Seraphim

by Loneshark

Set four years after the Third Impact, the Eva team faces new challenges as they are forced to confront the ghosts of their past, and the threat of an uncertain future. Completed

8. Return of the Seasons

Neon Genesis Evangelion
Seraphim

Chapter 8: Return of Seasons

He stared out the window, smoking a cigarette. So, they'd found the boy. He honestly didn't expect it to happen.

It was rather thrilling to see the Angel display an ability so far unknown to its kind. It was just a shame that it would be the last. Everything must end.

That was the lesson he learned, after all. Whatever the boy thought was irrelevant. Everything ends. This is the one unshakable truth that Instrumentality had taught him. In its death, he would go on. He would complete what his mentor started. He would bring about the end of the world. Because that was how it had to be.

* * *

Shinji tried to pull himself away from his welcome home party for only a few moments. He slipped back into his bedroom, and laid out, enjoying the comfort of the bed beneath him. The laughter of his loved friends floated down the hall, ghostly and inviting. He would go back in a moment. He just needed to remember how a bed felt. It was a sharp and welcome contrast to the hard rock of a windswept mountain.

He remembered how Rei had reacted. She could hear her laugh down the hall, probably at one of Misato's bad jokes. He just didn't get it. He'd told her about it right after he got back. He told her he knew why they were back. And she just nodded, and let Asuka and Touji drag him away. She said she already knew. So why was he the only one thinking about it?

His thoughts kept him from hearing the door open and close, but not from feeling Asuka's body lie down on top of him. His eyes shot open as she kissed him. All thoughts of the Angels quickly melted from his brain.

She propped her elbows up on his chest, and smiled. "Welcome home. Now what the hell did you think you were going to do in here without me?"

He laughed. "All right, all right. I just needed to lie down for a moment, that's all." He started to lift his head. "Come on, let's-"

She pushed him back down. "Oh no, you don't! I'll be damned if you're ever leaving this room again!" She sat up, and pulled her top off over her head.

He tried to sit up again. "Asuka, everyone's out there!"

"Tough! You're mine, damn it!" She kissed him deeply, and then pulled his shirt off. Everything below Shinji's waist was in utter compliance. Asuka smiled as she felt it beneath her. With a growl, she pushed him back down, and started nibbling down his chest and belly.

He tried to hold back his laughter. "That tickles! Asuka, come on! I-um-really, I meant it… Ah!"

She moved down his body, and made small growls as she tried to undo his pants with her teeth.

Shinji finally wrested full control of his actions. "Asuka!"

She looked up at him with part of his fly still in her jaws. She blinked her large eyes.

He smiled. "It's all right, Asuka. I'm here, now. I'm really here. I'm sorry I made you worry."

That bastard. He apologized!

She stopped, and scooted back up his body. She pressed a hand to his cheek, and sighed. He was right. He really was back. She couldn't help it anymore. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and cried with elation.

* * *

Rei sat down at the table, and leaned back. She was glad Shinji was back. Asuka and Misato were probably the only people alive who could ever feel it more than she did. But at the moment she was a bit more ready to just be happy that all the cleaning was done. It gave her something to focus on, and quiet the noise in her brain. Just a little more time. That's all she needed. Just a little more time to decide what she would do.

She lifted her head when Asuka walked out of the hallway, drying her hair with a towel.

"Feeling better?"

It was written plainly on Asuka's face. She winked at Rei. Coming from anyone else, the question might have a lewd, sarcastic connotation. But she knew that it was just how Rei was. The girl just didn't see the point in anything but honesty.

"Definitely." She tossed the towel on a chair, and sat after it. "That was a fun party, wasn't it? Sorry to leave you to clean everything up."

"It's all right. Dr. Iwano and Misato helped."

Asuka looked at her with one eyebrow lifted. "Misato? Are you still drunk?"

She smiled. "No. I'm just relieved to see everyone together without anyone getting hurt, for once."

"Even if we did have to manage it by nailing Touji down." She laughed, and looked towards Shinji's room. "Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have worn him out so quickly."

"Maybe you should rest, too?"

She glanced around the apartment. It was a little hard to take in. She'd never taken anything for granted, since their adolescence, but sometimes it felt like a dream when everything was… livable. When it was the kind of life she was sure she would stay in, and follow through with. Not settling for, but choosing. It was times like this that could make her forget some of the things that she didn't quite choose to live with, but did not choose to ignore. She would deal with them. They all would, when the time was right.

But for now, making the simple choices was more important.

"There's no way I could be tired. Besides, Misato will make him go to HQ in a few hours to write his reports. We should find something to do in the meantime." She stood up, and grabbed Rei's wrist. "Come on!"

Rei let herself be led, blinking her eyes. "Um… what are we doing?"

"Shopping!"

* * *

Shinji woke up in his bed, his joints still stiff from his journey through… He laid back and thought about it. It had been real. He knew it was. It was the only way to explain how he'd gotten to Hokkaido. It explained how he saw his father for just one last time, and learned the truth. Gendo was almost right; knowing wouldn't change what had happened. But at least it gave him an idea of where to go, and how to fight.

He roused himself out of bed, and took a shower. After he dressed, he found a message on his phone. Misato wanted him in the office. He wasn't completely surprised. Asuka and Rei had left a note, letting him know that they were out for the afternoon. He knew it would be like this; as soon as they were done celebrating his return, it was back to getting on with things.

He laughed, and headed for the GeoFront. At least they'd taken the time to really welcome him back, this time. He probably shouldn't complain.

Once there, Misato greeted him with several piles of paperwork and report forms. He stopped laughing, and stared at his desk.

"All of it?"

"Oh, suck it in. Remember, you're getting a lieutenant's pay now. That means more responsibilities, because you can handle it."

"Somehow I'm not seeing the up side of this."

She pushed him toward the desk. "Stop complaining. Your little hop through space has left even more paperwork on my desk."

"All right, all right." He sat down with a sigh. "Um… just gotta find my computer, now…" He looked around the stacks.

Misato laughed. "Good luck." She turned to leave, but stopped, and turned her head back. "I'm glad you're back, Shinji. You know that, don't you?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "I know, Misato. Hey, take your own advice and relax. You guys are the reason I came back. Every time."

She smiled. "That reminds me, could you check in on Yoshi and Kensuke before you start to work on that?"

"Um, yeah, what for?"

"To see how they're coming along. What else? And make sure they take a break at some point. At least for something to eat."

He laughed as she left. "Sure thing." He waited a moment, pushing the piles of papers aside to make some room on his desk, and then got up.

The only light he found in Yoshi's office was that of the monitors. As he walked in, his foot slammed against a pile of discarded junk food containers. Yoshi and Kensuke sat at opposite corners of the room, staring at their respective monitor banks.

"Hey, Shinji," from Yoshi was the only indication that they'd heard him.

He stepped over the pile. "Damn, how can you guys stand this place?"

"Kinda funny," Kensuke said, "Coming from the guy who hasn't cleaned his room since the Third Impact."

"Yeah, whatever." He looked around, feeling out of place, and then stood behind Kensuke.

"So what brings you in here, Lieutenant?" Yoshi asked.

"Misato asked me to make sure you guys didn't lose track of time and forget to bathe. When's the last time you guys left this room?"

"Since your welcome home party," Kensuke said.

Shinji couldn't make out a thing on the monitor Kensuke stared at, but he recognized the palm computer sitting next to it. He walked over and picked it up. "Hm. You haven't taken a look at this thing, have you?"

Kensuke nodded. "That's why I'm still messing with this damn thing. The spy we caught has the thing booby-trapped. If I enter the wrong password when trying to use the damn thing: good-bye data. And good-bye all of our evidence, along with anything else that might be useful out of it."

Shinji set it down delicately. "So what are you doing with the Magi?"

"Retracing the data steps that the spy went through. He used a lot of backdoors that the operators weren't even aware of. It basically means he knew exactly what he was looking for, and knew how to get it."

"That's… creepy." Kensuke nodded in agreement. "Misato and Yoshi ever get those security checks finished."

"Yeah," Yoshi said. "All clear, too. So as usual we're right back where we started."

Shinji looked over at him. "Hey… what are you looking at? It's not the same thing Kensuke's working on, is it?"

As he walked over to the desk, Yoshi sat back. "No," he said.

Shinji leaned forward and peered at it. "Then… what is it? It's kinda familiar…"

"All of Professor Ritsuko Akagi's personal data on the Evangelion series."

Both Shinji and Kensuke froze, and stared at him.

"She told Misato and I that it is everything she could steal before she was taken away. It appears that either she or Gendo Ikari wiped most of this data out of the Magi's memory. Don't ask me where they found the time or the access. But it does appear to be hard data on the beginnings of the Eva series. A lot of this is based on Yui Ikari's work. It defiantly will give me something to work with to upgrade the Evas. It could be used to make an entirely new version of the Evas. You know, the non-combat uses Misato's always talking about."

Shinji stared at it. "It doesn't talk about how the Evas were given souls, does it?"

Yoshi glanced back at him, and then at the monitor. "I'm not sure. I've only read this small file twice over."

Shinji stood up straight, and shook his head. "I guess it wouldn't matter, anyway. Whatever souls the Evas had before the Impact… They're not there, anymore. At least not in the same way."

Kensuke and Yoshi stared at him.

"Shinji, are you sure about that?"

He nodded.

"Who told you?"

"I… I think it's something we've all known since the Impact, Yoshi. It's just that none of us ever really bothered to talk about it because we all felt it. We're still bonded with them, and they may still be living organisms, but they're definitely not the monsters that we originally piloted."

Yoshi sighed, and looked at the monitor. "Kinda wish you'd told me sooner. Oh well. I'm sure I'll still get something useful out of this."

Shinji smiled. "You'd look anyway. I know it." He turned towards the door, when a file laying on Yoshi's desk caught his eye. He reached over and picked it up. "What's this?"

Yoshi looked up. "That? Oh, it's the specs report for that Progressive Saber I was telling you about a couple of weeks ago. It's just the usual equipment report, you know. Just something I need you to sign before it gets sent along to Misato for clearance."

Shinji flipped through it. "You know I can't understand half of this stuff."

"It's your own fault for not taking that optional tutoring in physics back in high school," Kensuke said.

"Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"I find it rather hard to picture any of you studying," Yoshi said. "Anyway, I've been meaning to give it to you. You can take it along, if you want."

Shinji stared at a schematic wedged in the folder. "Have you got that prototype built, yet?"

"Yeah, but we haven't tested it, yet."

"Can you get working on it, then? As soon as possible, too."

"Why the sudden interest?"

Shinji closed the folder, and shrugged. "Just a feeling. That Angel is still out there, and we have no idea when it will be back. I'd kind of like to have any sort of advantage we can get."

Yoshi nodded. "Sure thing, Lieutenant. I'll be happy to had you some more paper work on top of the pile that backed up while you were gone."

"Why did you have to call me that?"

"Misato asked me to. She knows you hate titles." He turned back to his monitor. "And she is a little miffed at all the paperwork. Can't say I blame her, but you know she's never been able to just stop complaining and fill the damn things out."

"All right, I'd better go catch up before she starts yelling at me. Catch you guys later?"

"If we haven't passed out from exhaustion, first," Kensuke said with a laugh.

"Now that's a bit morbid coming from you." Shinji turned to walk out, and nearly ran into Kitari. He's appeared from nowhere, as if a ghost. Shinji jumped back with a yelp, but Kitari stood there motionless and smiling like a serpent.

"Nice to see you're back, Lieutenant."

Kensuke swiveled around back to his monitor, but kept Kitari's image in the corner of his eye.

Shinji nodded. "Uh, yeah, nice to be back. Anything I can help you with, Mr. Kitari?"

"Actually I wouldn't mind having a few moments of your time. Certainly a small, courteous conversation won't take you too far out of your way?"

Shinji shook his head. "No."

Kitari smiled. "Excellent. Join me, then." He led Shinji out of Yoshi's office and up to the cafeteria. The place was barely populated, right after lunch, with only a couple of stragglers looking to get in a light snack or a cup of emergency coffee. Instead of sitting down, Kitari walked led him over to the large window that looked out over the GeoFront. He stared out at its expanse for a moment, the landscape that faded into an orange haze of earth.

"You certainly have been through an ordeal, Lieutenant. Personally, I'm amazed you came back. A bit like being resurrected, isn't it?"

"I'm no one's Messiah, Mr. Kitari."

He laughed. "Indeed, you're not. But the event does indicate something, don't you think?"

Shinji looked at him. "Meaning?"

"The intensity of the attacks, along with their frequency, is increasing. And this is the first time an Angel has retreated, is it not?"

He nodded. "They're not like the Angels that came before." He watched Kitari stare out the window. His eyes, his movement, his whole demeanor portrayed a man at ease with his surroundings. Total comfort. But there was anticipation just underneath it. Like a snake or a cat waiting for the moment to move, and strike.

"They're not. Indeed. One would think there's a sort of savage desperation to them. Wouldn't you agree?"

Shinji kept his eyes on him, feeling his muscles twinge, waiting for the snake to strike. "They are desperate. They're trying to finish what they started. The Angels won't rest; we have to be the ones to stop them."

"You sound as if you wish it were different?"

"Maybe I did, once. But I have things worth fighting for, now."

Kitari sighed. His eyes froze over the window, black and encompassing. "Things seem to be coming to a head, then."

Shinji stared at him, feeling a warning of recognition in his brain. If he could just place it. "Yes." He blinked, and realized where the feeling had come from. "Yes, they are."

"And you remained determined to stop it? You can be so certain that in the whole of things human beings really mean that much."

"I know it. And we'll do everything we can to stop it."

Kitari closed his eyes, and smiled. "Indeed. It would seem you've already proven that."

Shinji nodded. "Instrumentality is over, Mr. Kitari. If you'll excuse me, I have to write my reports now." He turned and walked back to his office, leaving Kitari standing there, gazing out of the window. Whatever had just happened, Shinji went away with a feeling that Kitari was right about one thing: things were coming to a head. He could feel it in his bones that something would happen, and soon. A fate hung in the balance yet again. The line had been drawn in the sand.

But he was not the same boy he had been, then. And he was not afraid to make whatever choices would be asked of him. He was not afraid of that pain, because he knew he could survive it. He had to survive it, for the sake of his friends. And they could do it, as well.

* * *

Rei did almost no shopping beyond what was necessary. Food, water, and enough clothing to last until she did her laundry. It was in moments like these, when her friends pulled her along, that she ever bothered with an extra pair of shoes or a new blouse. Even then, Asuka did everything short of pointing a gun to her head to get her to make a purchase.

There was a small part of her that enjoyed giving Asuka a hard time. The girl hated to feel like she was shopping alone.

"What do you think?" Asuka stepped out of the changing room in a slim, yellow sundress. She twirled.

Rei sat in a chair next to a small mountain of shopping bags. All but one were Asuka's. She ran a critical eye over the dress.

"You're just trying to show off your bust."

Asuka put her hands on her hips. "You're supposed to tell me it looks nice, not be honest!"

"I know."

Rather than admit defeat, Asuka make a strategic withdrawal back into the dressing room. "Of all my friends," she called over the top, "You are defiantly the most evil and vindictive."

"I'm just being honest."

"Exactly!"

"You're strange."

"Yeah, yeah! I know that already."

While Asuka changed, Rei tried to put her thoughts in order. They wouldn't obey her. Whenever she didn't focus, they kept replaying that image of the Angel strangling Unit 2. It hurled it at Unit 3. Unit 1 was swallowed up by light. It hurt Asuka, Touji, and Shinji.

"Yoo-hoo! Hey, come on!" Asuka tugged on Rei's arm, dressed in her own clothes and anxious to go. She stood and followed the red haired girl out of the store and into the afternoon heat. The waterfront strip of shops and boutiques was busy with people who went about their lives as though the recent Angel attacks had never happened. The pain and destruction caused were merely scars to be healed and smoothed over. It was something to forget.

And as much as she tried, Rei could not forget. She could still see the scar and the pain underneath.

"All right, what is it?" Asuka pretended to pay attention to the shop windows.

"What do you mean?" Rei pretended to watch the water.

"You know damn well what I mean, so don't dodge my questions. What's up?"

Rei sighed, and a part of her couldn't help but smile. Asuka had always been weird, and a pain in the ass. At least now she was a well-meaning pain in the ass.

"You're thinking about them, aren't you? I'm not gonna give up, so you might as well confess."

Rei turned, and led Asuka to a bench near the water, where they sat down.

"I'm not thinking about the past," Rei said. "What happened is gone. It doesn't even seem real anymore, the more time passes. It's like we were all in a dream at that time, and that age."

"More like a nightmare," Asuka muttered.

She shrugged. "Maybe. But we were just children, then. We didn't really know ourselves, and we were so afraid of it. Now we're not afraid."

Asuka sighed. "I thought you said you weren't thinking about it?"

"Sorry. I wasn't. It just… seemed to come out of me." She turned to Asuka. "You love Shinji, don't you?"

"Yeah." Asuka paused when she realized she didn't even have to think about the answer. "Um, yeah. I do. Even if he is dense, and silly, and sometimes still acts like a boy." She smiled. "And I love him." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Why the hell did you ask that?"

Rei smiled. "No reason." She looked out at the bay. "Things seem to be coming to a head, don't they? The new Angels, the sabotage, Shinji disappearing and reappearing. It feels like everything is moving forward, faster and faster, towards one single event. And we'll have to decide again in what direction our lives will go."

There was a moment of silence, and Asuka finally said. "Oh, shut up." Rei looked at her. "You're just worrying too much. And before you know it you'll have me worrying. So relax already, will you?"

She smiled, and nodded. "Of course. Sorry."

"That's more liked it." Asuka looked off down the sidewalk. "Damn, I'm hungry. I think I'm gonna go grab some ice cream. Want one?"

"Sure."

"Great, I'll be right back. Watch the stuff." She started to stand up.

"Asuka?" Rei's voice stopped her. "You'll take care of Shinji, if something happens, won't you?"

Asuka looked at her for a moment, and fought off the sudden feeling that she shouldn't turn her back. "Of course. You know he can't take care of himself."

Rei smiled. "Thank you."

"Stop being so serious. Geez, you're just as bad as Shinji." She laughed, and ran over to the ice cream vendor. She didn't turn around, even as a cold chill ran up her spine. She tried to ignore it. She was worrying with her heart, again. But there was something else, this time. Something deeper inside, that knew she shouldn't turn around. What would she change if she did? She couldn't stop Rei from whatever it was she was about to do. She could only be there when it mattered.

When Asuka returned with the ice cream, Rei was gone, having left her single shopping bag. Asuka stared at the empty space for a moment, then looked around the sidewalk, still hoping to catch some glimpse of Rei before she disappeared. But she already knew the girl was gone.

"You idiot," she said to herself. She couldn't have stopped her. She could only wait, and be there when it mattered.

She shouted, "You idiot!"

And, with the worry in her heart, she hated it.

* * *

The saboteur and would be spy laid out in a hospital bed in the medical ward of NERV headquarters. His arm was wrapped in a sling, his shoulder bandaged. An IV drip was hooked up to his other arm, feeding him nutrients that had been lost with the blood from the gunshot wound. It was also helping because he refused to eat. After the first few days of incomprehensible babble, he finally refused to talk. He didn't even sleep. He just laid out, stared up at the ceiling, and waited. The doctors were divided on whether it was some form of a self-induced torpor, or he was just faking it. He certainly seemed conscious of things happening around him, but he was locked in a state of anticipation.

Anticipating the end.

The on duty nurse would later report that she didn't see anyone enter or leave the patient's room. Nor did the security guards, who were found unconscious, see exactly who had assaulted them. They remembered only a tall male, and that he was smiling. The security cameras would be the only witnesses to exactly what happened.

He walked into the room calmly after gassing both the duty nurse and the guards. Soon enough the alarms would sound, but by then he would be in the command center. By then this entire drama would be coming to its final close, after so long.

He lit a cigarette and sat down next to the spy. "Today is the last day, you know. I'm glad to see you decided to wait. I knew you wouldn't have the courage to put aside your pride and kill yourself. You wanted to see this day as much as I did."

Finally, he spoke. "I just didn't see the point in turning on you. You would have killed me anyway. You kill everyone who gets in your way. You even killed your own father."

"You got me what I needed. Feel some pride in the fact that you helped to bring about the end to this… macabre spectacle, this world of walking ghosts. This false world."

"Just kill me, already. At least then I won't have to listen to your crap."

"I suppose I owe you that at the least." He pulled a syringe from his pocket. "You wouldn't believe how lax these people are at guarding their drugs. It will be a pleasant sleep." He leaned over and stuck the needle in the spy's neck. When it was finished, he stood back up.

"By the way, I did turn on you. I left a trail. They'll find out." He smiled as he drifted off into oblivion.

He frowned, and ground the cigarette under his heel. So what? It didn't matter, now. This would be the end of it.

This would be the end of everything.

He turned and left, heading for Central Dogma.

* * *

After she left Asuka, traveling became much easier. She found her way out of the city quite easily, hopping from train to bus, and in only a short time she found herself walking along the country road. Reality was twisting around her as she walked. Space folded, and then she was in the hills, then across a valley, then up the mountains. She was moving faster, now, though her body didn't feel it, she could perceive it. The Angel was guiding her, drawing her to it.

She could feel it's cries, calling to her, like a child to its mother. They rang in her bones, and deeper still, into her soul, then past it as she began to draw near, going to that silent place in her where the first one slept. That last piece that remained of he who was both the mother and the father of the angels.

You were used.

It spoke to her.

You were used to distort the purpose of our brothers and sister. You were used against us in order to destroy us, one by one, so that a man could use you to commit Lillith's sin.

"And what is that?"

To be as one with God.

"God doesn't exist."

Blasphemy. He created you. He gave you purpose.

"Instrumentality showed us that there is no God. There is only us. God is us. We decide how our world will be. Humans have the power to choose their own path. I am not your creator."

You carry the Purpose within you. I need purpose.

"You just want to use me for your own ends. You're selfish, and cowardly. You're just as bad as he was. I don't need you to exist. And I don't want you to destroy everything we've fought for. I won't let you do that."

Then she was standing in front of it. It laid out in the bottom of a rocky gorge, bent into an impossible angle, its head sitting down on the ground between its feet. It's eyes stared dully at her, glassy and void of anything recognizable as sentience. And yet as she looked at it, she could feel it. She stood fast, even though she could feel the terribly indifferent malice it held in its body; malice for all things of this world of flesh, for the humans, even for its own pathetic fate.

"I am not here to release you from your pain," she said. "I'm here to stop you from bringing pain to the ones I care about."

"Ever the martyr." Her own voice came from behind her.

She spun around to see a reflection staring back at her. She… it wore a twisted mockery of glee. This was the same reflection that she'd seen in her visions, the one sitting on the table deep within Central Dogma.

She frowned. "You can't fool me with this. That's not me."

"Of course not. You're far too much of a 'throw yourself on the sword' sap for me to ever be you. Even when you were just a pawn, a tool for one man's desires, you were a sap. Of course now it's for a different reason, isn't it? No self loathing this time, is there?" As the reflection approached her, it's tone dripped with sarcasm. "Of course it can't be out of fear. Fear of losing yourself, wedded with a desire to end your miserable mockery of a life." It leered at her.

Rei stood firm, refusing to budge even an inch at it's prodding. "I've survived death and rebirth. There is nothing you can say to me that I haven't already faced, and won. You have no control over me. You never did. You are not a part of me, Adam."

It frowned, and grabbed her chin in it's hand. "I have always been a part of you. I am the thing that created you. I am the mother and the father, the beginning and the end. And I will have my Armageddon. For what Gendo Ikari did to me. For what the humans did to me. For taking me away from my Lillith and using her against my own children. For trying to be God. For trying to take my Purpose."

Suddenly the reflection was gone. A white light lanced from the forehead of the Angel, and shot down at Rei. It lanced through her body, emerging out the other side. She felt it plunge through her flesh, and bone and organs, but no pain, only a strange sensation of prickling, like laying in the sun on a calm afternoon. She looked down. There was no blood. The light backed up into her, just far enough until it had a hold on her organs, and pulled her up onto the Angel.

Adam and the Angel spoke in unison. "I will be whole again. And this world will fall."

The last thing Rei thought before her vision went black was that this must be what stars feel when they die.

* * *

Yoshi leaned back and rubbed his eyes to try and relieve the fatigue. He looked over at Kensuke, who seemed completely engrossed in his own work. He was honestly impressed with the kid's dedication to all of this, even after working with his friends for several years. They were all exceptional beyond words, of course, but Kensuke bordered on fanaticism. Such a dedication could only come from a true fanboy.

He turned, hearing a knock at his office door, to see Shinji and Touji standing there.

"Man, you guys ever going to take a break?" Touji walked in without waiting to be invited.

"We can take a break when we finish," Yoshi said. "I thought you two were working on that load of paperwork Misato handed over to you?"

"We were," Shinji answered. "But Touji got hungry."

"Oh, sure, blame the subordinate." Touji watched Kensuke's monitor from over his shoulder. "Yoo-hoo! Kensuke, you in there?"

Yoshi shook his head. "No use, he's in some kind of Zen trance with that stuff."

Touji grumbled. "Man, you guys really get stuck with the dull work. So you coming to lunch, or what?"

Kensuke finally stopped. The others looked at him. He remained completely still for a moment, and then hit a single key.

"I've found it," he announced.

"What?" Yoshi stood up and crossed the room over to him. "You've followed the spy's trail?" He leaned over Kensuke's other shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Touji asked. "I can't read any of this crap."

Shinji joined them as they all stared at the monitor. It flashed through several screens of data. "What does it say he was trying to find?"

"He tried to delete something," Kensuke said. "But he didn't. He set up a series of electronic footprints and data codes. He left a trail for us to find what he was looking for. He wanted to show us something."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would he sabotage us, then?" Touji's stomach grumbled. "Man, this thing had better hurry up, I'm starving."

"Do you ever stop thinking with your stomach?" Yoshi asked.

"Only when Hikari's over," Kensuke said without looking away from the monitor. His eyes went wide. "Is that…?"

"A secret file on the personnel of NERV's former Intelligence Department," Yoshi read the screen. Several dossiers flashed by. The computer set aside two, and displayed the commands the spy used to access them. One had the picture of the saboteur on it, revealing his identity and history. Alongside him was the dossier of Richard Keel, son of the chairman of SEELE. His photo was that of Osamu Kitari.

The four of them stared mutely at the screen, until Touji said, "Holy shit. Kitari's a mole?"

"Yoshi," Shinji said, "Call Misato."

Yoshi stood and went over to his desk.

"Shinji? What's going on?" All of them turned to see Asuka standing in the doorway, shopping bags in either hand. Her expression seemed distant and pained.

"It's Kitari. He's been lying to us." He paused. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated. "Something's happened. It's Rei, she's…"

He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Asuka, what's wrong?"

"Damn it!" Yoshi's swear drew their attention. He slammed the phone down. "The line to Misato's office has been cut. I'm calling Security. You guys go find her, Kensuke and I will stay here and save this data."

Before anyone could reply, the alarm went off.

* * *

There was a knock at Misato's door. She glanced up from her paperwork briefly to wonder why no one warned her that someone wanted to see her, and why the sign on her door that threatened death to all who disturbed her was being ignored.

"Come in!"

Kitari opened the door, wearing his usual smile. "Good afternoon, Commander Katsuragi. I was hoping to have a few minutes of your time."

"Mr. Kitari. If you're here about the security report, I've already sent the files to your…" She stopped when she spotted the gun in his hand. It was small, with a silencer attached to the end of it: an assassin's weapon. "What is this?"

He raised the gun and kept it pointed at her. "As I said, Commander, I wish for a few minutes of your time. They'll be our last minutes alive. Well, they'll be the last minutes for everyone on the planet, but I thought it would be nice if we spent them together."

She started to reach for the phone on her desk. There was a pop, and it exploded in a hail of plastic and metal. She flinched back, and then slowly looked up at him.

"That was a warning. If you reach for the gun in your desk, I will have to kill you. And I would very much hate for you to miss what I have in store."

Misato frowned, then slowly raised her hand and rose from her seat. "What's this about?"

He gestured out the door. "Come along. I'll show you. To the control room, if you would."

She left the office, Kitari following behind her. Everyone stopped and stared, and within seconds security personnel were blocking their path. Misato ordered them to stand down, keeping her face and voice calm the entire time. No one else was to be alerted. The last thing they needed was the entire GeoFront in a panic, and the last thing she wanted to do was put Shinji or any of the others in Kitari's sights. He would defiantly shoot them before he shot her. The security guards still followed them, but no one made a move against Kitari. They proceeded all the way to the command center. The operators started to rise, but again Misato ordered everyone to remain calm. No one was to call Dr. Iwano or Lieutenant Ikari. Reluctantly, they took their seats.

Misato stood facing the large screen, Kitari's gun still pointed into her back.

"Well, I don't see anything. This is rather a disappointment, Kitari. So who are you? I didn't think the UN kept assassins, but then things might have changed since they saw my last budget request."

"I'm glad you're taking this with a light spirit, Commander. If you have to know, my name was never Osamu Kitari. My family name is Keel. I was the son of the chairmen of SEELE, and one of Gendo Ikari's intelligence operatives when he ran NERV." There was a moment of silence. "This surprises you? Good. Then it will not be much of a surprise when I tell you I knew all about Ikari's plans for Instrumentality, and the Angels. I knew of my father's own plans for NERV. They were both men that wanted to change the world. My father wanted to control it. Ikari wanted to free it. I was hoping that Instrumentality would be an end. An end to pain, to love, to death. An oblivion, pure and complete."

"Then what the hell do you think you're going to accomplish by holding me hostage, Kitari, or Keel, or whatever your name is? Instrumentality failed, why don't you get over it."

"Ah, I'm surprised you haven't gotten it yet, Commander. You see, I also knew how SEELE found the Angels, and how to wake them up. Even the ones that were just cast offs. I found the remains of the Angels. I'm the one who revived them. See for yourself."

The Magi signaled an alarm, and a picture appeared on the screen. The Angel that had disappeared suddenly from the last battle, and vanished Shinji off to Hokkaido, marched toward Tokyo 3.

Maya looked up from her panel. "Oh my God… Commander, the Angel, it's pattern…"

"Commander, there's something attached to the Angel," Shigeru said.

"Show me."

The screen changed, moving in on the Angel. As it lurched forward with each step, a tiny figure could be seen on its forehead. The screen closed in again to reveal the figure. It was Rei, her limbs sunk into the Angel's flesh. Her head fell forward, her eyes closed. There was a hole in her blouse, revealing her belly, as if something had burned through the fabric. She appeared unharmed, except for her grotesque bondage.

"Commander," Maya continued. "The Angel's pattern is getting stronger."

"Go on, Katsuragi," Kitari said. "It doesn't matter if they try to stop it. It's already too late."

"Deploy the Evas."

* * *

"I never should have let her go. Oh my god, Shinji…" Asuka watched the monitor in the cockpit of Unit 02. Her worst nightmares were unfolding in front of her. First Shinji, then Rei. She could feel herself bordering on rage at their plight.

"Asuka," Shinji's voice kept her pulled in. "Stop blaming yourself. We're going to get her back. You have to be clear, Asuka."

She nodded.

"You ready, Touji?"

"Just let me at this thing."

"Eva Units 01, 02, and 03, launch."

They braced themselves as the Evangelions rocketed through the launch tubes. Their weapons were sent up beside them. Shinji reached out and pulled out the rifle that was sent up with him. Touji took a large spear, a cable attached to the bottom of it. Asuka drew her own rifle and armed it. They stood quietly, waiting for the Angel to come within sight.

It rounded the mountains on the edge of the city, and looked directly at them.

I see you have been waiting for me, Children of Lillith. Good.

Even from their distance, they clearly heard its words echo in their minds.

"Misato? Dr. Iwano? Somebody answer!"

Yoshi skidded to a halt in the central control room. He stared at the spectacle of Kitari holding a gun to Misato's back as Shinji tried to get their attention.

"Is everything all right down there? Why isn't anyone answering?"

"I'm here, Shinji," Misato said. "It'll be all right. Go save Rei."

"Welcome to the show, Dr. Iwano," Kitari smiled over at him.

"Misato…" Yoshi slowly reached his hand towards his coat.

"Yoshi, don't. I know who he is."

His hand stopped. "Keel, I know, too. Kensuke broke through the data."

"Then you know if you try anything I will kill her. And I really don't wish to do that, Dr. Iwano. I want you all to see it. I want you to witness what should have happened four years ago."

"Dr. Iwano!" Shinji's voice came through over the com.

"I'm here, Shinji. What do you need?"

"I need you to load the Saber. Launch it through platform J-3."

Yoshi briefly looked up at the monitor of Shinji incredulously. "What? We haven't even tested the thing yet. What are you thinking?"

"Just do it!"

"All right, all right."

Kitari pulled the hammer back on the gun and pressed it to the back of Misato's skull. "You're not going anywhere, Dr. Iwano."

He stared hard at Kitari. "I'll send it up as soon as possible."

"What's going on down there? Was that Keel?"

"Yoshi will have it as soon as he can, Shinji," Misato's voice stayed calm. "Trust me.
Just hurry."

There was a moment of grim silence. "All right."
"Something's defiantly wrong about this whole thing." Touji frowned.

"I know. But we can't do anything about that, now." He looked from Unit 03 to 02, then
to the Angel. It was advancing, slowly, moving much more slowly than it had before. It didn't seemed weakened, but now more… deliberate, sure. Its face was split by a jagged grin of square teeth. Now it looked less like an Eva. The muscles of it's limbs were taut and defined with almost grotesque detail, as though it's skin had been pulled tightly over it. The armor was changed, as well, with jagged, sharp edges emerging from it's shoulders and joints.

"We just have to focus on this. Asuka?"

"I'm ready."

"All right, let's go."

They charged, firing. Touji raced forward and then stopped. He pulled his arm back and hurled the spear. The bullets exploded against the Angel's AT field, causing the air to shimmer.

You can no longer stop me, demons.

The spear passed through the AT field, aimed perfectly for the Angel's torso. With a slight gesture of it's arm, it snatched the spear from the air exactly before it would have struck.

"Aw, you're fucking kidding me!" Touji drew his pistol.

Units 01 and 02 skidded to a halt, still firing. The bullets failed to penetrate it's AT field. They threw their rifles down as they ran out of ammo.

"Why the hell is it just standing there?"

I was waiting for you to finish.

They froze for a second, disoriented by its response. The air around it shimmered as it pulled it's AT field tight around its body, and then released it, like a rubber band. The force of its field flew out in all directions around it, slamming into the Evangelions. They were thrown off their feet, crashing into the ground. The field flattened buildings as it slammed into them, and tore pavement from the earth. The Angel then turned the spear in its hand, and hurled it through the air.

Asuka shook the fog from her head, and looked up to see the spear sail through the air. It was aimed at Unit 1.

"Shinji! Look out!"

Unit 01 rolled to the side just in time to avoid being impaled. The spear sank into the ground with a loud chunk, next to his head.

Unit 03 pushed itself to its feet. "Damn it!" Touji leveled his pistol. "This is
pathetic!" He fired, but the bullets only hit the AT field.

"Touji! Be careful, we don't want to hurt Rei."

"We can't even touch the damn thing, Shinji!"

"Expand your AT fields, before it tries that again."

It doesn't matter.

The Angel continued to march forward.

Fight me all you want. I have the mother and the father, now. We are reunited. This world will end. Purpose is oblivion, devils. Don't you realize that, yet?

Touji growled. "Ah, shut up, you stupid monster!"

Shinji pulled the spear out of the ground. "Touji, catch!" He tossed it back to Unit 03, who caught it with one hand, then drew his knife. "Mistao, where's the Saber? Misato, come in!"

As Unit 02 drew it's own knife, the Angel stopped again, and leaned forward a little, wrapping it's arms around its stomach.

"We can't wait, it's going to attack again. You guys aim low, I'll get Rei."

Units 01 and 03 set themselves ready. "Right."

As they charged forward, the Angel's body began to shudder. It's AT field shimmered around it again, the pattern it made in the air warping and changing.

I… am taking him into me… the father… and the mother… I am she, I am he. I am Purpose.

Rips opened up in it's back, and wings sprouted from the flesh. Blood fountained over it's torso, thick red blood that stained it's skin. The wings were shimmering, insectile things, cascading with skeins of light. The Angel threw it's head back and screamed at the Evas reached it.

The Evas didn't stop. They continued their charge, even as the changes ravaged the Angel's body. Unit 02 leapt high into the air. Unit 03 took the Angel's right side, aiming his spear for the monster's chest. Unit 01 brought his knife around in a wide arc for it's throat.

The spear drove home into the Angel, forcing it back. The point emerged from it's back with a spurt of gore. It screamed and grabbed the haft, pushing against Unit 03 might as Touji tried to drive the spear further. It raised one arm and grabbed Unit 01's wrist, stopping the knife from stabbing into it. It's grip tightened on Unit 01's arm. Shinji could feel the bones of his Eva being crushed. He grit his teeth to keep from screaming, and slammed a fist down on the Angel's arm, trying to break it's grasp. Touji continued to try and drive the spear fully through, but the Angel was holding it in place with a single arm.

Unit 02 landed on the Angel's shoulders, forcing it to let go. Shinji and Touji jumped back as Unit 02 slammed the Angel onto its back with her feet. She doubled over it's head, and saw Rei, still unconscious, partially embedded in the flesh of the Angel's head.

"Rei! Rei, you've got to wake up! Rei, can't you hear me? Wake up!"
Rei! Rei, you've got to wake up! Rei, can't you hear me? Wake up!

She opened her eyes. She was lying on a cold, familiar table. The entire room was blue, from a dim light hanging somewhere above her out of her sight. Water dripped. She turned her head to see a beaker of water sitting on a countertop nearby. She knew this place.

"Rei, wake up."

She heard her voice. She sat up, and realized she was bare, except for the thin white sheet covering her. She let it drop, despite the cold of the table sending shivers over her skin. She didn't mind the cold, since it let her know she was alive. She looked around for the source of the voice.

"Over here."

She turned to a door on the far side of the room. She knew what this place was, and what was behind there.

"No," she said. "This isn't real."

"Of course it's real." Her voice came from right next to her. A familiar hand-her hand, but belonging to another-grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her back. She winced from the pain, feeling the muscles in her shoulder bend. She felt her reflection's breath on the back of her neck. "It's always been real, Rei. I've always been real. You accepted me, once. You remember, don't you? That's why they always talked to you, instead of the others. That's why the Angels loved you and hated you, because they love and hate me. Just as I hate and love all things, just as God hates and loves all things, you loved me and hated me, but you accepted me. Now look at you. You're such a waste."

Rei bent her other arm around her back to grab the reflection by the root of it's hairs. She grit her teeth to try and block out the pain as the grip tightened on her arm.

"Let go of me." She dug her fingernails into the scalp.

The reflection snarled, an inhuman sound, and pushed her forward off the table. She fell, catching herself with her arms. She quickly stood to her feet and turned. The reflection sat on the edge of the table, as bare skinned as she, legs crossed, watching her with a strange kind of malice and joy. Wings had sprouted from its back, the same shimmering wings held up by arms of purple and red that she'd seen before in her vision.

The reflection tilted her… it's head. It smiled and giggled a little. "I'm sorry, did you hurt yourself?"

Rei looked around, then back to the reflection, all the time not looking at the door. "Why did you create this? Why not Central Dogma, or the vision of Lillith?"

It frowned. "Because this is where you were born. Don't you get it? I wanted to enjoy the sense of irony this place absolutely reeks of. Hypocrisy, pain, loneliness, and despair: these are the things you and I are made up of, Rei. They are the reasons you were created. That's why you hated living. But you know that already, of course."
It hopped off the table and walked over to her. She could smell blood. She looked, and saw a trial of it following the reflection. Blood dripped from the backside of it's form. It noticed her eyes, and turned and looked back, at the same time displaying the gashes in it's back formed from the wings, with great smears of blood running down.

"Oh, don't mind that. I'm just… shedding your skin." It grinned at her.

"I already told you that you couldn't fool me with all of this, Adam. It's just a damn lie. You're nothing but the remains of one man's lie. You try so hard to make me believe I'm the waste. I'm a human being. That's more than even you have, Adam. You're not even an Angel. You're less than a beast."

It growled again, and lashed out with a hand. The strike was backed by strength far greater than its frame implied, and Rei flew off her feet, crashing into the floor again. She felt warm, salty blood fill her mouth. She immediately spit it out, and tried to force her aching limbs to move her back away from it. Before she could get far, the reflection stood over her. It reached down and wrapped it's fingers around her neck, then lifted her up to her feet. She tried to put her feet under her. It grinned at her, and then pulled her close and kissed her hard. She could taste its spit and blood mingle with hers as it shoved its tongue into her mouth. She tried to pull her face away, but it's grip on her neck tightened, holding her in place.

Finally, satisfied, it pulled back from her, and licked it's tongue along her cheek, leaving a red smear.

"All right, then. Come and we'll see. We'll see who's the waste when I destroy everything you give a damn about."

It dragged her towards those doors as they opened.

Asuka raised her knife. "Rei, I said wake up!"

Shinji saw the Angel's body move. "Asuka, look out!"

It was too late. The Angel's head tilted up at her, and a beam of energy lanced from it's open mouth, hitting Unit 02 directly in the chest. Asuka screamed as the beam burned into her Eva and threw it off of the Angel.

"Asuka!"

Unit 01 started to move towards her, but the Angel was immediately rising. It raised it's neck and screamed, another beam of energy erupting from its mouth. It struck Units 01 and 03's AT fields, the air burning around them. The force was still too great, throwing both of them back yet again. The Angel climbed to it's feet, and slammed a kick into Unit 02's ribs, sending her flying through the air over 01 and 03, landing in a heap on the other side of them.

It laughed.

I told you! I told you! You cannot stop Purpose now!

It moved past them, leaving them lying in pain. It moved out towards the center of Tokyo 2, and then stopped. It's fingers twisted and swelled, and grew into large talons. Then it raised them above it's head, and brought them down, tearing through the steel superstructure that separated Tokyo 2 from the GeoFront.
"What the hell is it doing?" Yoshi watched the screen in horror.

"It's coming here," Kitari said with a grin. "It wants to come down to where all this started, just like the others. It seems they are not without a sense of irony, wouldn't you agree, Katsuragi?"

Misato struggled to ignore him. "What's happening to the pilots?"

"Unit 02 has suffered severe trauma. Life signs are holding. Units 01 and 03 are immobile. We can't get a connection through to them!"

"Commander, the Angel is currently trying to tear a hole through straight to the GeoFront!"

"Damn it…"

"Feeling the pressure, Commander? There's nothing you can do but accept it. This is the end."

"You know something, Keel?" Misato turned around to face him. "I'm really getting sick of your prattling bullshit. Just shoot him already!"

Kitari's eyes widened for a moment, expecting the gunshot that came from Misato's order to originate with one of the security officers. A bullet tore through his hand, coming from Yoshi's direction. The force threw the gun from his hand as he fell, clutching his hand. He didn't cry out, he was trained to ignore physical pain. It was the shock of defeat, even this temporal slight, that made him clutch his hand and crumple to the floor. He turned his head to see a young man, one of Shinji's friends, what was his name? Kensuke? He stood against the corner of the doorway into the control room, a smoking pistol in his hand.

A second later, the security team had him pinned beneath knees, elbows, and batons, with his face ground into the floor. Misato nodded with satisfaction, and bent down to pick up the gun from the floor. She clicked the safety on, and tossed it to Yoshi.

"Here. Go get that weapon launched."

He nodded and left hurriedly.

Misato turned to the security team. "Get him out of here," then to the operators, "And keep trying to get a channel open! This isn't over, damn it!"

The security team quickly left with Kitari in tow. Misato looked to the screen to see the Evas pushing themselves to their feet. She smiled to herself. She knew they wouldn't go down so easily. They'd never let that happen.

She looked to Kensuke, who was still frozen. "Kensuke? Hey, you all right?"

He chuckled nervously, and then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. I think… I'm really getting into this marksmanship thing." He suddenly felt very dizzy.

"Kensuke, breathe, please. And put the gun down."
Shinji flipped his Eva over, and looked up. "Asuka? Touji? Are you guys all right?"

There was a small groan, and then Asuka yelled. "This has absolutely been the worst day ever! I swear I'm going to so kill that bastard!"

"For once," Touji added, "I agree with her."

"It's still got the spear in it. Reel it in, Touji."

"No problem."

Unit 03 leapt to its feet as Unit 01 and 02 stood up. He ran over to the port where the spear's cable emerged, and hit the console on it. There was a brief whirring, and then the cable started to contract.

The Angel didn't get the chance to look up before the cable tightened and pulled it off it's feet. It flew through the air, pulled by the spear's cable, and crashed into the console at Unit 03's feet.

Touji grinned down at it. "Hi there."

Unit 03's fist came down on the Angel's chest. Touji proceeded to unleash five years of anger and fear with his Eva's fists. The Angel screamed and slashed upward with its talons. A spray of Angel blood and Evangelion armor filled the air before the Angel finally threw Touji off with a tremendous blow to the side of the head.

"Touji! Are you all right?"

Unit 03 wobbled, skidding across the ground briefly as it was thrown on its side from the blow.

"Ow," Touji groaned. "I think it knocked some teeth loose."

"Misato! Yoshi! Come in! We need more ammo!"

Misato's voice finally came through. "Shinji? Yoshi's got it on the way right now!"

"Asuka, still have your knife?"

Unit 02 gripped the hilt. "Yeah, I've still got it. I'll get her out, this time."

The Angel stood to its feet, and pulled the spear from it's gut. It tossed it aside, and turned to Units 01 and 02.

I have underestimated you for the last time, demons. If you so desperately desire to the sacrifices of oblivion, then so be it.
The doors opened to reveal the room where the clones were stored, just as she knew it would be. The reflection threw her forward into the ground. Rei landed hard, scraping the skin of her limbs. She spit out more blood.

"Take a look, Rei."

She looked as she started to stand. It wasn't the dolls, as she was expecting. On the glass walls played her memories. Memories of her youth and her deaths, of fighting the angels, of her dreams and her conversations, all played out in a fractured miasma.

"Take a good look, Rei. All this is your experience. Your pain and joy and hope. Look at it, how fragile it is. It's all going to disappear."

The images changed, flickering like candlelight, to reveal the floating, mutilated dolls floating in their tanks. The windows flickered between the dolls and her memories.

"Look at it. All your life you were just a doll for someone else. For the past four years, do you really think you've been free? Do you? You were never free! None of you were! I have always been there, Rei! Just under the surface, lurking. That's why you could never really express yourself, because you knew I was there, waiting to jump out at your precious friends, your loved ones. You would never want to have to act on your desire for your own brother, or for his lover. Your friends. People you love and hate at the same time. I know you, Rei. You claim I'm full of lies, but I know you! I've sat in here, alone, watching you!"

It was screaming at her. She turned around, and looked at it. It's face was red with anger, eyes bloodshot. The blood leaked from the corners of it's eyes and covered it's pale skin.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Rei walked closer to it. "Look at you, Adam. It's just as you said. You know me. That's why you hate me. You look at me and see how human I am, that's it, isn't it? Because this is just how humans are, Adam. Look at my memories of Instrumentality. I didn't just sit there joined with Lillith. I went through it with them, with all of Humanity."

She reached out and put a calming hand against it's cheek.

"Unity and oblivion are the same thing for me, Rei," it said. "Loss of the individual. That's what you hate now, isn't it? That's why you and Shinji stopped our purpose, our Instrumentality. Because you were selfish and didn't want anyone else to live without pain and fear and hate."

"That's not life, Adam. That's death."

"Why don't you want to die?" It looked up at her, blood tears flowing down it's face. "Why, Rei? Why can't you die? I want to. I want to die."

"That's because you're an Angel. I'm not. I am a human being."

It pulled its lips back over its teeth and screamed at her. "Aaargh! You little bitch!"

It backhanded her again, sending her flying back. She slammed into the window, and it shattered as she fell down to her knees. Glass rained down and littered the ground around her with large, blue and red shards.

It walked towards her, heaving and crying. "Don't you get it? That's why we hate you! Because we know what you are! Because we look at you and cannot stand to see your pain! We just want to release you from it, that's all. Just like Ikari did, just like you did. Can't you understand that, Rei? Can't you? It's already happening. I'm changing, flowing into this Angel, this empty vessel. I'm filling it. You can see it in me. I'm changing, it's changing. Everything changes. Everything dies."

Rei kept her eyes down away from it, her fingers crawling along the ground. The skin slipped over a shard of glass. She dug her nails under it and lifted it into her palm. It bit into her skin, but she ignored the pain and the blood.

"Yes, everything does. But humans will not. Not today. Because they mean too much to me. Because I love them. I love my friends."

The reflection rolled it's eyes as it stood over her, it's hands changing into claws. "Oh, God, pathetic! I'm sick of this. I should just kill you and get it over with!"

As it raised a taloned hand, Rei rose, like a blue haired lightning bolt, and slammed the shard into it's breast. Blood flowed out in a rose around the shard as Rei pushed it in deeper. The reflection froze, it's eyes going wide. It shuddered.

"I'll never let you hurt them again. Never. Leave them alone. And leave me alone, forever."

Adam dropped to her knees before Rei, looking up at her. It smiled, slightly, then fell over dead.
Rei opened her eyes. Her whole body shuddered, but felt constrained and immobile. She looked around… What was this? Tokyo 3… above it? Moving around? She looked down, and then her mind quickly began to catch up, and her memories flooded back into her. She looked up and saw Units 01 and 02.

"Ikari! Asuka!"

"Rei!" Shinji braced himself. "Yoshi, where's the Saber?"

Misato's voice came over the com. "Here it comes, Shinji!"

The weapon port he was standing next to opened up, and a solid white block, topped with a hilt rose up out of the ground. Unit 01 grabbed the hilt, and the white block opened up. He drew a large metal sword, it's blade curving back.

"All right, get ready, Asuka. Touji, grab the spear!"

"Got it!" Unit 03 was already on it's feet. He reached forward and picked the spear up off the ground. He rushed at the Angel with the spear raised, and slammed the weapon through it's chest, impaling it a second time. "Now hold still, you bastard!"

"Asuka, now!" Unit 01 rushed forward, with Unit 02 right behind him.

The Angel didn't grab the spear. It just screamed, as if whatever was preventing from feeling the pain before was gone. It's body shuddered, locked in place. Unit 01 swung the sword, bringing it down on the Angel's shoulder. Unit 02 lashed out with a hand and drove it's fingers into the flesh of the Angel's head. They closed around Rei and pulled her from the flesh with a sick, wet slurp. Unit 02 leapt back, and Unit 01 drove the sword down. The Angel screamed as it was being torn apart. It raised it's head to the sky, and light erupted from it's eyes and mouth. The scream rang in their heads with the power of a billion screams, it grew so loud it threatened to consume the world. Asuka shielded Rei with Unit 02, as the light and sound grew brighter. There was an explosion as the Angel died, rocking the Evangelions.
Everyone in the control room covered their eyes. The light didn't have the mercy of scrambling the cameras; instead it was trying to blind them. Finally, it cleared away. Misato pulled her arm away, and looked up at the screen. The Angel was gone, and the Evas stood motionless.

"Commander, the Angel appears to be destroyed."

"Shinji? Come in, Shinji? Asuka? Touji?"

The Evas moved, starting to stand upright. "Yeah, we're here, Misato. It's done."

The entire command room cheered. Misato let out a breath of relief. "And Rei?"

Unit 02 turned to the camera and held up a hand. Rei sat on the Eva's outstretched palm, her knees pulled up to her chest, and waved.

"Don't worry, Misato. I've got Wonder Girl right here, safe and sound."

"We… we did it, right?" Touji said. "I can't hear a hell of a lot. Can't any of them just go quietly?"

"Yes, Touji, we did it," Shinji answered him.

"All right!"

Asuka winced. "Ow! Damn it, Touji! Not so loud! My ears still hurt!"

"What?"

"Ow! Damn it, that's it. I'm gonna get you!" She suddenly winced at the volume of her own voice.

* * *

Rei stood on the balcony of the Three Stooge's apartment while the celebration happened inside. They had to wait a day to hold it, after everything that had to be done with Keel, and there was the UN's apology for letting a mole slip past their background checks. Half the city was once again being rebuilt, as usual, and it left Misato and Shinji swamped with reports and claims to fill out. Rei didn't think about any of that. She leaned against the rail and started out at the city, smiling. She thought about how good she felt for the first time in many weeks.

"Don't ask me again," she said without turning around. "I already told you I'm fine, big brother."

Shinji walked out onto the balcony and stood next to her. "I wasn't going to, I swear."

"Liar."

"You're really enjoying ribbing me, aren't you? Asuka giving you lessons, or something?"

She grinned. "Or something."

"So what are you doing out here?"

"Just… enjoying life. I'm still a little new at it."

"You're not new at it, Rei. You're just…" He stopped, and let it go. "You are different since the other day. What happened? I mean… you really were joined with that Angel? And Adam?"

She stared out at the glittering night of the city. "I was, yes. I saw them for what the truly were."

"And… what was that?"

"A lot like us. So very human." She looked down at her hands. "But also so full of despair and hate. They didn't have the benefit of facing themselves like we're capable of. They were defined by purpose, and without it, they couldn't grow. They couldn't cast off the things they don't need. That's what led to their destruction."

Shinji stared at her, then smiled. "So you really are going to be okay, aren't you, Sis?"

She smiled back at him. "Of course I am."

"That's what you think!" Asuka grabbed Shinji's waist from behind. She nuzzled her face into Shinji's back, already red with alcohol. She looked at Rei. "I'm gonna kick your pale butt sooo badly for running off like that and scaring the hell out of us!"

Rei laughed softly. "I'm sorry, Asuka. But it was something I had to do."

"Excuses, excuses. You still scared the hell out of us. Just because I'm getting drunk doesn't mean I won't be able to kick your butt later."

"Then why haven't you yet?" Shinji turned in her arms and wrapped his back around her.

"Because…" She leaned up and whispered in his ear. Rei covered her grin with her mouth when she saw Shinji's expression. Asuka kissed him. "And you know I don't make idle threats."

"You two love each other so much it's almost frightening," Rei said. She stood up
straight and walked back inside.

"Oh yeah? Well Kensuke's been looking at your ass all night!" Asuka followed after her, pulling Shinji along.

Gathered around the table were Kensuke, who almost spit the beer he was drinking when he heard Asuka. Touji and Hikari sat beside him, and Touji laughed at his expense.

"Geez, man! You're supposed to drink it!"

"This coming from the guy I have to drag out of the bathroom at the end of a party," Hikari said.

"Hey," Yoshi looked up from his newspaper, "They say it's snowing in Europe."

"Really?" Asuka sat down with Shinji and Rei. "What does that mean?"

"Maybe the seasons are finally returning," Misato said. "Wouldn't that be something."

"If that's true, I've got to take you guys to Germany for Christmas!" Asuka declared. "Finally I can show you Japanese how a holiday should be celebrated! And Yoshi, why are you reading that thing? This is a party! Celebrate, damn it!"

"Actually I was trying to avoid going home in the same condition I did last time we celebrated…" he put the paper aside and gave Shinji and Touji a dark look.

"It was his idea," Touji pointed at Shinji.

"It was not!"

"You're the superior officer! Take some responsibility!"

While they argued, Pen Pen peeked over the table, looked around, and grabbed Touji's beer. It started to make a break for it just as Touji noticed.

"Hey! Give that back, you damn penguin!" Touji leaped from his chair, only to miss as he crashed into the floor.
A few hours passed before anyone started to leave. Only Misato and Yoshi actually left. Yoshi helped Misato down to her apartment.

"You know, you didn't actually drink that much."

"Yeah, I know. I didn't feel the need. They're still young. They'll regret it later."

"Still young? Come on, you're not old enough to be talking like that yet."

"Says you." She laughed as she opened the door. "Yikes. If I'm not careful I'm going to start sounding like Ritsuko used to."

"No, I don't think you will, Misato. Ever."

She turned to him. "Thanks, Yoshi."

He paused, watching her for a moment, and then spoke before he could think to stop the words. "Hey, Misato, some time after work, you think we could…"

Misato leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "How about we help each other pick up good dates?" She smiled at him

Yoshi was surprised he didn't feel hurt. He looked back at Misato for a moment, before smiling and nodded. "Yeah. You're a friend." And he meant it. "I'll see you at work tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Good night, Yoshi."

"G'night, Misato." He closed the door as he left.
Shinji sat on the floor of the balcony, Asuka leaning back in his lap, looking up. "It's kind of hard to believe that it's over," he spoke his thoughts aloud. "You spend so much time fighting, you start to feel as though it's only a matter of time before something else happens. Something else that will make you worry."

Asuka nudged his ribs with her elbow. "Shut up. You're ruining the moment, Lieutenant."

"Sorry."

She nudged him again. "Cut it out." She sighed, and eased back against him. "It's really beautiful, isn't it? I mean, the view's better from the hill, but this is still nice."

"Yeah, it is." He heard Kensuke and Rei snoring in the living room. Touji and Hikari had already gone to bed in Touji's room. "So do we leave them in the living room, or drag Kensuke to his room?"

"They'll be fine. Rei sleeps on the couch so much she practically lives there, anyway."

He chuckled. "I remember she said we were turning into slobs, once."

"Feh. Are not. I work very hard to stay in shape, thank you."

"You aren't worried at all, are you?"

"Nope. You?"

Shinji was silent for a moment as he thought about it. "No. I'm not. I've got you guys. My friends. And I've got myself. Same thing. And nothing'll ever take that away."

Asuka nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "I love you, you cute pain in the butt."

"I love you too, Asuka." Shinji pulled his arms across her. A cool breeze blew past their heads. He looked up and saw something flit through the air. It came to settle on the edge of the balcony. He reached up and carefully picked it up, turning it over in his hands. It was a red leaf, the kind that used to appear when the country had seasons, and all the leaves of the trees would change colors. He studied it for a moment, then held it up, and let it sail back into the breeze. Things changed, and yet they still endured.

The End

Author's Notes:

"I cry when angels deserve to die!"
-- System of a Down, "Chop Suey"

Nearly a year and a half after I'd written chapter seven, I have finally finished the final installment of Neon Genesis Evangelion: Seraphim! And I still haven't come up with a better name! Despite popular belief, I am not dead, and no, I did not give up. Let's just say I was on a mental hiatus. In laymen's terms, we call this slacking. But this will be a testament to the end of my slacking ways!! For the most part. I hope anyone who manages to find interest in this enjoys this last chapter as much as they enjoyed the other chapters. This was truly a work of fanship, and I tried to keep this fanfiction representation of how I feel the post-Instrumentality NGE could have developed as close to the existentialist ideas expressed in the final two episodes of the series as possible. I also really enjoyed exploring the Angels, and please, no fan-nicks kill me over the whole Rei/Lillith/Adam thing. And I did finally decide that the Misato/Yoshi thing was a bust, and probably for the best, which is what they both realized. In closing, I'd like to thank my girlfriend Roo for her support, Kaworu Nagisa for his excellent site Second Impact (who was kind enough not to take down my other chapters despite my long silence), Blue Oyster Cult, Monster Magnet, Rage Against the Machine, Rob Zombie, and Tool for lyrical support, the good people at Gainax and Hideaki Anno for giving us the NGE anime television series (except for the movies, which I barely acknowledge as existing), and of course to all the people who subjected themselves to this fanfiction and it's monstrously long final chapter. Thank you all for coming! Good night!!