I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to review my story. This is my first fic and it means a great deal to me. I have always loved to write but until know had never found a meaningful way to express it. Anyway I'm sorry for the delay, I had chapter 3 finished but my computer crashed and I had to start it over from scratch. Anyway here we go.

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

Kozo Fuyutski sat at his desk reading through various reports about the status of the Evangelions. He was pleased that Unit 1 had been successfully located and recovered (it was found in a one of Tokyo 3's new lakes), and what remained of Unit 2 was now in cryo-storage. Also China, England, and Russia were now near completion of units 5, 6, and 7 respectively. The commander was pleased to hear of this, for all though there had been no reports of SEELE after 3rd impact, he was still uneasy.

What was making him even more uneasy however was an incident that had caused Shinji Ikari to be rushed to NERV's hospital. He had been informed that the boy's condition was now stable, and would soon go down to see him personally. He had a theory as to what had happened, in fact he was nearly positive he knew, and wished greatly to talk to the young Ikari.

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Asuka Langley Sorhyu lay on the living room couch crying, she had been now for almost two hours. She had heard him scream. It was unlike any scream she had ever heard before, so full of pain. He had tried to kill himself. Slashed open his own arms. Last night he had told her that she was the only reason that he lived. And the very next morning he attempts suicide. She couldn't help feeling that it was somehow her fault, that she had done something wrong. The kiss had felt so right, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It had been like there was nothing else in the world that mattered. But now…How could she face him again after something like this?

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Shinji Ikari opened his eyes as he felt his consciousness returning. "Unfamiliar ceiling," he thought to himself, though in fact he had awoken there several times before. He knew that he was in the hospital at NERV HQ, but he couldn't remember how he had gotten there. He did however remember the dream, and more importantly the sphere, and then after that the pain. He glanced over at the plastic window that allowed doctors and other observers peer into his room. He could see Commander Fuyutski watching him, along with the doctor who undoubtedly had saved him. But he began to feel the pull of slumber once again, and soon drifted back to sleep.

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Commander Fuyutski watched Shinji silently from behind the plastic observing window. The boy had glanced around briefly, but was now returning back to sleep. It was obvious that Shinji had no injuries on his arms whatsoever, a point that the doctor he was speaking with was undoubtedly finding troublesome.

"What's the boy's current status doctor?"

"Well as you know he was rushed in this morning by Major Katsuragi. She called us from her cell phone informing us of her arrival, saying that Shinji had attempted suicide and was bleeding heavily from the arms and wrists. As you know we keep the pilots blood type stocked in case the need for a transfusion should arrive, and we were expecting its necessity. By the time he reached us he had apparently passed out from the blood loss, and we rushed him to the E.R. Once we got him there however the bleeding seemed to have stopped, leaving only dried blood covering his arms. It was clear, as you can easily see, that the boy had no cuts of any kind on either arm. In fact upon further analysis it appears as if Shinji has lost no blood whatsoever. As you can see his condition is now stable," the doctor concluded.

"Indeed," responded Fuyutski.

The commander continued to question the physician about other aspects of Shinji's health, all of which appeared to be normal. The doctor did however recommend that Shinji see a psychologist.

"Is it okay if I go and speak with him?" asked Fuyutski.

"Well I don't see why not. As long as you don't trouble him for too long, he needs rest," responded the doctor.

"Thank you for you time," said the commander solemnly.

With that the physician bowed his head and took his leave, off to check up on a certain blue haired patient. Fuyutski walked over to the door into Shinji's room and slowly turned the handle. Shinji heard the sound of the door opening and closing again and was soon awake. The commander grabbed a nearby chair and sat down next to Shinji's bed.

"How are you feeling Shinji?"

"I've been better."

The commander smiled slightly at this.

"Indeed you have. Shinji I have a theory on what happened to you earlier today, and I would like to discuss it with you. However for you to understand what I have to say you must be told some things that are rather confidential. This goes against governmental policy and I need your word that will not discuss what is said."

He waited silently for Shinji's response.

"I won't say anything.

The Commander nodded. He paused momentarily, gathering his thoughts.

"Shinji it is my belief, and the belief of many others at this agency, that Third Impact was not stopped, but that it was merely halted. I also believe that an occurrence as catastrophic as that of Third Impact was not meant to be so idly paused. Not without consequences anyway. We believe that the event may have caused some problems with the dimensional fabric, possibly even the space time continuum. Either way this would account for many of the bizarre occurrences that are now taking place, such as Lilith's egg existing in two forms, in two different places, do you follow so far?"

"Yes, please continue."

"To understand the nature of your malady, it is important for you to know some details about the human instrumentality project. The goal of the project was to artificially evolve humanity into a perfect, God-like being, by controlling Third Impact. I believe, as do billions of others around the world, that you are what caused Third Impact to halt. However it did not entirely pause so much as selectively continue, and regress at the same time. The majority of Human souls began to descend from Lilith's egg, their AT fields returning to their bodies, and subsequently returned to life. To be more specific, approximately 83% of the population has returned to its original state of existence. However I believe that the other 17% still remains inside of Lilith's egg, and as such, continues to evolve, even as we speak growing closer to existing as a God. The problem is that without the other 83% of the population, this will never occur, and the evolution will never be complete. Do you understand?"

Shinji simply nodded, his mind now reeling with the weight of what had been said.

"As I said before, Third Impact has merely been paused, which means that it is possible, whether likely or not, that it can start again. However I also believe that it can at the same time be stopped permanently. Unfortunately as of this moment I do not know the means by which either of these outcomes can be achieved. Now, while some people returned to earth and some people continue their evolution in the sky, I believe that both of these things have happened to you. Your AT field has restored your human body, while at the same time you are now no longer human. I believe that you have been artificially evolved by Third Impact, and are now neither human nor angel, but retain qualities of both. You now exist as new race of creature entirely, giving off a completely independent life force that we have dubbed "Green Energy."

Again the commander paused, waiting for Shinji's approval to continue. Shinji could barely fathom what he had just been told and dignified no response, but the commander resumed his explanation anyway.

"You are of course aware that Evangelions use AT fields externally to protect themselves from bodily harm. You may however be unaware that humans also possess AT fields, often referred to as souls, though they serve an entirely different purpose. The Human AT field is used to separate the individual entity from others, while at the same time holding the body together as a whole. I believe that your AT field now serves both of these purposes. Earlier today you managed to extend your AT field while you were sleeping. However you still possess human frailties, such as bleeding, and your body quickly began to breakdown under the stress, and you subsequently fainted from blood loss. After the trauma had stopped however your system quickly managed to regenerate all of its lost fluids. Which brings us to where we are now."

"I…I…We…"

"Shinji, I know this is a lot, and I will discuss it with you more later, but now you better get some rest," he said sternly.

And with that Shinji watched the commander walk to the door.

"Do not worry Shinji, there is nothing wrong with your health, so the doctors will probably release you in time to go home and have dinner."

Shinji nodded, and collapsed back into his bed.

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At the Katsuragi household, two very happy women were preparing a meal. Misato had returned to tell Asuka that Shinji had not attempted suicide. The doctors had told her that Shinji had most likely had some sort of bizarre allergic reaction, possibly a side effect of the trauma of Third Impact. Misato knew this explanation didn't make any sense, but neither her nor Asuka seemed to care a great deal. They were simply happy that Shinji was alright and had not tried to take his own life. Asuka was overjoyed by this last fact, knowing now that it was not her fault.

"Shinji should be home in about an hour, Asuka, so I'm going to run to the store real quick and pick up some more food, okay?"

"Okay, don't be too long."

"I won't," she responded, giving Asuka a hug, and then heading out the door.

After about 25 minutes however Asuka heard a knock and knew that Shinji had arrived early. She took a deep breath, and walked over to let him in. She turned the knob, and swung the door open.

Shinji was stood in front of the entrance to the apartment looking severely shaken, and somewhat disheveled. He seemed to brighten however at the fact that Asuka had opened the door.

"Welcome back," she said brightly.

"Thank you," he said with a sad smile.

He stepped inside and immediately felt relieved to be home. Asuka closed the door and turned around to face him. Shinji let out a sigh of relief and turned around to ask what was for dinner, but he stopped when he saw the seriousness of the expression on Asuka's face. She seemed to look right into him, at his very soul. She then opened her mouth to speak.

"I thought I had lost you, Shinji," she said slowly.

He nodded. Shinji could only imagine what she had been thinking about after the events of that morning and the night before.

"Me too," he replied.

Asuka smiled slightly, then walked over and pulled him into an embrace.

"Please don't ever scare me like that again," she said as if she could barely hold back her tears..

"I'll try not too."

She nodded, letting the moment speak for itself. After a little while she looked up into his eyes, her features brightening.

"You must be exhausted," she stated, smiling at him. "Can I get you something?"

He pulled her closer, resting his head against hers, feeling her smooth skin.

"No thank you Asuka," he said with a smile, "I think I'm going to be fine."