconsciously rubbed at his neck.

"But that still doesn't explain the rest" She pointed out.

"W-well what about you! You're pale too!" He childishly retorted causing her to frown.

"Who are you really Nagisa?" She continued as she stared at him. He stared back. They stared at one another. Red eyes meeting red.

Kaworu blinked, then gritted his teeth, 'Damn it'

"Fine im Tabris the angel of free will!" He blurted out before sagging in defeat, feeling disappointment in himself. He may be the angel of free will, but that didn't mean it was always a very strong will.

Shinji and Rei quickly stood up and looked at him, Shinji moving in front of her.

"You're an angel!" Shinji yelped.

"But Tabris, is that not the seventeenth angel? If so, you are here early" Rei thought aloud

"Yeah that's true, but I'm not really here to attack, at least not yet anyways" He replied as he stood up and.

"Then what are you doing here?" Shinji asked.

"-sigh- it gets boring staying in a compound facility for a decade. I wanted a change of scenery, and since I would have to come here eventually, I managed to convince Seele to let me be here early" He explained, their eyes widening.

"Wait, you're from Seele?"

'Crap, I really need to stop saying so much' Kaworu thought, but he then realised something else.

"Yeah I am, and I get how she would know about them, but you shouldn't" He said as he regarded Shinji

"I know about a lot of things" Was the answer he got.

"Even the fact that Ayanami here is the same as me, an angel who inhabiting a mere shell of a body?" He asked the boy.

"So what if she is an angel, at least she doesnt want to kill everyone" Shinji looked him in the eyes.

"Oh? And you assume I do? Very well then, tell me Shinji Ikari…" He looked at the both of them, "What's to stop me from killing the both of you right here and now, after all, it would save me and my siblings a lot of trouble in the long run"

The boy took a step forward.

Shinji steeled himself, keeping in front of Rei, but she placed her hand on his shoulder and looked at him, giving him a look that asked for trust. He backdowned as she moved out from behind him. She took a step towards the other boy.

"Hmm, are you going to try and do something? Maybe even be so bold as to attack me?" He asked as he eyed the girl.

"What is it that you want?" She asked Kaworu as she stood her ground.

"What I want... is to reclaim my father from the Lilum, and if that means the destruction of all Lilum kind… then so be it" He stated.

"From what you've said beforehand, you have had plenty of time to attack, and yet you haven't, why is that?" She took a deep breath, she knew that if he tried to do anything to her, she could activate her own A.T field and retaliate, but she also knew that she couldn't guarantee Shinji's safety.

"It's as you said, I am early, it is not my time to attack" He said as if it was obvious.

"But you are the angel of free will, surely you can choose to attack if you want to," Kaworu shook his head.

"I am the angel of free will in name alone, as I am still bound by fate, just as everyone is" He told her. Rei personally didn't believe in fate, but set aside her beliefs for the moment.

"That may be, but how are you so sure that Adam is in the Geofront?"

"Seele has told me, they have been the ones to explain to me my role, to reunite with father and bring forth instrumentality, besides, I can sense him below us" He stated.

"How do you know that it is simply not the eva's you are sensing?" She countered.

"Your eva's are nothing more than a mere shadow of him, no, father is there, and when the time comes, I will reunite with him in Terminal Dogma" He stated confidently. But Rei had found an opportunity.

"You are wrong," Rei simply said.

"What?"

"You are wrong, Adam is not in Terminal Dogma" She repeated.

"No, you lie, I know he is there, Seele has told me-" Rei cut him off.

"Seele has lied to you"

"No, you are only saying that to save yourselves" He denied.

"I am telling you the truth, the only angel in Terminal Dogma, is Lilith"

"..."

"..."

". . .What?" He eventually asked.

"Seele has lied, do you truly think that they would let you be in control of reaching their goal?" She questioned

"But... why would Lilith be there?"

"Where else do you think they get the LCL for the eva's? They are using Lilith for it's blood"

"No... that can't be..."

"It's true, we have Lilith seen earlier today in fact. They have had it crucified on a cross, the lance of Longinus is impaled into it."

"But, they told me it's my fate… that I..."

"Would most likely to be sent to die in Terminal Dogma at one of our hands" Rei bluntly stated.

Kaworu fell to his knees, it made sense as to why Seele always seemed to shrugged him off, always treating him like a naive child despite the fact that they told him he was their most important asset. When in reality, he was only another stepping stone in their way.

'no, No, NO. They lied to me, all this time they were only using me as nothing but a pawn. I'm sorry father, I've let myself be manipulated by the Lilum into helping them further their own goals.' he contemplated about how much time he had let go by, blindly following Seele, while they planned to send send him into Terminal Dogma knowing full well that Adam wasn't there. They were going to send him right into a trap, like a lamb to a slaughter.

"What am I going to do now? I still need to find father, but… is he really even there?" Kaworu asked himself aloud.

Rei considered Kaworu as she thought about what they had learned from him. She then got an idea.

"What if we were to help you, and in exchange you agree help us?" Rei asked, getting shocked looks from him and Shinji.

"Rei, what are you talking about?" Shinji asked, confused as to what Rei was getting at.

"Yes, I would like to know too," Kaworu added.

"If the angels are coming here in search of Adam, then wouldn't they stop once they have them?" Rei explained.

"That is true, if we had father, then we would leave, but if we were to come in contact and be reunited with him, then we could possibly cause the third impact" Kaworu said, starting to doubt if him finding Adam would really cause the third impact, seeing as it was Seele who told him it would.

"But what if he was in some kind of container of sorts that would keep you from doing so?" Rei asked.

"That… could possibly work" Kaworu put his hand on his chin in thought, "But tell me something, Ayanami, why is it you care so much? You are not Lilum, you have an A.T field, you would be able to go about their instrumentality without being reduced to LCL. Or you could simply kill me now and do the same with my siblings and possible Seele and such when the time comes. You have the power to destroy anything that gets in your way. You are essentially above these people. But yet, here you are so persistent to find another alternative, one that would be the most pacifistic, why?"

"I'm don't care for fighting, I only ever fought with the Eva's because it was all I had, but now I have more. As of now, I only want to focus on having my child and knowing that they'll be safe" Rei said as she looked at her stomach.

Kaworu blinked.

"Your child?" he asked, Rei nodded as she reached for Shinji's hand and held it.

"Yes, I am pregnant with Shinji's child" Kaworu's eyes widened at that.

"Huh, well… congratulations... I suppose" He said as he stood up and dusted off his pants before remembering something.

"Wait, you said you would help me if I help you right? What do you want me for though?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well, seeing as how you were in allegiance with Seele, your help would be crucial if we are to get rid of both them and the Commander"

Authors Note: Kaworu Joins The Story... because plot convience. I know some people write it Kaoru, but I like the other way better. Also please, please, please tell me what you think of the story so far. I would like to know what you think so I can know if I'm doing something right or if I'm ruining it for you. Review even if you just want to say you like it... or that you absolutely hate it. Just let me know, please.