Well, everyone... it is the last day of November. At least I technically got this chapter out before December. I had intended to get this chapter out sooner and to have chapter 42 out by December, but my cat's age caught up to him and he died a little more than a week ago and I've spent a good portion of the last few month caring for him. He wasn't able to walk so I was carrying him around for food and water and such which... obviously slowed down my schedule. I'm going to try to keep this short as... I'm emotionally exhausted and I don't want to start crying typing this up after everyone's been waiting so long for this chapter. Nor do I want to drastically change the mood of this chapter with my melancholy. So... please forgive me if this author's note is short. I just... need time to... recover I suppose. All I will say is this.

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-Rest in Peace, Snow Tiger-

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:Music Guide:
:Song One:

Shadowbringers: Scions & Sinners Arrangement

It should be played at the titlecard-

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-A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love-

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As always, the song is available for download from this story's accompanying facebook and has been slightly edited. But if you would like to stream it from youtube instead, you can find it at- /watch?v=kHKyI_ywiVU

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Text Guide

Standard Wording

"Spoken Dialogue/Sign Language/Phone Texts"

'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'

(Flashbacks)

/

[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]

Italicized text, however it is used, is nonstandard and is often used for, but not limited to, emphasized or stressed dialogue, phone texts, sign language, contextual references either through dialogue or narration or exposition, and extra-literary quotations among other things.

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Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, The End of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.

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*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*

Neon Genesis Evangelion

A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love

Chapter 41

Vows of Virtue,
Deeds of Cruelty

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In fire-shook skies far above and abroad,
A candor revealed, troubled yet long sought
In staggered choked cries, she coughs and then weeps
Blood on the breeze, falling autumnal leaves
These vows of virtue, colored sanguinely,
Each time followed by deeds of cruelty.

"Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty" by, Amelia Bree Rineheart

"Doctor Akagi, there is… something I must ask you… about myself."

"Hmm? What is it, Rei?" Ritsuko curiously asked the girl.

"I… I, um…"

"Rei?"

The girl seemed uneasy and, for the moment, refused to say anything, instead casting her gaze to the floor.

Seeing the girl seemed to be more troubled than she'd initially let on, Ritsuko sighed before reaching for her cup of coffee and taking a quick drink before refocusing herself on Rei.

"Rei, what is it? What's the matter?"

"Um… I… I wasn't…"

"Wasn't what, Rei?"

"Wasn't… supposed to…"

"...Rei, what is this about? What are you trying to ask me? I promise I won't be angry."

"It… isn't you I am afraid of upsetting," Rei said depressingly.

"Well, Rei, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's troubling you."

"I know…"

"Is this about Commander Ikari?"

"Um… no, ma'am."

"Pilot Sohryu?"

"No, ma'am…"

Ritsuko sighed. Whatever it was that was bothering the girl must've been quite severe to make her so cagey.

"You said you wanted to ask me about yourself. Perhaps I misunderstood this as you asking for social help. But you're not asking me about that, are you? So, I can only assume that you're asking me specifically because of my position or my experience and that this somehow pertains to your… well-being?"

"Um… yes, Ma'am. My… well-being..."

After Rei refused to say anything else, Ritsuko asked, "Are you feeling ill?"

"No, ma'am. I feel… normal."

"Okay… Did you feel well earlier? Aside from your sortie against the angel."

"Yes, I am and have been well. But… I may not always be…"

Ritsuko's eyebrows raised in recognition, finally understanding, at least partially, why the girl was here.

"You've been taking your LCL baths I assume."

"Yes… When I can."

"When you can?" Ritsuko said, once more raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Yes, when I can. I… forget sometimes. I'm… distracted sometimes… And sometimes not."

"Distracted? Do you mean busy? I know Katsuragi's apartment obviously doesn't have have an LCL vat. But that shouldn't be a problem since your were still able to stop by when you were at your old apartment. Are you finding it difficult to locate one?"

"Um, no. Not yet…"

"Not… yet?" Ritsuko asked, trying to glean any clue to the girl's intent through her vague words, "Is there a reason you would have a problem finding one in the future?"

"Um… yes. Is there… any way I could… avoid using one?"

"That depends, but probably not. What exactly do you intend to be doing that would prevent you from maintaining yourself?"

"I… Um… am not supposed to tell anyone."

"Well, I'm going to find it remarkably hard to help you if I can't get more details out of you."

"Um… Traveling!"

"Traveling? How long do you intend to be gone? Where are you going?"

"I… do not know yet."

Ritsuko turned off her computer screen before folding her arms over her desk and intently looking at Rei with a scrutinizing gaze.

"...You don't intend to be coming back then, do you?"

Rei finally looked up from the floor. For a few more moments, she was unable to say anything. All she could do was look at Ritsuko with fearful eyes and a quivering lip as the silence hung in the air.

"I don't," Rei whispered.

Ritsuko sighed, closing her eyes and taking her glasses off, setting them on the desk before leaning back in her swivel chair.

"I understand," Ritsuko said as she gestured towards an empty chair to the side of her desk where Maya would usually have sat had she been present, "Why don't you take a seat and tell me about this little journey of yours?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rei mumbled, taking Ritsuko's suggestion to sit as more of an order than she should have.

"Here, would you like a snack? I have some candy if you would like some," Ritsuko said as she pulled open a drawer beneath her desk.

"Um, I'm not hungry," Rei mumbled.

"I don't know about that. You look like you're trembling from exhaustion. Why don't you take some anyways. It'll give you a bit of energy," Ritsuko said as she tossed a bag of candies in Rei's lap.

"Um… okay," was all Rei said in response.

Ritsuko pulled out a few small chocolate bars for herself as well, setting them on her desk before unwrapping one to nibble on while she questioned Rei.

"So, why are you leaving?"

"I can't stay here."

"Yes, but why, Rei?"

"I can't. For him."

"So, you're doing this for pilot Ikari?"

"For… everyone," Rei said.

"Very well then. Where are you going? Surely you must have at least some idea."

"I don't know… Away from here."

"So you don't even know where you're going? Has it occurred to you that this could be dangerous?"

"Yes… I am prepared. I can take care of myself. I only need to know… If I can live without… LCL."

"You can't," Ritsuko said plainly, "You cannot survive without LCL. That is out of the question. You know as well as I. You are too unstable. Your body is barely functioning and unsustainable as it is. You will die without it."

"Then… could it be turned into medicine?"

"What, like a pill? Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. And even if I or someone else could turn it into a pill, how would you expect me to get it to you? Especially if you don't even know where you're going! Transporting LCL in a solid state is almost as troublesome a moving liquid nitrogen. You'd be better off pumping it to its destination in a liquid form. But we don't have the infrastructure to do that and if it were a practical possibility, you wouldn't be asking me on how to be rid of it. Likewise, developing it into a consumable medicinal form would likely take months of research and development; months that we don't have to spend turning LCL into a portable medication solely for you."

"Is there… any way at all? Please!" Rei choked out in a whisper.

"There might be… But I've never tested it before. I've meant to but I simply haven't had the time."

"Please! What is it!?"

"First, I want to know more about what you intend to do!" Ritsuko said sternly.

"You are… going to tell Commander Ikari…" Rei said doubtfully.

"Rei," Ritsuko sighed before rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, "Nothing goes unnoticed by Commander Ikari. Your secret is as safe with me. At least, its as safe with me as it is with anyone else. He'll find out. He always does. There's no reason for me to tell Commander Ikari because, chances are, if you've told anyone else, he already knows. And if he doesn't, he will soon enough, with or without me. I'm asking for your own good, so that I can advise you, what do you plan on doing?"

Rei hesitated for a moment before saying "Running away."

"Yes, I gathered that much. Where? Where are you going, Rei?"

"I do not know. We have not decided yet."

Ritsuko eyed the girl, examining her for any hint that she was lying. But, in the end, she was convinced. Rei was telling the truth.

"Anyone else, I would doubt. But not you. You never lie. And when you do, it's obvious to the point that you might as well not even bother lying," Ritsuko said before finally relenting, "Tell me, Rei, what do you know of second impact. The true version of events, not the fabrications taught in school."

"Second impact? Um… I know that… Adam was found in Antarctica. And they tried to preform a contact experiment with him. And after that… second impact happened."

"Indeed… A cataclysm to unmake all we were. Half of our number lost in the blinking of an eye. War and famine on the scale of which I hope to never see again. The land buckled, the cities burned, the waters ran red with blood… and with something else."

"Something… else?"

"When Adam initiated second impact, we believe he spread an anti-A.T. field across several hundred miles before he was... restrained. It… destroyed almost every living being. The only one to survive direct contact with this event, at least as far as we know… was Misato Katsuragi."

"Miss Katsuragi?"

"To this day, I still don't know how. A miracle perhaps. Fate? Or maybe Adam took pity on her and chose to spare her. Or he might have thought to make an example of her, a lesson to the rest of humanity. Hell, it could have even been a quirk of her life support pod. Whatever the reason, she was the only one left until search and rescue arrived from up north. She was found in her pod in the middle of the ocean, nearly dead from a blood infection. But I'm not sure that she wants me telling you all this and it's somewhat besides the point. The important part is that everything, plants, animals, the algae and krill in the ocean, anything that was alive was turned into LCL."

"You mean… the ocean… Oh… I see now!"

"Yes, Rei, if you stay near the coast, you may be able to sustain yourself. But that's all I can offer you and I make no guarantees it will suffice. Even with Second Impact, the LCL concentrations in the ocean are much lower than you'd find here. You may be required to stay in the water much longer than you would need to remain in a vat here. And even then, that may not be enough. It would take time for me to confirm with any certainty. But, I have a feeling you're not inclined to wait for me to be more certain. Having said that, are you certain you wish to do this?"

"...Not yet. But I will speak with Shinji and Asuka and we will decide together."

"So, all three of you are leaving then?"

"Yes… We must," Rei said resolutely.

"Very well. I suppose I understand and I guess I can't blame you after everything that's happened."

"Yes… I promised to protect Shinji and Asuka. So, I will protect them by taking them away. So they cannot be hurt anymore."

Ritsuko sighed before saying, "And you understand that if you leave, you cannot come back. Commander Ikari will have the next one of you brought up to the surface and it wouldn't do to have two of you walking around. People would… obviously start to ask questions. I mean, they'd ask questions anyway once they saw your change in personality. But having both you and one of your sisters walking around in broad daylight would erase all pretense. And once we take her out, we can't just put her back in. That would be… cruel."

"I… I understand. Thank you, Doctor Akagi. You have given me… more than I could hope for."

"Oh, Rei, one more thing before you go," Ritsuko said, "Make sure you send Shinji to come see me in a bit, hopefully today if he can manage it. There's something important I need to do for him before you're all… on your way."

/

-On Wings of Stone-

/

Some time earlier, somewhere within NERV-HQ…

"God damn it, I just want walk in there and..." Shinji cursed as he furiously paced down a hallway leading further up the Geofront.

In his irritation, he didn't really know where he was going. Home perhaps. Or nowhere in particular.

"Shinji, don't, alright? Calm down. I know it's frustrating. But facing him now wouldn't do anyone any good. If anything, it would just get you locked up again. So please, calm down," Asuka begged.

With a scowl on his face he turned around to face Asuka.

"He almost got her killed! I let her get hurt again and he almost killed her," Shinji huffed.

"I know, Shinji, I know..."

"We need to leave as soon as possible! Tomorrow! No, tonight!"

"Shinji, please, we can figure this out once Rei's back. Lets not make any rash decisions. I agree, but we need to be careful," Asuka said in an effort to calm the boy down.

Asuka felt an awkward tension as Shinji looked past her, remembering Ahni and Amelia had been trailing behind them since they'd returned from the surface and arrived at the Geofront. Turning around herself to face the girls, she could see they both looked timid and wore guilty expressions.

"I'm… sorry… We… We didn't do anything wrong, did we?" Ahni asked in a timid voice.

Asuka expression softened some before she answered the girl.

"No, no, of course not. Shinji's just upset about… Uh… Oh, how to put this… Shinji's upset with his father."

Amelia's expression became noticeably more relaxed and she proceeded to translate for Ahni.

"Shinji, we should save this for later. The Americans are kind of freaked out. I would be too," Asuka said as she turned to face the boy, putting a hand on his cheek.

"Right… sorry."

"Why's he mad at his father? What'd he do?" Ahni asked, which earned her an elbow jab from Amelia for perhaps being too nosey.

"Shinji's father… is the Commander of NERV," Asuka said, "And he's also the one responsible for taking my eye."

After Amelia had translated for Ahni, the mute girl let out a gasp before saying, "Oh, shit. That's right. I remember hearing something like that! That his father was important!"

"You… heard? Yes, I imagine you did," Asuka with a slight awkwardness, not trying to sound insensitive or patronizing, but still unable to hide her amusement at the irony.

"You don't hear anything! You're gonna make people think we're weird if you keep talking like that!" Amelia signed to the girl.

"Yeah, yeah, its a figure of speech. I think they get what I mean," Ahni dismissively signed back.

While the Americans had somewhat had their fear eased and were now returning to a quirky normalcy, Shinji received a text. Almost certainly expecting it to be Rei, he pulled out his phone, in a rush to hear any news from her. However, it turned out that the text was from Toji. While he wasn't exactly disappointing, it didn't do anything to ease his impatience and anxiety.

"Hey, Shin-Man, is everything, okay? Is the angel dead? They've got us in lockdown at a shelter. The fighting sounds like it's died down and I'm really worried about something, so please tell me its safe for us to come out!" the text read.

"Yeah the angel's been dead for about an hour now. What's got you worried?" Shinji texted Toji back.

"Hey, is that Rei?" Asuka asked.

"No, it's Toji."

"Hmph, track boy," Asuka huffed with a slight smile.

In a matter of moments, Toji had responded with, "Is NERV hospital safe? Can we meet there? I'm only a few blocks from the lift."

"Yeah, the hospital is fine. The angel was above the surface the whole time. Why do you want to meet there?" Shinji texted the boy, though he already had an idea of his friend's reasoning.

"There's something I want you to see," was all Toji responded with.

While Shinji was eager for news from Rei, admittedly, catching up with Toji would probably help him calm his nerves and keep his composure. So he sent him a quick text back saying, "Yeah, I can meet you there. There's something I need to tell you anyways."

"Toji wants me to meet him at NERV Hospital. Do you want to come with me? Or would you rather take the Americans home?"

"Huh? Why the hospital? Did something happen to him?" Asuka asked, for once showing genuine concern for him, even if she never really got along well with Toji.

Shinji let out a slight chuckle, shaking his head before saying, "No. I don't think so. If I had to guess, I think this is about his sister."

"His sister? Hmm…" Asuka considered for a moment, "I don't want to drag the Americans all over the city. But… there's something I have to say to him if I can."

"Right," Shinji said, trying his best to smile.

"Hey, Amelia," Asuka said, grabbing the girl's attention, "Shinji and I need to stop by the hospital to check on a friend. Do you want to go home or come with us?"

Amelia looked surprised but quickly translated as best she could for Ahni to respond while also adding in a few words of her own.

"Uh, honestly, we don't really know our way around the city yet. So, we both agreed we'd prefer to stay with you if it's okay," Ahni shyly proclaimed, dearly hoping she wasn't being a burden to Asuka.

"Alright, come along then. The hospital isn't far. It's on a higher floor of the Geofront. So we'll be there in no time if we take the elevator."

/

-And Hell Followed With Them-

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Without A Compass, Wand'ring,

Lost In Lies Of Faith

Faith Slowly Wasting Away

Only Alive In Fighting

Death's Amber Embrace

Our Hearts Beat Loud, Unafraid

On Hands And Knees

We Pray To Gods We've Never Seen

Come Shadow, Come Follow Me

The Final Hour Upon Us,

No More Time To Breathe

A few minutes later, at NERV Hospital…

"Oh, I think that's him. That looks like his tracksuit and uh- Yep, that's definitely him," Asuka said as she spied Toji weaving between the people crowding the hallways leading to the hospital.

"Uh, sorry! My bad! E-Excuse me, miss! Sorry, sir, didn't mean to get in your way," Toji said as he darted between people with about as much light-footedness as you'd expect from someone who ran track.

"Toji?" Shinji said to the rapidly approaching young man.

"Shinji! Thanks for coming!"

"Yeah, no problem."

"And you too, Sohryu! Still on the mend?" he asked.

"Uh huh," Asuka boredly affirmed.

"Damn, Shinji. Ayanami texted me saying you took a beating. But damn, you got bruises all over your face, man."

"Uh, heheh, yeah. It's a long story," Shinji bashfully chuckled.

"Speaking of Ayanami, is she alright? Where is she?"

"She's back at HQ. She's fine, thankfully."

"And uh, who're those two behind you? Are they… who I think they are?" Toji questioned as he glanced past Shinji at Asuka to the two timid girls standing behind them.

"Yeah, they're the American pilots," Shinji said after glancing over his shoulder for a moment.

"Uh… Uh… H- Howdy-do!? B- Buenas tardes! G- G- Guten… evening? Uh, shit, I forgot how to say hi in Japanese!" Ahni stuttered out.

"She says hi," Asuka said.

"Uh, yeah, hey," Toji said before holding his hand out.

Ahni looked confused for a moment before finally reaching out herself and shaking Toji's hand before Amelia also followed suit.

"Mister Suzuhara! I implore you to wait!" a girl shouted from somewhere behind Toji.

In surprise, Toji spun around only to see Hikari also accompanied by Kensuke. Oddly enough, despite the usual warm weather, Hikari was wearing a large brown woolen coat while Kensuke was wearing his usual school uniform with a yellow tank top underneath.

"Hi- Hikari!? I mean, Class Rep and Kensuke? What're you doing here?" Toji asked.

"Me? Bro, we're friends. Where you go, I go," Kensuke said confidently, "And as for her…"

"No one said you could leave the shelter yet!" Hikari panted out in disciplinary manner before softening her voice and adding, "So, I just had to go after you to make sure you didn't get yourself into trouble. Little did I know how hard it would be to keep up with someone who runs track. And especially while wearing this coat."

"Why are you wearing that coat anyways?" Toji questioned as the girl finally caught up to him.

"Why, because it's could out of course. All thanks to that massive dust cloud blotting out the sun," Hikari said.

"Oh, whoops, that was my doing," Asuka said, rubbing her arm in slight embarrassment.

Before anyone could say anything else however, Hikari marched up to Toji and rather suddenly kissed him. Shinji and Asuka both curiously raised their eyebrows at the spectacle while Kensuke raised his camera. There was a flash and Kensuke began chuckling while Toji managed to pull away from Hikari if only slightly.

"Hey! You can't just go around taking pictures of people like that!" Toji shouted.

"Yeah? Why not!?" Kensuke said with a shit-eating grin.

"B- Because! It- It's an invasion of privacy!"

"Privacy!? We're in public!"

"It's illegal, okay!" Toji asserted.

"Sure it is," Kensuke chuckled.

"Hmmhmm! I think it's okay!" Hikari said sprightly as she clung to Toji's arm.

"You'll be thanking me for documenting this stuff in the future. Pictures are a great way to remember fond moments. Someday, after your love has blossomed, you'll look at this picture and realize how priceless it is!" Kensuke said rather certainly.

"After my- What!? I'll show you a fond moment!" Toji growled.

"Hikari! I remember you said you had a crush on him, but you didn't tell me you actually started dating him. When did this happen!?"

"D- Dating!?" Toji almost choked.

"Oh, goodness me! I don't remember saying such a thing," Hikari nervously exhaled as she fanned her face with her hand.

"You- You don't!? But- But I was right there! I explicitly remember you said you liked his compassionate side!" Asuka fervently proclaimed.

"C- Compassionate side!? I don't have a compassionate side!" Toji just about shouted, totally appalled.

"Oh, don't worry, Mister Suzuhara! I'm sure Asuka's just mistaken!" Hikari said with dismissively joyous confidence despite a wild blush still coloring her cheeks.

"Mista- I… Ergh… Okay, I think I see what's going on here," Asuka sighed in exasperation.

"For what it's worth, I think both of you would go well together," Shinji said, giving Toji a genuine smile.

Shinji's words caused Toji to glance at the girl still clinging to his arm before both Toji and Hikari both giggled nervously.

"Ah, those eyes, that hair, you two must be the American pilots!" Kensuke said, seemingly appearing from out of nowhere to photograph the American girls, taking both of them by surprise.

"Make sure you get my good side!" Ahni teased before striking a pose which consequently caused Amelia to nudge her with her elbow.

"If everyone's quite finished fooling around with photoshoots, how about we get on with business then?" Asuka suggested.

"Urgh, my bad!" Kensuke said, bashfully rubbing the back of his head.

"Right, I didn't mean to get so distracted with pleasantries," Toji apologized before heading off down one of the hospital corridors, "Follow me!"

Asuka looked at Shinji before shrugging as he smiled at her.

"Come on. Let's go," Shinji said, still grinning.

"Alright, Americans," Asuka sighed before following after Toji, "Don't fall behind."

/

A few minutes later, just outside a patient room at NERV Hospital…

"Just in here," Toji said before opening the door to the hospital room.

From inside the room could be heard a girlish gasp before a voice excitedly called out, "Toji!"

"Sakura!"Toji said in response before dashing to the bed and hugging the girl who rested on it.

"Sakura?" Hikari questioned as she to stepped into the room followed by Kensuke and the Eva pilots.

"Oh, right, I'd only intended to bring Shinji with me and I wanted it to be a surprise. I hadn't expect to bring you along and so I didn't mention why I was coming here," Toji said before smiling back at Sakura, "As you probably guessed, this is my little sister, Sakura."

"Oh, its nice to meet you, Sakura!" Hikari warmly said in greeting, "I'm Hikari Horaki and am the Class representative in your brother's… Uh, well, in his class."

"Nice to meet you too, miss," Sakura said.

"I'm sure you're probably already familiar with him, but the young man beside me is Kensuke Aida," Hikari said rather formally.

"Yeah, I know Kensuke. He comes in to help Toji with his homework."

"Morning, Sakura! Or I guess it's actually afternoon now," Kensuke said, raising his hand in greeting.

"As for these two-" Hikari started.

"I know who they are," Sakura said, "Toji talks about them all the time. The one with red hair is Asuka. Which means he must be Shinji."

"A- All the time? I don't talk about them all the time," Toji stammered.

"Uh… Hey, Sakura. I'm... sorry about putting you in this situation," Shinji said regretfully as he stepped forward.

"Hey man, enough about that!" Toji said before walking up to Shinji and casually putting his arm over his friend's shoulder.

"Like Toji said, I'm fine, Shinji. I don't blame you for what happened," Sakura said with a smile, "In fact, I'm actually being released today."

"R- Really!? Oh, well, that- That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Shinji said, giving the girl the warmest smile he could manage.

"I would have been free to go home a few hours ago. But we didn't expect an angel to show up today," Sakura said, shifting her gaze to the television in her room.

On it, the news was playing, showing a massive cloud of ash and dust drifting across the cityscape with an eerie red glow emanating from inside the billowing wall. No doubt the result of Asuka's earlier barrage of missiles. Despite the fact that the storm of dust hardly covered the entirety of the city, it still cast a pall over all of Tokyo-3. There was no telling how many people's houses or businesses were destroyed. A victory at great cost to the people residing in the now flattened city district, but a victory nonetheless and perhaps a necessary one.

"But now that Shinji and Asuka have taken care of the angel," Sakura continued, "I'm sure that I'll be able to leave, just as I'd planned."

"Oh, uh, that's quite flattering," Shinji said with a blush, "but I actually didn't do much this time around."

"Neither did I. And what I did contribute… Well, lets just say I'm not sure how to feel about it," Asuka said, still gazing at the television and seeing how much destruction she'd truly wrought, "Most of the thanks goes to Rei and these two."

Asuka gestured over her shoulder at the two American girls, both looking rather out of place still in their plugsuits.

"I was gonna ask about them. Are they the Americans the news channels have been mentioning?" Sakura questioned.

"They are indeed," Asuka confirmed.

"Hello there," Sakura said, warmly giving the girls a wave of the hand.

"O- Oh, K- Kon- Konnichiwa!" Ahni stuttered seeing the girl waving at her while Amelia simply waved back.

Noticing the small break in conversation, Asuka decided to take the opportunity to say what she felt she needed to say to Toji.

"Hey, track boy," Asuka said, grabbing Toji's attention, "You mind if you and I step out for a moment? There's… something I have to say to you."

Toji gave the girl a confused expression before nodding in silent agreement.

"Is anything wrong, Asuka?" Hikari asked as Toji and the redhead stepped outside the hospital room.

"Wrong? No. Just important," Asuka said with a smile before partially shutting the door behind her.

"So, what is it, Sohryu?" Toji asked in a low and quiet voice.

Unsure of how to break the news, Asuka stared down at the hospital floor for a moment.

"Hey, what's going on?" Toji asked again.

Asuka finally sighed before saying, "There's… something Shinji wants to tell you. But I'll leave that for him. But there were a couple things I wanted to say to you… That I want you to keep in mind when you step back into that room."

"Sohryu, is something the matter? The way you're talking..."

"Yeah… I guess there is. But that's beside the point. I… I just… Listen, I don't want to say this again, so please don't make me. I've never been good at thanking people, but I just wanted to say... thanks… for the other day… going to find Shinji for me."

"For… finding Shinji? Uh, I didn't really have anything to do with that. Rei actually sent us home," Toji said with a hint of regret.

"I know. And you did the right thing to listen to her. But if she hadn't told you to stay out of it, I know you'd have gone after Shinji. So… thanks. For trying to keep him safe and also for keeping me in bed. As much as I hate to admit it, you were right that I… probably shouldn't have been wondering around at the time."

Toji was speechless before Asuka's words. The girl had never spoken to him in such a manner and seeing this kind of gratitude from her was almost unheard of in his experience.

"Second of all," Asuka continued, "I… also wanted to say that I'm sorry for always giving you a hard time. Once again, I'm… really bad at saying sorry, so don't make me say this again. But, especially after the other day, I kind of… regret all the things I've said about you. I mean, I don't always agree with how you act but… you're hardly the worst person I've met. So, I'm sorry."

"Sohryu…"

"And… finally… I… I should have said this sooner. Hell, maybe you already figured it out. But even so, I want you to make sure you remember this when Shinji… says what he needs to say, which I'm not sure when he intends to, but I imagine it'll be soon... Shinji and I are dating."

"Wh- What!? S- Since when!?" Toji asked in a surprised harsh whisper.

"It… It's been about a week now."

"A- And what about Rei?"

"Rei's… Rei is uh… She's with us I guess is the best way to say it," Asuka said, trying not to become too flustered.

"Wait, you mean you're like a thing? All three of you!? Like… a threeway?"

"Yes, yes, Toji, we're all together! Please keep your voice down!"

"Agh, right. Its just this is so… so… I- I mean, I don't know what to say. Shinji? I mean, really? You're dating Shinji!? An- And Rei!?"

"Yes, I know! It sounds unbelievable. And that's why I want you to remember that when Shinji makes his announcement."

"I… I'm sorry, I'm just so speechless… You've changed, Sohryu."

"Yeah, well, hopefully its for the better. Listen, you can tell Kensuke too, later preferably, but try not to make a big deal about this as soon as we go back in, okay?"

"Uh… R- Right!" Toji said with an understanding nod of the head.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't keep your sister waiting. I'm guessing she's been cooped up here for awhile," Asuka said before beginning to walk past Toji and back into the hospital room.

However, before making her way back in, she paused, glancing at Toji again with a concerned look.

"Hmm?" Toji questioned.

"You know, there was one more thing…" Asuka said.

"Huh?"

"Hikari. Hikari likes you. Like… she really really likes you," Asuka said as she crossed her arms and leaned her back against the wall.

"L- Likes me?"

Asuka sighed in mild frustration before choosing to rephrase her sentence, "Geez, boys are so stupid sometimes. She's into you, Track boy. And you do have a compassionate side by the way."

"Huh!? Wha- What!? I- Into me!? For real!?"

"Yeah, why else do you think she brings you lunch and is always clinging to you?"

"I… I thought- She's the class president! I thought she was just being nice! You… You're really sure about that!?"

"Of course I am. So... try not to break her heart, okay?" Asuka said with a smile before steeping back into the hospital room.

Toji stood stunned for a moment. Asuka had concisely given him a rather large amount of information to process. Nevertheless, he followed Asuka back into the room, seeing Shinji speaking with Sakura and Kensuke seemingly crushing on, or at least, being entertained by the American pilots as he showed them some pictures he'd taken.

Noticing her bother had returned, Sakura quickly redirected her attention on him.

"Toji, do you think we could stop someplace on the way home and get some ice cream?" Sakura asked as she climbed out of her hospital bed.

"H- Hey! Just because you're being released today doesn't mean you shouldn't be taking it easy!" Toji said as he rushed to the girl's side putting his arm around her to help hold her up.

"Toji, you don't need to worry so much about me! I'm fine! I can walk," Sakura whined.

"Still though! You're still healing and even with physical therapy, you've still lost muscle mass from being in the hospital as long as you have," Toji said.

"You still haven't answered my question! Can we get ice cream?"

"Ergh," Toji sighed, "You shouldn't be eating that in your current state of health. But I guess since I don't know if dad's bringing food and it'll take me awhile to cook dinner if he doesn't, we can go get some."

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, jumping a few inches in the air.

"Hey, I just told you to be careful, didn't I?" Toji asked before entirely lifting Sakura off the ground and proceeding to carry her in his arm.

Stepping forward, he then asked Shinji, "So, what're you fixing to do? I guess I'm gonna take Sakura home. Its not like they're gonna start school back up today anyways."

"I think…" Shinji said before pausing for a moment, "I think I'm going to do some shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Yeah… I need to get some food that'll last for a few days."

"Why's that?" Toji asked.

Shinji looked over at Asuka. She looked uneasy but determined and gave him a small nod.

"We…" Shinji started, "…are leaving Tokyo-3. Permanently."

If Toji hadn't been holding Sakura, he would have taken a step back in surprise, swearing he'd misheard.

"You're… leaving?" Toji asked uncertainly.

"Yes…"

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"You said we," Toji pointed out, "I assume that also includes Rei and Asuka?"

"It does," Asuka added.

"Yeah," Shinji resumed, "It's probably obvious, but Asuka's seen better days."

Toji's eyes widened before glancing back at Asuka.

"You… You never told us what happened to you. Why's that bandage around your face. Does this have something to do with your head, Sohryu?"

"I… The last time I piloted the Eva, I lost my eye," Asuka sighed dismissively, hoping not to make things overly dramatic.

"Your… Your eye's really gone?" Hikari asked in a worried tone.

"Geez, Sohryu," Kensuke muttered.

"A few days ago," Shinji started again, "Rei and I learned that NERV had some way of controlling the Evas without a pilot. And, so, in light of what's happened to Asuka and what almost happened to Rei today, we've decided to leave."

"I… I see," Toji said.

"You're going?" Sakura asked, "I was kind of hoping we'd get to hang out some. I know we just met, but Toji always talks about how much fun he has with you and Kensuke. And I'm kind of sick being stuck in the hospital. So I thought we could all go out and do something."

"Heheh," Shinji chuckled in melancholy, "I'm sorry, Sakura. Maybe I'll try to come visit sometime. But right now, I need to get Asuka and Rei away from here. But once we've found a new home, then we can go do something fun together."

"Promise?" Sakura asked.

Somewhat taken aback by the girl's adamancy, Shinji remained in silence for a moment before responding with, "Yeah. I promise."

"So, when're you leaving?" Toji asked in a serious tone.

"I don't know yet," Shinji said, glancing back at Asuka, "As soon as possible depending on Rei and assuming Asuka's up for it. If I can, I'll leave tomorrow…"

"Well…" Toji said in a depressed manner, "I'll be sad to see you go… But I'll hope for the best."

"Thanks, Toji," Shinji said, giving his friend a bittersweet smile.

"Well, I guess I better be off. I'm sure Sakura will be glad to sleep in her own bed tonight and you… You sound like you have some preparations to make. I'll be seeing you, Shinji. Make sure to let us know when you leave. We'll see you off, okay."

"Of course. Thanks again. For everything, Toji."

"See yah, Shinji," Toji said with a smile before carrying Sakura out of the room with Kensuke and Hikari especially following close behind.

After a few more moments, Asuka finally came up behind Shinji, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"As soon as possible, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Has Rei texted you?"

"She did while you were talking with Toji. She said… she has good news. But that she didn't want to say what it was over text. She also told me that Doctor Akagi wanted to see me. So, I guess that should be next on our list of things to do."

"Well, I suppose we better be on our way too then."

/

-It's Too Much For Me To Stay-

/

A few minutes later, in Doctor Akagi's office…

"Doctor Akagi? You wanted to see me?" Shinji asked a he slowly stepped into the woman's office followed by Asuka and finally Amelia and Ahni.

Immediately upon entering, Shinji saw Ritsuko sitting at her desk while Rei sat on an adjacent chair, her legs trembling despite the girl trying to keep a stiff posture.

"Oh, you arrived sooner than I expected. But that's all the better for me. I am quite busy so I'll try to keep this concise," Ritsuko said, laying her glasses on her desk.

"Is everything alright with Rei?" Shinji asked.

"I'm fine," Rei confirmed.

"She was tired, so I had her sit down while we spoke," Ritsuko added, glancing at the girl before standing up from her desk and returning her attention to Shinji, "As for you… You three are lucky you're worth more than the trouble you cause."

Ritsuko, after coming close enough, shoved a few small cardboard boxes of medicine into Asuka's chest, taking the girl by surprise as she struggled to hold it all.

"Uh- H- Hey! What's this!? Why're you giving me this crap!?" Asuka whined.

"Because, like I said, you're troublemakers. You get up to mischief, some of which Rei has already told me about. So I figured I'd help you prepare for the journey ahead with a little extra preparation. It should spare you the need to go intro a drug store or go through the trouble of getting a prescription. For a little while at least… This should go without saying, but if someone asks where you got it, for the love of god, don't tell them you got it from me. Unlike Kaji and Misato, I don't go looking for trouble and am not practiced at lying. So I'd quite prefer it if I remain as uninvolved in your schemes as possible. Having said that though, I couldn't just send you on your way without doing at least a few small things for you first. I suppose it's the least we all owe you."

"Oh, hell no! You didn't just give me a bunch of pregnancy pills, did you!?"Asuka whined as she examined the boxes of medicine.

Ritsuko sighed, giving the girl an annoyed look before saying,"You know, you should really learn when to just say thanks. And, yes, I did. But that's not all there is. There's antibiotics and painkillers and such as well. It won't last forever. But hopefully it'll last long enough."

"So, Rei told you what we intend to do?" Shinji asked.

"She did," Ritsuko sighed again, "I can't say that I agree it's a good idea. But I don't know that I blame you either. Honestly, I don't know what to say to you. Should I hate you for abandoning us? Praise you for standing up for yourself? Thank you for all the times the three of you saved us? Or curse you for turning on us in our time of need? Am I proud of you or disappointed in you? Are you our saviors or our destroyers?"

"Doctor… Akagi…" Shinji said at a loss for any other words.

"I've always had trouble deciding whether I should follow my mind or my heart. Maybe it's not my place to comment when you've already decided what convictions you hold and what path you want to walk down. So go. Leave if that's what you want. Leave... before I can put my feelings into words."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Akagi. But it's too much for us to stay," Shinji said with a hint of regret.

"Yes," Ritsuko said in a wavering voice, "Yes, that it is."

Ritsuko then raised her arms and put them around Shinji, almost as if to hug him. But, instead of embracing him, Shinji felt the woman's hands brush against the back of his neck before a there was a small beeping sound and the choker around Shinji's neck was released. Ritsuko then took the necklace and put it into the pocket of her coat before then looking back at Shinji, narrowing her eyes sorrowfully.

"I release you from your duty," Ritsuko said, "Humanity's fate… is in our hands now. You're a free man now, Shinji Ikari, and are free to go where you please. Don't take this second chance for granted. Like I said, you're very lucky you're worth more trouble than you cause."

"What was that thing?" Shinji asked as he rubbed at his neck.

"It's probably better that you don't know. It won't matter soon enough anyways."

"So, we can go then? That's what you wanted me to stop by for? To take back that necklace thing?"

"Yes, it's NERV's burden to bear, and so it shall remain with NERV."

"What about Rei? We know she needs LCL. Is it okay for her to go?"

"Rei…. can go. I've given her the only advice that I can. I can't promise it'll be enough. But it's all that I could give her."

"If we are to go together," Rei started, "we shall have to remain near the ocean. That is what doctor Akagi told me."

"Then, that's what we'll do," Shinji said, nodding at the girl.

"In light of recent events," Asuka began, "We should leave as soon as possible. And that means you should go home and rest, Rei."

Asuka then stepped over to the girl and put her free hand on the girl's head, running her fingers through her soft strands of blue hair.

"Go home? But didn't you say we needed to prepare?" Rei questioned.

"Rei, in your case, resting will be preparing," Shinji said, also approaching the girl before lovingly grabbing her hand.

"Yeah, Rei. Shinji and I will get groceries. You should go home. You still look exhausted," Asuka confirmed before holding the boxes of medicine Ritsuko gave her out for Rei, "If you'd like to help, take these home and put them with the rest of the medicine. It'll allow me and Shinji to carry more food home. And, on top of that, I don't think the Americans would really want to go shopping right now. So it'll also help if you can lead them back to the apartment."

Rei tiredly took the medicine from Asuka's hand before shakily standing up from her seat.

"Okay. I understand. I will go home," the girl tiredly said.

Asuka then looked up at the American girls, both of whom had been rather quiet for awhile now.

"Hey, Amelia, Shinji and I have business to take care of. Rei will take you home. So stay by her and don't get lost."

Amelia nodded at the girl before signing the information over to Ahni who seemed at least a little disappointed at the idea she wouldn't be able to explore but accepted the fact that it was probably for the best that she went home.

Tiredly trudging towards the door, Rei exited the office with Asuka' arm around her waist and the Americans following behind. Being the last to leave, Shinji glanced back at Ritsuko who silently stood at the side of her desk, watching him with a furrowed brow.

"Don't make me regret helping you, Shinji," Ritsuko said sternly.

"I'll… try not to. Thank you," Shinji said before finally walking out of the office, hearing the woman sigh again just before he shut the door.

"Okay, Rei. Be safe. I'll see you in a little bit," Asuka said, seeing the girl off.

Rei nodded to Asuka before looking at Shinji, smiling, and then turning to leave NERV. Shinji watched the back of her head as she left before Asuka then also turned around to face him, walking over to him as he watched the girl go.

"So, where are we going to pick up our supplies?" Asuka asked.

"I had a place in mind…" Shinji said, "But there's something I have to do first."

"Shinji, I already know what you're going to say. And you already know my thoughts on the matter."

"I know… But I have to speak with him. If this is the last time I'm going to see him…"

"Shinji, you're going to get yourself thrown back into a cell! Don't do this!"

"Asuka, I have to. I… I don't even know what I want to say to him. But I want closure. The last time I spoke with him he just… Treated me like I was nothing. He just left. I'm not satisfied with that. I may never come to terms with him. But I need closure."

"It's…. really that important to you?" Asuka asked, averting her gaze towards the floor.

Shinji put his left hand on Asuka's shoulder and put his right hand under her chin, bringing her gaze back up.

"I need to know, Asuka. I need to know I'm making the right choice."

"I… I understand…"

"You don't have to come with me if it'll make you uncomfortable being around him."

"No… No, I'll come with you. Someone has to be there to make sure you don't get into trouble."

"Thanks, Asuka."

/

-This Love, This Hate, Is Burning Me Away-

/

"My mother was a high priestess, my father I knew not."- Sargon of Akkad

A few minutes later, just outside Gendo Ikari's office at NERV HQ…

"You can stay out here if you want," Shinji said.

"No, I said I'd come and I will," Asuka said, though even she didn't sound certain of herself.

Shinji took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before pressing the button next to the door.

After a moment, the spiteful voice of Gendo crackled through a speaker, "Why are you here?"

Not having been prepared, Shinji was unsure of how to respond and remained silent for a moment before finally mustering enough composure to say, "I… wanted to speak with you."

A few more moments passed in silence before the door unlocked and slid open, allowing Shinji and Asuka access to the massive dark office. Shinji stepped inside followed by Asuka, every footstep seeming to become more and more heavy as they echoed in the silence of Gendo's office. Eventually, the repetitive but tense sound became unnerving and Shinji stopped an arbitrary distance, about ten paces, away from Gendo's desk with Asuka's timid footfalls also silencing themselves as she stood behind and slightly off center from Shinji. She'd rarely been so close to the man and almost never spoke to him. And at the moment, she almost regretted following Shinji inside. There was an indescribable tension in the air that only grew worse the closer she got to the man.

"Why have you come?" Gendo asked again.

"I… I don't know yet," Shinji said, "I'm not sure what I hope to achieve by talking with you. I've never known how to talk to you. Not when mom was still around. Not now. Not ever. I may never know how to talk to you. But maybe that's why I wanted to have this conversation. That's why I came here today and I think that's why I came to this city in the first place."

Glaring at Shinji, Gendo said nothing, his fingers interwoven in front of his lips just as always.

"You're not the only one, Father. I've never known how to talk to anyone. Not you. Not aunt Mirai. Not uncle Itsuki. No one. I had no friends back in New Atsugi. When you invited me here to Tokyo-3 I… didn't know what to think. Not about you or the city. And I didn't have much reason to come. I strongly considered staying in New Atsugi. For weeks, it ate away at me. And at last, I decided I wasn't going to come and that I would cut off all contact with you. I was resolved to never speak with you again. But one night, aunt Mirai came to my room and asked me if I'd made a decision. I lied to her and told her that I hadn't. But in my heart I knew I wasn't going to come to Tokyo-3. But she didn't know that and so she… started talking about you."

Still Gendo said nothing and it seemed as though his glare had only become more irritated.

"It was one of the first times I really sat down and spoke with her. She started telling me about her childhood and all the things she remembered about you. She told me how you were always quiet. She told me about how grandfather and grandmother were too poor to afford a color television, so you and her were always sitting around the black and white one that grandfather bought. And she told me how excited she was when grandfather did finally save up for a color television and bought one. But look at you now, father. Surrounded by cutting edge technology. All these holographic screens both in the entry plugs and on the command bridge. It must be a far cry from what you grew up with… She also told me about how back when the seasons still existed, in the spring, you and her would go out and pick the fruit from a plum tree that grew near where you lived. And how you didn't seem to have any friends in school. She told me a lot of things. But I think that was one of the more important ones. But what really changed my mind, what made me decide to come to Tokyo-3, was that she said she regrets not spending more time with you, father. And I didn't want to have those same regrets. I didn't miss you the same way she does. She knew you but I didn't. Not really. But I think the sentiment was similar enough. I may not have missed you but I was missing something. And so I came. I came to Tokyo-3. I came here for you and I came here for me."

Gendo still refused to say anything, but he had at least removed his hand from in front of his face and now rested them on his desk instead.

"I immediately regretted the decision before even arriving in the city. I still remember riding the train here and having it stop just outside the city limits because of the angel. I remember wanting so badly to go back home. But I didn't. I came here for a reason. Even when I wanted to run away, something kept pulling me back. And at first, I didn't know what it was. This place didn't feel like home to me. And yet, though I had every opportunity to leave, I didn't. I couldn't. But eventually, I started to put it together exactly why it was that I couldn't leave. And it's because this place gave me something I never had before. It gave me something to care about. Whether is was cleaning up after Colonel Katsuragi or, I don't know, teaching Rei about new things, or learning about the rest of the world from Asuka. Even the bad things that happened began giving me reasons to care. I made friends. I learned how to connect with people. And its because of you, father, that I learned these things. And yet, despite that, I haven't grown any closer to you during my time in this city. And honestly, I don't know if I still want to."

"Then why are you here?" Gendo asked blandly, as though he didn't have any real interest in Shinji's answer.

"...I was thinking about what you told me the other day. About how I needed to count my blessings. About how I chose this responsibility and about how I chose to stay here. And I realized you were right. I do need to count my blessings. And I've started doing just that. I also remembered how, after I attacked NERV, you asked if I had anything to say to the people I attacked. At the time, no, I didn't have anything to say. And saying anything now is too late. But I am sorry. There was a woman the other day who confronted me. She said her name was Midori. I should have realized sooner that I was putting innocent people in harm's way, but I wasn't thinking clearly because I was too worried about Asuka. Even so, it was wrong of me to threaten people who had done nothing wrong. I could have handled the situation better. But what's in the past is in the past. I can't change what I've done. But I have made a decision to avoid putting people in harm's way."

"Get to the point," Gendo spat in a low hiss.

"The point is that I've acknowledged my mistakes and am going to try to do better in the future. But I've yet to see you do the same."

"My acknowledgment is not necessary," Gendo said.

"Do even you think you made a mistake?"

"No," was all Gendo answered with.

"Do you at least regret what you did to Asuka?"

"...No."

Shinji had tired to remain calm throughout this confrontation, but he couldn't help glaring at Gendo. Shinji knew however that if this conversation kept going, he was liable to loose his composure if he became any more impassioned. And remembering what Asuka had said earlier, he knew that now was probably the time to end the conversion. Escalating this exchange into a full blown fight, verbal or otherwise, would only spell bad news for his plans. And so, despite everything Shinji had wanted to say to Gendo, he would have to settle for simply getting in an ironic remark or two.

"I see," Shinji said, "Then… I hope for your sake, you learn to count your blessings too. And I hope you stand by your decisions."

At this, Gendo stood up from his desk before slowly and deliberately walking towards Shinji. And, once he was towering over him from only inches away, he glared down at him and said, "Get out of my office…"

Asuka, watching everything from a few feet behind Shinji, was completely unnerved. Despite the fact that most everything Shinji and Gendo had said had been civil, she could feel the frustration and rage both men had for each other and it was overwhelming. It reminded Asuka of the spitefulness hidden behind polite mannerisms her stepmother had constantly shown her over the years. The simmering darkness just beneath the surface. And now Asuka finally understood in a very real way why Shinji was at odds with his father and perhaps even why the men had turned out the way they had in the first place. The flood of bottled emotions seemed like it could burst from the container at any moment and she could have sworn that the men in front of her were about to come to blows. And yet, Shinji simply turned away from Gendo before taking Asuka by the hand and leading her out of the office.

"Your sister misses you, father," Shinji said with his back to the man, "You should call her. But I understand if you don't have time for her. You certainly never had time for me."

Asuka was sure that Gendo was probably not taking Shinji's words well, but she didn't dare look back at the man to confirm her suspicions and was beyond thankful as she heard the door to the office shut behind her and Shinji.

"Jesus Christ," Asuka sighed.

"What?" Shinji asked.

"N- Nothing. I just… didn't realize he was like that. I mean, you've told me about him. But… that's the first time I ever saw him in such an unfiltered way."

"Yeah, well, there's a reason I wasn't exactly eager to introduce you to him," Shinji said, holding Asuka's hand rather more tightly than he realized.

"Well… Did you get your answers then?"

"Yeah, I did... We're leaving."

/

-We're All To Blame-

/

Some time later, deep below NERV HQ…

With the knowledge that Shinji, Rei, and Asuka intended to leave Tokyo-3 behind along with the fact that the dummy system had continued to fail to activate in the Evangelions, Ritsuko found herself presented with few and still dwindling options for how to proceed.

Conflicted over keeping yet more secrets, Ritsuko had so far chosen not to inform Commander Ikari of what she'd learned. And yet, with the world at stake, she could hardly just stand by and let things take their course.

And so here she was, once more in the depth of NERV. And before her was a tank filled with the familiar sight of LCL. And, as one would have expected, inside said vat was Rei. Not the Rei from above who had chosen to flee, but the one from below that she had awoken only a few days ago.

The girl was nude and hooked up to a machine that, for many, would be difficult to describe. But Ritsuko knew this machine better than anyone for she had helped to design it. Operating on the same principles of synchronization with an Evangelion, the device was, in simple terms, a brainwashing machine. Or perhaps the opposite in that it was designed not wipe memories but to create them.

Rarely used as it was, it wasn't a miracle working device by any means. But, at the very least, it could be used to install a simple vocabulary and concepts in a subject. Not that this was useful in most cases, but when dealing with Ayanami series clones who were aged a number of years and had yet to become practiced in speech, the device was capable of at least jump-starting their linguistic development even if it was only enough to get them talking on a level equivalent to that of a preteen or less.

Staring inside the tank, Rei's eyes were shut and she seemed to have not noticed Ritsuko's arrival. Hoping not to startle the girl too badly, Ritsuko gently knocked on the glass, causing Rei to raise her head and open her eyes, though, beyond this, she didn't respond much. Doubtless still largely unaware of how to even react.

Ritsuko pulled out her NERV ID before swiping it through a card reader hooked up to the vat, causing the lid of the container to unlock. Ritsuko the climbed up a ladder in the side of the vat before opening the vat and reaching her hand into the LCL, grabbing Rei under her arm and pulling her up so that her head was above the LCL.

The girl soon began coughing the LCL out of her lungs while Ritsuko unfastened the headset that had been directly dumping information into the girl's brain. After, after the girl had calmed from her coughing fit, Ritsuko spoke to the girl hoping to judge if she could at least understand and communicate.

"Hello, can you… understand me?"

The girl blinked, her red eyes appearing more orange as the light in her vat shined up through the LCL beneath her.

"Uhb… Brgk," the girl stuttered.

"You understand me?" Ritsuko asked again, this time more slowly.

"Uhff, yehsh."

"I'll take that as a yes. Do you feel okay?"

"Okhay? Urh… yeh."

Despite the girl's slurred speech, for her first words, she was speaking remarkably well.

"Want to come out?" Ritsuko said, trying to keep her sentences short and simple.

"Mhnoh! Cwold!"

"You'll warm up once we get some clothes on you. Why don't you come out?"

"Clowths?"

"Yes, clothing."

"What clouth? That clouth?" Rei questioned as she grabbed at the fabric of Ritsuko's lab coat

"Yes those are my clothes. I have some that I brought for you. Will you come out? Please?"

"Pwease? Clouths?"

"Yes, I have clothes for you, but you need to come. They'll be cold if they get wet. You need to come out so you can get dry."

"Come out!"

"Yes, come out! Up, up! I'll help you," Ritsuko said before offering her hand to the girl.

The girl simply stared at Ritsuko's outstretched hand with blank red eyes before glancing back at the woman's face unsurely.

"Hewlph?"

"Yes, help. Hand. Give me your hand."

"Give hahnd?" Rei questioned, still sitting idly in the LCL.

Ritsuko placed her other hand on her already extended palm before once again saying, "Hand. Grab. Give me your hand."

The girl still looked confused for a moment before something seemed to click for her and she finally wrapped her tiny cold fingers around Ritsuko's arm.

"Good girl," Ritsuko said before pulling Rei up and out of the tank, standing her up on the platform.

"Good girl? I am good girl?" Rei asked, wobbling about uneasily on her legs as she couldn't help but begin to shiver in the cold and dark air.

"Yes, you are a good girl," Ritsuko reaffirmed, shaking her hand back and forth in an attempt to rid herself of as much LCL as she could before attempting to climb back down the metal ladder.

"I am girl?" Rei asked, her red eyes sparkling in the darkness.

"Yes, you are a girl."

"Girl…" Rei said ponderously.

Having dried her hands as much as she reasonably could manage, Ritsuko took a few steps down the ladder so that her eyes were roughly level with the lower ribs of Rei's chest. Seeing how much LCL dripped down the girl's skin, it had perhaps been a pointless endeavor to even attempt drying her hands in the first place.

"This will be slippery for you since you've been soaked head to toe. I'll help you down," Ritsuko said.

"Helpf down?"

"Yes, I'll help you so you don't hurt yourself. Sit," Ritsuko demanded.

"Sit…" Rei said as she dropped to her knees.

"Put your legs over the edge here. And don't kick me off."

"Lhegs?"

"Yes, legs. Give me your legs."

"Give leg?" Rei once again repeated.

Trying not become too frustrated with the girl, Ritsuko once again said, "Give me your legs," this time wrapping her fingers around the girl's left thigh, completely slick with LCL.

She then slightly tilted the girl back before pulling Rei's calf and feet out from under her and placing her foot on one of the rungs of the ladder.

Once again, Ritsuko said, "Give me your leg," and thankfully the girl seemed to catch on and put her other foot down upon the ladder.

"Cowld, cowld, cowld!" Rei whined as the warm flesh of her thighs and butt pressed against the metal, quickly sapping the heat from her blood and body.

"I know, I know," Ritsuko acknowledged before ordering the girl to, "Put your hands on my shoulders."

"Hands on showder?" Rei questioned, her shivering quickly becoming more intense.

Seeing the girl quickly descending into discomfort, Ritsuko once more took the girl by her hands and placed them on her shoulders for her before telling her to simply, "Grab."

This seemed to register in Rei's mind and she tightly clung to the fabric of Ritsuko's lab coat.

Finally, Ritsuko placed her both her hands around the girl's slick waist. The LCL glimmered in the dim orange light given off by the vat as it dripped down the girl's stomach and hips. Ritsuko knew that her grip on the girl was tenuous at best and she was still a good ten feet or so from the floor and didn't want to fall. It didn't help matters that Rei was now shivering so intensely that Ritsuko could feel the girl's muscles tensing under her skin.

"Okay, come slowly," Ritsuko said.

"Slow," Rei repeated as she finally began stepping down the ladder in toe with Ritsuko.

"Yes, that's right, carefully. Carefully now," Ritsuko said.

"Careful," Rei once more repeated.

After a few more tense moments stepping down the ladder, Ritsuko and Rei finally reached the floor none the worse for wear save for Rei's shivering, which had become even more intense.

Leaning over, Ritsuko picked up a towel she'd left on the floor upon arriving before handing it to Rei.

"Clouths?" Rei questioned as she stared blankly at the fabric laying across her arms.

"No, not clothes. Towel. Use it to dry yourself off. Then clothes,"

"Towll?" Rei questioned before looking up at Ritsuko, confusion plainly visible in her red eyes despite the darkness surrounding her.

Ritsuko sighed. Despite her brainwashing device working quite well, the effectiveness of it was limited based on the output subject it was drawing from. And there were not very many subjects that it could draw from, leaving it's ultimate capabilities unknown but its current operational ones rather less than necessary to imbue the input subject with enough knowledge to operate normally in a society. A limit of the metaphorical "software" rather than the "hardware." But one that Ritsuko would have to work with regardless using a more traditional and perhaps antiquated form of knowledge transference called "teaching."

Ritsuko grabbed the towel before placing it on the girl's head and beginning to dry her hair which earned her a few annoyed or perhaps surprised mumbles from the girl. She couldn't really tell the emotion whatever it was and, in all likelihood, Rei herself didn't know either.

After drying the girl's hair for a good twenty seconds or so she then moved down to the girl's shoulders and breasts once again causing her to let out a few confused sounds.

"Uhm… na- name?" Rei questioned.

"Name for what?" Ritsuko responded before moving down to the girl's midriff and thighs.

"M- My name?" Rei clarified.

"Your name is Rei Ayanami," Ritsuko said, drying off the girl's calves before standing back up.

"Rei… Ayanami?"

"Mhmm," Ritsuko confirmed with a nod.

"Y- Your name?"

"I'm Ritsuko Akagi," Ritsuko said before reaching into the pocket of her lab coat and pulling out a wad of clothing, "Here, these are all I could fit in my coat without drawing attention."

"What is… this?" Rei asked as she grabbed one of the pieces of fabric before holding it at different angles in front of her face in an attempt to examine it.

"Your clothing." Ritsuko said plainly.

"Oooh," Rei said as she examined the clothing further still.

Just a simple thin light blue nightgown that barely reached down to her thighs and a pair of yet again light blue panties. As Ritsuko mentioned, about all that her pockets could carry. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now, at least until Ritsuko could find time to bring more clothes down for the girl. But right now was not that time. Short on three Eva pilots, Ritsuko knew she needed to quickly find a way to make up for the loss which was partly why she had come down here in the first place.

"Do you need help putting that on?" Ritsuko asked, seeing the girl was apparently having trouble discerning what the articles of clothing were exactly.

"Uhm… y- yes," Rei answered.

Lifting the nightie from the girl's hands, she rather brusquely slipped it over the girl's head before then guiding her hands through. Then taking the panties from the girl's hands, she similarly slid them up the girl's legs.

"Who… Who is... that?" Rei asked as Ritsuko stood up.

Ritsuko followed the girl's gaze, though she really didn't need to. There was only one other entity in the room.

In a very similar vat to the one Ritsuko had just pulled Rei from, there was another girl, blue hair, red eyes, suspended in LCL that gave off an orange glow from the light in the tank. So still one could have mistaken her for dead except when her eyes moved to track the people outside of her vat.

"That is… Negative One," Ritsuko said, hoping not to confuse the girl by telling her that the girl she was looking at was also Rei Ayanami.

"One… Neg- Negative?" Rei asked as she approached the glass wall of the Vat, placing her hand on it.

The girl inside also raised her hand before placing it on the side of the glass opposite from Rei.

"Yes, Negative One," Ritsuko repeated, "She's not like you. She can only survive in there now. That's why you are named Rei... Zero."

"Zero?" Rei questioned, still looking at the girl floating in front of her, "What is... Zero? A number? Or a name?"

"It can be both," Ritsuko said, "Some people like to think of it as nothing. Worthless. Inconsequential. Something that can be sacrificed or obtained with no loss or benefit. But I prefer to think of it as... a new beginning. You can't count to one without zero."

"A new… beginning."

/

A few minutes later, just outside Asuka Shikinami's conditioning room…

Ritsuko was still worried about proceeding with this course of action, having Rei and Shikinami share a room. Any number of things could go wrong, especially with Shikinami's tendency towards violence and capacity for distrust. But Rei's ability to learn would likely stagnate without more exposure and there was a small chance that she may also help to mend Asuka. However things turned out, both girls would need to be able to function in the wider world if they were called on to pilot the Evangelions. And despite her reservations, Ritsuko deduced that this would, with luck, be the most expedient way to prepare them for life on the outside. As prepared as anyone who'd spent their entire life underground could be at any rate.

"Asuka?" Ritsuko called though the door.

No answer.

"It's just me, Doctor Akagi. I'm coming in now. I'm not going to hurt you unless you force me to. Please behave."

Letting out a stressed exhalation, Ritsuko swiped her card through a reader next to the door and it could be heard unlocking with a heavy metallic chugging as the bolts slid out of place.

Looking down at Rei, Ritsuko saw the girl seemed to have no fear and was instead rather curious. If Asuka did decide to get violent, Rei's curiosity might put her in danger if she wasn't prepared to flee or take defensive action.

"Stay behind me. Do you understand what I'm saying," Ritsuko asked the girl.

"Um, yes," Rei said.

Ritsuko then slowly pushed open the door to Shikinami's room before calling out "Asuka" again.

Ritsuko could hear a small gasp and the pattering of feet. The girl was obviously terrified. And, after stepping past the door, Ritsuko could see the girl shivering in the far corner of the room, her eyes wild and feral and her breath trembling.

"Are you doing okay?" Ritsuko asked.

"No!" Asuka hissed.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that," Ritsuko said shamefully before halfheartedly trying to smile at Asuka and saying, "I brought a friend for you."

Asuka immediately seemed to grow further on edge and her breathing sped up, assuming that the woman had invited some form of violence into her room.

"She's new around here," Ritsuko said as she stepped aside to reveal Rei, "I hope you'll get along. She won't hurt you, I promise."

Asuka's breath immediately hung in her throat and she starred intently at the girl paralyzed and stuck in a stupor. She wasn't like anyone she'd ever seen before. Her red eyes and blue hair stood out as unnatural but perhaps even more surprising to Asuka than that was her size. She was only a child, unlike nearly every other person she'd had the displeasure of meeting. Aside from herself, she'd never seen a child before except in movies.

Realizing she'd been holding her breath, Asuka finally exhaled slowly, her curiosity fighting with her fear.

"What… are you?" Asuka asked.

"I am… Rei Ayanami."

/

-Say Goodnight to The Shadow I Left Far Behind-

/

Some time later, at a grocery store in Tokyo-3…

"You think this will be enough?"Asuka asked, tiredly lugging a few bags of food at her side before taking a seat at a small bench inside the store.

"If we're conservative and ration it, I think it'll get us to the next city," Shinji confirmed.

"What even is the next city? Have you decided where we're going?"

"Not yet. But I've been thinking about heading south. So that would make Fuji the next destination."

"Fuji? You mean the mountain?" Asuka asked.

"No, no, Fuji the city, next to the mountain… and the river that's also Fuji."

"Right… Any other Fujis I should know about?"

"Uh, well, there's the Fuji train station which has an intercity connection to the New Tokaido Main line. There's the Fuji Central park also. Oh, and there's also Hotel Fuji. The Fuji Police station, the Kurasushi Fuji restaurant, the Fuji Marine Pool. There's… a lot Fuji in Fuji."

"Well, that's not at all confusing," Asuka said before rubbing her head, which had begun to start hurting again.

Having been in a hurry to arrive at NERV to defend against the angel, she had neglected to take any painkiller earlier in the day. And given that the day was now close to being over, she was really starting to feel the strain of her eye.

Noticing the girl seemed pained, Shinji set down his own grocery bags before sitting down next to Asuka and putting his hand on her back.

"Are you doing okay? Do you need me to carry anything for you?"

"No, all of our hands are pretty full at the moment," Asuka said.

"Do you think you'll be able to go if we leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I just didn't bring my medicine with my today."

"So, intending to go on a journey, are you?" a third feminine voice suddenly spoke.

Shinji and Asuka both looked over to their right just to see a woman leaning against a shelf. She had long black hair cut unevenly with one side slightly shorter than the other. As well as that, she also had milk-colored eyes, indicating she was perhaps blind. She seemed rather young, though her immediate pattern of speech sounded like that of someone a decade older or so. And, while the woman was unknown to Shinji, Asuka had an odd feeling like she'd seen her before.

"Who are you?" Shinji asked the woman.

"Ah, I usually avoid giving out my name, especially considering who I'm talking to. I tend to think you wouldn't believe me if I told you, even more so with recent events. But if you're asking what I do, I own this little shop. Inherited it from my mother after she died from cancer. Second impact prevented her from getting treatment for it. Though, even if she had been able to get treatment, there was no guarantee she'd have survived. My story is mostly irrelevant next to yours though, pilots of the evangelions."

"How- How do you know who we are? You're blind aren't you?" Shinji asked in astonishment.

"She can smell us, Shinji. The LCL. She can smell the LCL," Asuka pointed out.

"That I can," the woman said, "The scent of blood in my shop tends to draw my attention. The sight, not so much."

"I remember you," Asuka said.

"And I you," the woman said with a fond smile, finally turning to face Asuka and Shinji, looking right at them despite her lack of sight.

"You know her!?" Shinji asked Asuka.

"Yeah, I met her awhile back. Back when we had our cooking competition," Asuka said before returning her attention to the woman, "Though that doesn't answer why you're here now."

"Well, initially, it was simply curiosity. As I said, blood is a peculiar smell. But, upon following my nose, I ended up eventually being enthralled by my ears and what they were hearing. I gather you're leaving this place?"

"We are," Asuka confirmed.

The woman let out a soft chuckled before slowly walking up to the couple and saying with a smile, "Take it then. The food. You can have it. I'm sure you'll need your money for troubles on the road. So you don't have to pay for it."

"Wha- What!? Are you sure!?" Shinji asked in utter amazement at the woman's generosity.

"Are you for real right now!?" Asuka also asked.

"Yes, take it! Everyone's going through hard times. Everyone needs a helping hand," the woman said again.

Asuka and Shinji looked at each other. Asuka seemingly wanted to accept the food but had an obviously guilt ridden expression on her face while Shinji seemed more determined and inquisitive, as though looking for input from Asuka.

"It seems wrong to just take it," Asuka finally mumbled.

Shinji then put his hand on Asuka's shoulder before smiling at her and nodding. He then stood up and reached into his pocket to grab his wallet and pulled out a few bills to hand the woman.

"Here," Shinji said before awkwardly holding his hand out for the blind woman, "I can pay for all of it, so at least let us pay for half. Like you said, everyone's going through hard times, right?"

The woman seemed to pause for a moment, considering the proposal.

"Fine, but no more than half," the woman said before holding out her hand, allowing Shinji to place the money in her palm.

"Thanks, miss. We probably need to be on our way soon, so thanks for the help," Shinji said before stepping back over to Asuka and picking up his set of grocery bags.

"Oh, all right," Asuka said before standing up from the bench and also picking up her bags, "It'll probably be better to rest at home than in public anyways."

"Safe travels, all of you. And be safe," the woman said.

"Hey, one last thing," Asuka said, "I asked you the last time I met you, but you didn't say. What's your name?"

The woman gave Asuka a wry smile before saying, "Would you believe me if I told you its the same as yours?"

"Mine? You mean your name's Asuka?"

"That it is. Which is why I was somewhat reluctant to tell you the last time we met. Everyone knows your name but no one knows mine. Having only just met you at the time, I wasn't sure it would be appropriate. I also remember asking you back then if you would continue to defend our city. You told me you would and in response, I said that my name wouldn't matter so long as you remained here. But as you're now leaving, I suppose now would be the only time to tell you that I, too, am Asuka."

A smirk cross the redhead's face and she too chuckled before saying, "Well, well, that is a story."

"Did I not tell you all those weeks ago that there are plenty of stories waiting to be found down every aisle in this shop and down every alleyway in this city. You could spend your whole life learning and hardly learn a thing. Which is why… it's too soon for this to end."

"Hmph, yeah, I guess it is too soon," Sohryu said with a smirk.

"We should probably be heading home soon, Asuka," Shinji said to the girl.

"Yeah, you're right," Sohryu confirmed before saying farewell to the woman, "I'll see you around, miss. Or maybe I won't."

Asuka then turned to follow after Shinji before quietly asking him, "You gave her everything, right?"

"Every last yen," Shinji confirmed, "Which is probably why we should be on our way before she can get someone to count it for her."

/

Sometime later, just outside the Katsuragi residence…

Arriving home a short while after sunset, Shinji and Asuka saw that Misato was already home herself as evidenced by the presence of her car in the parking lot of the apartment. The woman almost certainly had paperwork to do after the angel attack earlier in the day. Nevertheless, she'd chosen to neglect her work, possibly to ensure Rei and the Americans were okay, or perhaps just as likely to have a chance to drink.

"Shinji, wait, before we go inside..." Asuka said only a few feet from the door to the apartment.

"Hmm?" Shinji asked, glancing at the girl.

"Have you decided yet? Where we're going to go?"

"I think so," the boy said.

"Where?" was all Asuka asked.

"...Ube," Shinji answered after a few moments of silence.

"...Right," Asuka said.

Shinji still wasn't entirely use to seeing the girl so deflated. Her red hair hung loose without her neural connectors clasped in it and the bandage wrapped over her eye only seemed to further dampen the girl's fire.

"Are you scared?" Shinji asked the girl.

"I don't know… Not any more than anything else I guess. I've never run away before. But I assume it can't be that bad."

"Are you second guessing," Shinji inquired further.

"No, I don't think so... But it's still intimidating."

Shinji leaned forward and gently kissed Asuka's cheek, hoping to restore her resolve. She then gave the boy a small smile before letting out a stressed sigh.

"We should probably tell the Americans after we get the groceries put inside," Asuka said.

Shinji nodded at the girl before opening the door to the apartment upon which he and Asuka were nearly instantly greeted by Misato calling out from the living room.

"Shinji, Asuka, is that you?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Shinji answered.

"Welcome home!" Misato called out yet again.

"It's good to be back," Shinji said as he and Asuka stepped out of the foyer and into the kitchen, setting their grocery bags on the counter-top.

There was a slight rustling next to Misato as Rei tiredly rubbed her eyes, apparently just having woken up.

"Oh, sorry, Rei. Did I wake you up?" Misato asked.

Rei gave the woman a shrug before demurely standing up from the couch and walking into the kitchen, sleepily swaying as she approached Asuka and Shinji and hugged them both.

"Are you okay, Rei?" Shinji asked the girl.

"Tired and hungry," Rei mumbled.

"I'll get dinner cooked in just a minute. Asuka wanted to go downstairs and talk with the Americans real fast to make sure they're okay. Do you want to come with us?"

"Mhmm," Rei confirmed with a drowsy nod.

/

-Burn My Shadow Away-

/

Sometime later, on the Moon, just outside Lunar Base Tabgha...

The silver-haired boy now known throughout NERV-07 as Kaworu Nagisa stood on the airless landscape of the moon. Nude, the light of the moon's surface seeming to make his skin glow, a dark wadding of cloth laid at his feet as he intently glared at the Earth overhead.

"It would seem the time has arrived," a voice said from seemingly out of nowhere.

Not even bothering to turn around to face the voice, the boy leaned over to pick up the dark fabric next to him before saying, "So it seems."

"So it goes," yet another voice said.

"Just as the prophecy foretold. It does make one wonder if the ancients, as all powerful beings, were possessed of insight beyond the knowledge of modern man. As a beast of his time, man lives in the moment. Could both of the fruits together truly be greater than the sum of their lesser parts? It does give me pause to think. Perhaps to even reconsider."

"'Tis almost doubtless," yet another voice joined in the conversation, "The Apocrypha explicitly described the fall of man. The sight of the end and the doom still fated to come as well as how the blessing of life and knowledge came about. But what the true extent of their abilities were is a question for another time. The thirteenth has come."

"The angel of might…"

Several monoliths then seemed to materialize around the boy, one after another.

"Tabris," one final voice arose before another stone appeared in front of the boy, a glowing red one emblazoned across it.

"Chairman Keel…" Kaworu said, now dressed in a loose black plugsuit.

"You are ready?"

"I am," the boy responded.

"Then show them," Keel said, an uncharacteristic excitement present in his voice, "Heheheh, show them! Rise, Tabris. Rise and show them that the fate of destruction is also the joy of rebirth! That to begin, we first must see the end! Ahahahah, all of creation, bent to my will!"

Kaworu then raised his hand over his head as if reaching for earth. Using his other hand, he pressed a button on the wrist of his plugsuit, causing it to pressurize. Furrowing his brow, he then recited a short line, a prayer of sorts.

"For the dreams of home, for the lives we're owed, for the voices of those lost and saved..."

/

-A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love-

/

Earlier, at Ahni & Amelia's residence...

Knock, knock, knock.

That was all it took to summon Amelia, the door opening and the girl appearing out from behind it after a few moments of silence. Upon seeing Asuka, Rei, and Shinji all standing outside her apartment with solemn expressions, she gave a confused tilt of the head to her now, and soon not to be, fellow Eva Pilots.

"Amelia, can you get Ahni?" Asuka asked, "There's… something I have to tell both of you."

Amelia could sense something was amiss but did as Asuka asked and quickly retreated back into her apartment to retrieve Ahni.

"I… don't know how to tell them," Asuka mumbled, "They're going to be disappointed."

"We're right here with you, Asuka," Shinji reassured the girl, "I'm sure they'll understand."

After a handful of seconds passed, seeming shorter than they actually were, Amelia returned with Ahni inquisitively following behind her.

"What is it? Is something wrong" Ahni asked, seeing the dour faces before her.

"I… I'm not sure how to say this," Asuka said in a depressed and nervous tone, "But, by now, you're both familiar with the fact I've lost my eye…"

Amelia began signing to Ahni while Asuka took a moment to breathe before continuing.

"There's… so much more to it than what I'm about to say. But, long story short, due to disagreements between us and the commander of NERV, as well as the actual harm inflicted on myself and the danger posed to both Rei and Shinji, all three of us have… decided to leave Tokyo-3. We're… running away."

Amelia's eyes widened as she stopped signing for a moment. Seeing this, Asuka cast her gaze to the ground before Amelia resumed translating for Ahni.

"You're… leaving?" Ahni asked.

"We are…"

Seeing Amelia confirm the girls words, Ahni could feel her chest tighten as anxiety clutched its fingers around her heart.

"But… You… You can't!"

Asuka pulled out her phone, hardly able to make eye contact with the girls. After a few moments, both of the girl's phones chimed as they received a text message that read, "We have to."

"N- No! I can't! I can't fight those things. We need you!" Ahni begged.

"You did a good job fighting today, Ahni. You and Amelia will be fine," Asuka texted the girls, "But I understand your fear. And that's exactly why we're leaving."

"But how can we fight those things on our own!? We almost died. Please, you can't leave, please!"

Asuka still found it difficult to meet the girls' eyes. Of course she felt guilty about leaving them behind. But she couldn't look back now. She just couldn't. If she didn't leave soon, she might never be able to.

"I'm sorry, Ahni, Amelia," Asuka said, Shinji and Rei also standing quietly behind her, their eyes also cast downwards, "Shinji and I are both restricted from piloting at the moment anyways. And I don't know if that's going to change any time soon. We wouldn't be much help."

With trembling hands, Amelia conveyed Asuka's apology to the deaf girl.

"I… I see you've made up your mind. I'm sorry. It was selfish of me to ask you to stay. It was just so sudden is all," Ahni sniffled, "I guess this means we can't be friends if you're leaving."

Asuka finally looked up from the ground, her lips slightly parting at the girl's words.

"You know…" Asuka started, "You could come with us. NERV can operate the Evas without us. You don't need to stay here if its too much for you."

"L- Leave…" Ahni said after Amelia had translated for her, "Come… with you? I… I don't know. Where are you even going?"

"Ube. Shinji thinks Ube would be the best choice."

After giving the girls Asuka's answer, Amelia also added, "I think we should stay here. Running away sounds like a bad idea. But on top of that, we signed up for this. We chose this. We've spent our whole lives working for this. The Evas are all we have."

Ahni's brow furrowed some as she nodded at Amelia, her timid and unsure expression slowly changing to one of acceptance if not resolution.

"I… don't think we can leave, Asuka. We have to stay. It's the right thing to do I think."

"What really is right and wrong?" Asuka texted the girls, "There is no good and bad. Just your side and theirs. Why not save yourselves? You think being a hero is all about being brave and killing villains? The battlefield is littered with would-be heroes, gone before their time. And at this rate, we'll all be next. There's more than one way to be a hero. But throwing your lives away for nothing isn't one of them. This world is beyond saving, like those who tried to save it. This world has had its fill of heroes... And you'd still choose to stay?"

"We… We would. There's… someone I looked up to. Someone I thought was a hero even if she wouldn't call herself one. Someone a world apart. And, though I didn't know her personally until now, I knew what she stood for. At least I thought. Someone who would stand proudly against all odds and... who never seemed to give up. That's how I pictured her in my head at any rate. I was beneath her notice for a long time of course, but when news of her deeds made the rounds, I was always eager to see what she'd achieved. I wanted to be just like her. She was my hero. She was who I aspired to be. Even when I was scared of the responsibility, I dreamed about being her. Meeting her. I make her sound like a figure from some old epic story I'd read when I was a little girl. Someone larger than life. But, she, like all people, is human too. And people only have so much they can take," Ahni said in a remarkably bittersweet voice for a deaf girl, "Amelia and I will stay because… someone has to. It's what we were born to do. You may be right that I don't know what a hero is. But there's only one way to find out for sure."

"Then best of luck to you," Asuka texted the girls again before turning to leave.

"Why are you really leaving?" Ahni asked the girl before she could leave, "It can't just be because of your eye. Surely you knew something like that might happen. There's another reason, isn't there?"

Asuka paused for a moment before sighing and pulling her phone back out, texting the Americans, "There is more to it than that. Its about love. And hate. It's about protecting the people I care about and leaving behind the ones who hurt me. Its about taking back the power."

"Well... be careful is all I can say I guess," Ahni said, "Its when you charge ahead heedless of the dangers that you end up losing the ones you love… Not that you need telling; I'll bet you've lost plenty. But I wonder… what'll it cost you this time?"

Immediately, Asuka was reminded of something Kaji had said to her only just the other day, to "remember one thing, Asuka. Whatever choice you make, keep your friends close. Rushing ahead and making foolish mistakes along the way, mistakes that were all too easily avoidable, is how you lose the ones you love. Trust me, I know from experience. And nothing is worth that."

"I guess like you said, there's only one way to find out," Asuka texted the girls again.

"When are you leaving?" Ahni asked.

"Tomorrow if we can," Asuka said before once again attempting to walk off with Shinji and Rei, fearing that talking any more would only risk her changing her mind.

"Wait, Asuka!" Ahni called out one last time after Amelia had translated for her, "I won't try to stop you, so I'll only say this; take care… on your journey of hate, power, and love."

.

*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*

.

"Well, there it is, the last chapter before the finale of act two. It sure has been a long time coming.

Of course, I, Misato, have arrived! Oh, you didn't think I'd abandon you now, did you? Of course you didn't. Unfortunately, I myself will be abandoned next chapter as Shinji, Rei, and Asuka finally make their departure from Tokyo-3. Tear-jerking goodbyes and fateful farewells await as all of Shinji's friends see him off into the sunset. But, where there is light, there is always shadow. And in those shadows lurks the most powerful and feared angel yet. Arriving just after our heroes are bound to set sail for the horizon, Ahni and Amelia are left to face this most fearsome of foes alone. With their backs against the wall, they are the only line of defense. The curtains rise for the main event. Lines are drawn, blood is spilled, and bonds are tested in this earthshattering clash between the Spirit of Humanity and the Light of the Divine. The next chapter, the finale of act two, Death Unto Dawn!

And I hate to break it to you, but if you were expecting fanservice in the middle of a giant fight for life between man and god, you have another thing coming."