Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. All names and other references associated with it are owned by Gainax.

Shinji found himself immersed in a dream. He was in a deep sleep, with much on his mind. So much in fact that he hadn't even noticed that Asuka was still asleep next to him. He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that it hadn't even surprised him like before. Or maybe he was just getting used to it.

Shinji could see the image of his mother in his mind. But she was drifting away, fading into the distance. He called after her.

"Mother don't leave, I need you!"

"You have to let go Shinji, or you'll never be happy, you will never be able to see the people that need you…"

As she faded he could see his AT field leave his body to try and follow her, and then he woke up.

He knew that this must have been the dream he had been having for the last few days. He could tell now. He became aware that Asuka was awake. She had been watching him sleep. He saw her smile.

"Are you ready to face the world Asuka? You haven't been out of bed in a while, almost four days now."

"I'm not tired anymore."

She got out of the bed and walked to the door. She glanced behind her once on the way, noting that Shinji was watching her. She walked out into the living room and was surprised to find Misato there.

"Good morning Asuka! I'm happy to see that you're finally awake."

"Um, good morning Misato."

Misato ran quickly over to her and gave her a hug.

"I'm so happy to see you; I thought I never would again."

"I'm happy to see you too."

And she was, although she usually found herself at odds with her guardian, she was genuinely happy to see that she was alive. Asuka didn't really know what to say, the world was like nothing had happened, but they both knew much had changed.

"I…" Asuka started.

"Y'know what Asuka, lets just make breakfast."

"Sounds good."

They set to work performing their task as much to feed their hunger as to avoid their pain, neither felt like talking about what had happened, and perhaps they never would. That was fine with Asuka. She had died, been torn to pieces, felt the pain of death. And now she was alive again, and didn't want to relive those memories.

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Shinji found his thoughts once again straying to Asuka. She seemed happy to be near him, but he felt like it was a trick. She had done this to him before, and he hated it. Hated her. Hated the world. Yet he had saved the world. Why? He asked himself. Why? He thought he knew the answer, to defy his father, to defy everybody, but that wasn't it, he knew the real reason. But his fear still remained. Or did it? What did he now have to be afraid of? He had always felt like an outcast, the sad part was that he knew it was his own doing, he refused to let people in, yet he let them make his decisions. Or was it his father all along? He had been abandoned as a child, the only real purpose being that he would accept Instrumentality. Shinji almost laughed.

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Kozo walked slowly toward Rei. He was not at all sure what had happened to her, it looked almost as if she was possessed. She was obviously unconscious, or possibly even comatose. Yet she stood erect, arms out like a cross.

"Rei?"

He reached out his hands and touched her shoulders. Immediately her eyes focused and she collapsed onto him. She began to sputter words violently.

"He did it again! That should be me on the cross! Why! He did it twice! If they get him back were doomed…!"

"Rei! Calm down! Get a hold of yourself!"

She vomited, and began to fall. He caught her and laid her on the ground. He picked up his radio and began to shout.

"This is Fuyutski! I need a medical team as soon as possible!"

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The day had passed uneventfully at the Katsuragi household. The only notable thing that had occurred was that Shinji and Asuka had received a notice that school was to begin again in a week. This saddened Shinji greatly, he had hoped to have a much longer break from school. The thought of having to face all of those people after what they had seen him do during Instrumentality frightened him. On the other hand Asuka seemed to be returning to her old self, and he wasn't sure how much he wanted to be around her in the house if that was the case.

In truth Asuka had learned of the fame that Shinji was now receiving from the media. It was natural for her to feel jealous that he was receiving all of the attention. "So what if he got crucified," she thought to herself, "I got tore limb from limb, eaten! I suffered just as much as he did." She had begun belittling him again, forgetting about the comfort that he had provided her over the last several days.

Shinji himself had taken a nap, again immersed in his own dream; he loved seeing the image of his mother, even if she was being torn from him again. And then the sphere would appear. The orange hexagons constituting its surface. It felt so real. Like he could reach out and touch it.

Asuka walked over to her sleeping housemate and hit him in the face with a pillow. Shinji awoke with a start, grasping for his mother and the AT sphere, but instead he saw only Asuka.

"Why did you wake me?" He said angrily.

"For fun," she said obnoxiously back.

Shinji was about to tell her off when Misato entered the apartment carrying groceries.

"Are you two fighting already? That was sure fast."

Shinji was embarrassed. He felt like a child when he argued with Asuka.

"It's pointless anyway," Shinji responded.

Asuka simply glared and went into her room, slamming the door.

Shinji spent the remainder of the afternoon helping Misato prepare dinner. An ultimately pointless effort in the end, for when he left to go to the bathroom she managed to burn almost everything they had been preparing. Misato shrugged it off and quickly ordered a pizza, while Shinji just sighed.

"I should have known," he said under his breath.

"Known what?" Misato inquired.

"Uh, nothing," he smiled at her and she smiled back.

They all enjoyed their pizza that night in relative silence, and soon after Misato decided to turn in for the night, while Asuka and Shinji decided to watch some television instead. They just sat and watched the glowing screen in silence until a news bulletin interrupted what they had been watching. It was about the religious changes that were taking place in the Christian and Catholic countries, such as America, Ireland, and England. Shinji was mentioned several times, and as such he looked at the ground, not knowing what to feel.

Asuka on the other hand could feel the jealousy begin to boil within her.

"I bet it feel great doesn't it?" Her words dripping with sarcasm.

"No." It was the truth, Shinji did not like the amount of faith people were now finding in him.

"I'm sure. You ended perfection so you could live in a world where everyone worships you, you selfish fool."

Shinji was shocked at her words.

"How can you say that to me? You're blinded by your own stupid ideals. What's the matter did I finally give enough evidence for you to conclude that I am better than you are? Oh the drama, your poor self-esteem, I think I can hear your ego shriveling up," Shinji knew he had pushed the right button.

Asuka exploded at him cursing, in several languages. She grabbed him and shoved him up against the wall.

"You'll never be better than me, ever! Understand Baka!" She fumed.

Shinji looked at into her rage filled eyes, realizing that he didn't care anymore. None of the things he had said were true; he had just said them to aggravate her.

"Why do we have to do this to each other, at this rate nothing will ever change," Shinji said quietly.

"What's that?"

He locked his eyes onto hers. He said nothing for a long time. Asuka was also calming down, but she still held a tight grip on Shinji's shirt. In truth she was close to tears on the inside, she did not want things to be this way. She hated herself for acting the way that she did towards him. She knew that Shinji had no control over how the world perceived him.

At this point a battle was raging in the mind of Shinji Ikari. His question had been a real one. He didn't see the point in fighting. He was tired of escaping, tired of running from the responsibility of human interaction. Shinji's philosophy had always been to simply do what others told him, that way the responsibility was theirs, not his. His life thus far had been nothing but pain; he had hated a God he believed to be false. But he hated his father even more, for what he did to him, for what his mother did for him, for what he had tried to do to Rei and the rest of the people of earth. But now he was gone, Shinji was sure. He had not and would not return from the black moon. He had stopped his fathers plan; this had been Shinji's rage taking its vengeance. What more did he have to fear from the world that he hadn't already felt? As of this moment he had an entire world of people calling him their savior. Yet it was not his vengeance on Gendo, nor the acceptance of the world that had made him kill perfection. Vengeance and acceptance are pointless things to live for, because once they are achieved your life again becomes worthless, Shinji knew this to be true. With this realization he could confront what had saved this world, the thought that had saved him. The wish that he could be with her. And with that Shinji's mind ended its conflict for purpose. He refused to let his fear of abandonment prevent him from living; prevent him from living for her.

"Asuka, do you want to know the real reason that I stopped Instrumentality?"

She said nothing

"Do you want to know the reason that humanity even exists at all at this moment?" Shinji said solemnly.

She nodded.

"I brought this world back because of you. Because I wanted to be with you, I decided that I would rather live in a world of pain with you, than in a dream of false perfection. Humanities return is just a side effect. The only reason that every human on the planet is breathing right now, is because you are my only reason to live. In truth you stopped instrumentality, not me."

She could do nothing but stare at him. She doubted if she would ever be able to possess the courage to say something like that. She could feel the tears begin to flow from her eyes.

"Oh, Shinji I…,"

She pulled him close, and before she knew what she was doing she was kissing him. All of her emotions pouring out through her lips, all the pent up feeling. She held nothing back, giving herself to the kiss, completely lost in the moment. Shinji was amazed. This was not like before. This was real. He pulled her closer, and time seemed to stand still. Finally Asuka slowly pulled back, lowering her head onto his shoulder, sobbing quietly.

He held her. What else could he do? He hadn't expected her to cry like this, he just tried to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," Shinji said. He really didn't know why he was apologizing, but for some reason thought it would help.

Asuka gave a small laugh through her tears.

"For what? You've done nothing wrong."

She looked back up into his eyes, and put her hands on his cheeks. She gave him another kiss, it was short and she was still sobbing.

"I'm going to bed," quietly continuing, "Good night, I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night Asuka."

And with that she walked over to her door, turned the knob and was soon gone.

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"Sir we have managed to isolate the green pattern energy source."

Commander Fuyutski turned around, listening intently.

"Go on."

"Yes sir, it appears to be coming from this apartment building here, it's near the western part of town."

Fuyutski knew now what it was. That was Misato Katsuragi's apartment complex.

"What do we know about it so far," the commander continued.

"Well sir, not a great deal, besides the fact that it is almost definitely not human."

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Rei Ayanami awoke in a hospital bed. It was cold, and she was wearing a patient's garment. She had separated from Lilith, and was now again living as a human being.

"Why did he give himself away?" She wondered to herself. She was referring to Kaoru. He had been with her during third impact, with her in the sky. She knew that he couldn't have returned, he wasn't human. But why this? Did he really love mankind enough to take Lilith's place on the red cross.?

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Asuka lay in bed hating herself. How could she have said those things to him? She felt horrible. And yet, excited as well. She wondered what tomorrow would bring, and yet wished she could be with him right now.

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To Shinji the dream became more vivid every time he saw it. His mother drifting away, telling him to let go.

"I need you mother!"

"No Shinji you don't, you aren't a child anymore. You have her now, and she has you, you have the chance at a better life, let go of the past."

Then he saw his AT field leave his body to follow her, like his spirit was trying to go with her, leaving his body behind. The sphere glowed from the outlines of the small hexagons, orange.

Shinji awoke suddenly. He could feel it. It was there. He opened his eyes and gazed before him, marveling at the sphere floating above his hands.

"Uh…" Shinji could feel his veins bulge. And soon his arms were gushing with blood. He screamed from deep within his being from the pain. The AT field disappeared, re-entering the young pilot's body. Shinji could feel his death close, and he rolled, falling, his head hitting the floor.