Unravel

by Homer's Disciple

Shinji rejected Instrumentality, but he made so many mistakes. He has one last chance to set things right, to unravel everything and save what matters. A retelling or altering of the series, an altered version of Shinji with an altered past. Life takes a different path, but do all paths lead to the same destination? Is Shinji doomed to never know happiness?

23. The Fall

Hey guys, after a hiatus I am back.
Basically, I needed some extra cash got a job.
I am now a tutor, it's decent pay and helps one work on their fundamentals. Due to my tutoring schedule I may take a bit longer to update. BUT I will ALWAYS update.

Now with that out of the way. Chap 23 is long. It has character moments, but it more of driving plot chapter.
I hope you enjoy. I'm very nervous and excited about these chapters.
Special thanks to all the new readers. I'm floored by the surge in popularity, I am humbled by all of you readers :D

Here's chapter 23 'The Fall'
Maybe read in two sittings.

---

"When I was a young man, I used to wonder if I had made the right choice. I would look up at the stars at night and look for my Eva. Look for my mother and ask her what I should do.

Three years of hard work and my family and I had managed to carve out a piece of civilization in the ruins of our city. No... that's not true. We helped in the beginning but the adults are ones whom made it all work. They all started coming back in droves.

First it was around 300 people but more and more kept returning. Entering this broken world and struggling just to survive like everyone else.

'The Boss' came back and organized all of us, making the system in which we lived. He wasn't perfect but at least he tried.

Funny, the adults were the ones who got the community up and running. Fitting that they were the ones whom ruined it in the end.

Cities are relics of the old world. A melting pot of hundreds upon hundreds of people. They rely on infrastructure and supplies from elsewhere being fed in to survive. Take that away and things eventually fall apart. Food starts to run low with too many mouths to fed.

My family and I hadn't been a part of what went wrong. We were just bystanders in the end of it, those were hard days. Rei saw it first... and then one day it was just too late. Such a waste"

-the broken man.

---

Memories of the Other Shinji
Three years after Third Impact

The vast expanse of space
Far from Earth, the Moon, and the Sun.

The marvel of mankind's boldness and technology floated through the emptiness, unscathed even after all this time. Never a simple machine as many had believed it to be, but 'alive' with a soul sheathed inside.

Eva Unit 01 flew through space observing from a distance. Everlasting and eternal, proof of mankind's existence til the end of days and beyond.

Yui Ikari hummed to herself in the dark, the stars shinning bright and keeping her company. So much power within her new form.

Spear of Longinus in hand, the Evangelion lived on past the meaningless concerns of the human race and the planet of their birth. Beyond the concerns of Earth.

The Evangelion lived on, directionless and drifting somewhere in the dark among the stars, the closest humanity had ever come to reaching immortality. Humming in vastness of space.

…

Shinji Ikari stirred in his sleep.

He lay flat on his back, muttering in his sleep. Eyes flickering back and further underneath his closed eyelids, seeing the visions that no one else could.

Scars of Instrumentality that haunted him even now.

The sound of a woman's humming in his ear. Flashes of mankind flooding through in a blur. Memories that were not his, sorrow and pain, joy and glimmers of hope, disgust, hatred, anger, love, Shinji felt them all.

So much... too much.

The image of a figured shrouded in the dark, reaching out to him.

"Who are you?"

The images changed, the shadows fading in a flash as images came rushing in. Scenes that had already come to past, the sins of his failures set in stone. Misato dying as she sent him on his way to the Eva, only he'd been too late to save anyone. Flashes of his father shooting Ritsuko in the chest.

A lone figure engulfed in a sea of dark waters. Immobile and undying...

Flashes of another place. Far beyond, where an Evangelion drifting through the space between planets.

Shinji woke with heavy tired eyes, another night gone by with little sleep. It took its toll on him, but he had no right to complain when everyone was struggling to make ends meet. Everyone had their problems in the broken world, why would he be any different?

He ran a hand along his face in frustration. What good was it to dwell on such things? There was only pain and failure behind him. Yet the dreams came to him anyway.

The young man rose from his bed, he was getting too tall for the old thing now, he'd have to go scavenge a longer one soon, and he aimlessly left his room.

In only his night clothes, a simple shirt and boxers, he headed for the apartment balcony. Careful not to wake his family on his walk. The balcony was where he allowed himself to breathe, a chance to relieve his burdens.

Stepping outside and breathing the night air, he glanced up at the morning sky.

It had finally stopped snowing a few months back. Still unnaturally cold, with ice that seem to liter the streets and windows, traces of winter that still had not faded.

He was getting used to the cold now, and he blinked with soft haggard eyes at the sight of the rising sun in the horizon. Shinji was relieved that he'd gotten at least five hours of sleep.

Below the tiny balcony was the ever struggling piece of humanity that had come back from the Third Impact. No longer that puny collection of 300 people but rather a whole new community that had started to stretch out beyond the city block.

Someone had done a count, and the record was a little over a thousand two hundred people. 1200 survivors eking out a living in the ruins of their city. So much had changed since Shinji had first come back with Asuka and Rei.

All this was his doing. He glanced down seeing the street mostly empty, save for a few stragglers here and there heading home. No one stayed out too late and no one stayed out too early in the morning, rules from the Boss.

Someone below waved at him, the movement catching his eye, and Shinji frowned seeing that older woman whom always spoke to him after a scavenging in the inner city.

He waved back, leaning on the balcony rails. The kind old lady waved back and he noticed a few other survivors milling about on the grounds below, heading for some assigned duty or other, or else on their way to their homes.

Shinji and his family where 'known' by the community, or at least the little block of it where they lived, as the girls and him were probably the youngest people on the planet. Shinji Ikari, the boy whom lived with two girls in that apartment above.

The kids that survived for over a year on their own in the broken world.

Shinji watched the older woman continue on her way, no doubt heading to speak with the plumbers about the problems with the pipes again, before turning back inside himself.

He halted on his way in.

Shinji felt his eyes soften and he turned to look at the skies above. The stars had mostly faded with the rising sun, but a few lingered here and there. Directionless and drifting.

"Mother. Are up there watching?" Shinji whispered aloud.

He stared pleadingly up at the stars and found no answer. He could see a distant speck of light drifting directionless above... and he felt it in his bones. Eva Unit 01 was up there, drifting. His mother was up there.

Hey mom. I'm 17 years old now. It hasn't always been easy down here. But I survived with Asuka and Rei. I wish I could talk to you. I wish for a lot of things. We made a community but sometimes it just feels like... I don't know.

Oh mom...

Did I make the right choice? All these people came back but I- it's so hard out here. And the nightmares still haven't stopped. Why am I still haunted by my failings? Will the visions ever stop? Do I even have the right to be happy at all? He thought.

Shinji stared pleadingly at the skies waiting for an answer. Looking out into the expanse of the stars and wondering if she was looking down at him.

The answer was only silence.

Shinji hung his head low, and headed back inside. Somehow, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore so he went about his day anyway.

---

"You're up early again"

Shinji looked up from the boiling pot to see Rei watching him from the kitchen entrance.

Rei had gotten taller, oddly the both them stayed at the same height throughout all these years, and she'd kept her hair short and tucked back. Easier for her blend in when she wore her baseball cap. Her face had started to fill out, her skin frame developing as she neared adulthood.

Shinji had gotten dressed without taking a bath, no need to waste water on a bath everyday, and had started making breakfast for them after failing to fall asleep for an hour or two.

"I'm fine" he said, offering a soft tired smile at the pale skinned girl watching him.

He turned back to the food. Not much but enough for the three of them for now, the Boss assigned him and the girls more food than the others. If Shinji was honest with himself it was still strange being 'allowed' a set amount of food, but the Boss was the boss and he made the rules.

Rei frowning, her arms crossed as she looked him over. That was strange, but pleasant in its own way, the little things she'd learned. The tiny gestures and movements that reflected her humanity.

Asuka yawned, entering the kitchen wearing her stolen pair of pajamas, and blinking sleepily at the both of them. The German girl was now an inch taller than both Shinji and Rei, with longer red hair she let down in the early mornings.

"He lying again?" Asuka yawned at Rei.

"I'm not lying. I'm fine-" Shinji began.

"Shinji is lying again" Rei interrupted softly.

He stopped cooking and sighed. Turning to the two women standing in the doorway to the kitchen, both of them eying him and calling him on his bs. It was almost impossible to hide anything from each other when they all lived together.

Asuka and Rei shared a glance, then Asuka sighed barging her way into the kitchen and shooing him aside.

"Hey I can still-" Shinji stammered.

"I'm not a completely useless in the kitchen. Move" Asuka said shoving him softly.

"Don't make too much. Boss says we have to ration out-"

"The Boss can shove it. I'm making breakfast for you and wondergirl so enjoy it." Asuka interrupted, moving her hand in a nagging motion at his words.

Shinji moved aside even as Asuka took his place in the kitchen.

Rei was tugging at his sleeve so he'd move. Shinji felt his face grow warm, all the things they'd started to do for him when his nightmares came. Letting him take it easy... well easier. He sat at the breakfast table with Rei even as Asuka took over his job and made them breakfast.

---

Ruins of Tokyo-03
Inner city, former military base of the JSSDF

Shigeru Aoba grunted as he and the others made their way inside.

Breaking into this place had been unusual to say the least. Him and the ten man team, all wearing stitched and sowed together jackets and cloaks, had managed to cut down the old fence and step inside. Scavengers through and through.

The JSSDF had been a large organization, the military force under the Japanese Ministry of Defense had been well funded with a large support network as well as bases throughout the country.

Tokyo-03 only had three bases in the city... but with the Third Impact only one was still reasonably intact. The base closest to Nerv had been destroyed along with the Nerv HQ and the Geofront, and another on the outskirts had collapsed onto itself with the rooms and buildings inaccessible.

Leaving the one Aoba and the others had broken into.

The place was abandoned just like every other building had been, but the military had apparently 'locked up' after leaivng for their assult three years ago. It felt strange to walking the halls where the men had tried to kill him had once lived. But Aoba shook his nerves aside.

"This is all they have. Whatever else was taken with the platoon when they assaulted Nerv. The military boys kept a tight record on their toys." the leader of the scavenging group, a tall man in his forties said.

"And food" another group member said.

"What else did they leave behind?" Aoba asked peering through the various doors.

Aoba got his hopes up only to be dashed away as he checked the garage only to find the lot empty. The JSSDF had gone all out on their assault against Nerv. Every. Single. Vehicle had been taken. All of them ashes along with the rest of the Geofront now.

Of course. Everything has to be hard Aoba thought with a shake of his head and a scowl. He turned and trailed after his follow scavengers, stepping inside the military base's storage rooms.

"Need to start counting. It's gonna take multiple trips to get all this back home" someone was saying.

Aoba walked further inside the storage rooms, moving alongside two other scavengers as they eyed up the aisles of military rations. This food wouldn't last forever, but it would last a hell of a lot longer than what they normally found.

Beyond that there's always the canned food. After awhile it'll make you sick but you 'can' eat it Aoba thought.

Something caught Aoba's ear. A bit of commotion from the team leader, an order that Aoba hadn't known about until now. From the sound of it, no one had known except for their team leader.

"Boss wants these guns. Grab ammo too" the team leader called as he passed Aoba, and walked further along the storage aisles.

Aoba frowned. He didn't like the sound of that, but the Boss was the boss. There was a reason the community had lasted as long as it had.

He glanced around seeing the others start grabbing the weapons and ammo crates, he shouldn't shake the feeling that wasn't the going to end well.

---

The community inside the ruins of Tokyo-03
The Hub

"Alright, check everything in. Everything gets put into storage. Everyone gets a fair share." an old man was saying to the incoming scavengers. The man acting as one of the several 'storage officers' at the row of kiosks set up as check in for any scavengers.

The scavengers passed by dropping off their finds at the tables set aside for it in the chilly cold morning. Other adults going through and figuring out ways to store the food up in their homemade refrigerators and shacks, packing up medicine nearing its expiration date, or else other goods. All of thanks to the Boss and his engineering crew.

Across the street from the group of scavengers checking,, an odd eyed man was cooking something over a fire. With a sign propped up claiming, 'fresh rat. Will trade meat for valuables/foods'.

The streets between the apartments that had first been settled had sorta just filled in and become the hub for people's business as the months and years went on. The center for community business.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei pushed passed the small mob of people milling about in the street.

Back when the others had started to return, Shinji and the girls had helped the survivors settle into the empty apartments. But as more and more people came back, there hadn't been enough room and so people had started taking other buildings and settling them too.

On and on the little piece of civilization stretched, block after block, extending even beyond the Nerv Apartment Complex now. All the survivors that Shinji had brought back nestled together for one reason or another at the hub.

A little over a thousand people.

Still not used to this. I brought them all back... but there's so many people now. Shinji thought even as he made his way through.

Rei stayed close, her distinctive blue white hair hidden under her baseball cap, and avoiding people's gaze as she moved with Shinji and Asuka.

"Aoba!" Asuka called as they made their way past the crowd.

The man still wore his faded Nerv jacket, and he turned to them as they approached. Apparently he'd just gotten out of checking in with his team, and he waved at them in greeting.

"Find anything good?" Shinji asked trying to mask how tired he felt. Rei had told him to lay down but he'd refused saying that he would do his part just like everyone else. Yet anyone who got close enough could see the shadows under his eyes, the lack of sleep sometimes caught up to him.

Aoba definitely noticed, glancing at Shinji's eyes and forced 'cheery' expression. Thankfully, the man didn't bring it up.

"Hmm. That's how you say 'hi'? Damn boy, even Ritsuko started with a 'morning'." Aoba said making an effort to keep the mood light.

Things weren't so bad actually, the cold was still there but the snow was gone and apart from the icy winds nothing was freezing over again. A month before had been pretty bad, and now that things were starting to look up finally, people were decidedly choosing to stay on the bright side of things.

"As if. You were too busy checking out Misato to notice us back in the day." Asuka said but the taunt was without her usual mirth.

The pilots and Aoba hadn't exactly been friends back during their Nerv days, but they were each some of the last connections to old their lives. For both sides, and shared memories were a rarity in this new world.

"Jeez. Can't let an old man have some fun" Aoba said without missing a beat.

"You're like thirty. That's not-" Shinji began.

"Shinji, Mr. Aoba is twenty nine" Rei cut in. Shinji chuckled softly, glancing back at her. Rei had a habit of correcting people and though some would have found it annoying, he understood that she was trying to help.

Aoba raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.

"Twenty nine, yeah. Now come on, did you find anything? We're not scheduled to go out until next week" Shinji said rolling his tired eyes. He was never great with banter, except for maybe his roommates, but Aoba seemed to enjoy their growing annoyance.

The former Nerv employee held up his hands in mock surrender, pushing aside his long hair as the wind blew.

"Raided a JSSDF base. Lots of long term supplies, military rations, but that won't last forever either. Now, the greenhouse are where it's at" Aoba said after a moment.

Asuka rolled her eyes. All the adults kept going on and on about the stupid greenhouse, she wanted to shake them by the shoulders and say 'congratulations you figured out how to farm, well done'.

"Any chance we'll get more rations then. We're running things a bit tight." Shinji said awkwardly.

Aoba shrugged, of course he didn't know.

Rei was watching them, seeming content to watch Shinji and Asuka speak with a familiar face. She noticed some of nervous glances that came her way, and she stepped aside so Asuka's body hid her from the crowd.

"Hey guys... can I come over later. There's something I want to talk about to you about." Aoba said, rubbing his hands together nervously as he did so.

Asuka and Rei exchanged looks with Shinji. A wordless conversation between the three pilots.

"Did something happen? Is it important?" Asuka asked glancing at the nervous movement of Aoba's hands.

"No, no" Aoba said a little too quickly.

The former Nerv man shook his head and spoke in a low voice saying "I have an idea and I wanted to run it by you three."

"Okay. Uh, yeah. Sure... if it's alright with you two" Shinji said glancing back at the girls.

Asuka and Rei were about to respond when something caught all their attention.

Yelling, and frantic movement from up ahead in the crowd of people in the hub. It took Shinji a second to realize that storage officers were yelling at someone and another figure was running.

"Hey! Stop right there!" a voice called.

Aoba turned just as Shinji started walking over to see what the commotion was.

"Hey!"

"Whoa!"

People cried out as they were pushed aside, a young man in his twenties running through the crowd clinging to a bundle in his arms.

"Thief! Thief! Stop! You don't get to take what you want!" one of the storage guys was shouting as people started to take notice.

The adults in the crowd began murmuring and many stepped back not wanting to be caught up in the 'chase', the confusion and movements of the swarm of people separating Shinji from the girls and Aoba.

Someone stole food? What the hell? We're supposed to- Shinji thought moments before the people in front of him parted in panic.

The adults, a collection of men and women in ruffled slightly dirty clothes, parted as the thief ran forward pushing his way out.

Only they hadn't seen Shinji standing behind the group and so instead of making it out towards the 'open' street, the thief ran headlong into Shinji.

"Ah!" Shinji groaned as he and the man almost ten years his senior tumbled to the ground.

The bundle of supplies came spilling forth onto the eroded pavement.

Shinji started to get up, noticing that people were stepping back as the thief was struggling frantically to his feet. The crowd seemed fearful of the thief and they spread out forming a circle of confused people that boxed Shinji and the thief inside.

"Hey! Move aside! We gotta work together! No hoarding!" a storage officer shouted, trying to push his way through the crowd.

Shinji groaned, getting to his feet and dusting off his pants. He glanced around at the thief that had ran into him scrambling to grab his supplies, the man looking for a way out.

Where would he go? There's only the community? Shinji thought.

"Hey, you have to give that back. I know it's hard but-" Shinji started to say, trying to calm down and act like an adult. Then he realized that most of the adults just stood there not knowing what to do and he groaned inwardly.

A hand reached in from the crowd, an man in a plumber's uniform trying to grab the thief, only for the thief to swing a punch his way.

The plumber swerved back and fell into the crowd once again.

"Back off! It's not fair! I do my part in the greenhouse! I go out scavenging with the others! Why does the boss get to tell me how much food I get?! Screw you! All of you! No one put you charge!" the man screamed as he finally realized that he was corned in by the crowd along with Shinji.

There was a tentative moment where the crowd watched the man as he pivoted back and forth arms raised like he wanted to fight. The thief trying to keep everyone at a distance despite having no where to go.

"Shinji. Shinji! Where are you?! What happened?" Rei's voice called out. The girl's voice muffled by the confusion of the crowd gathered around them.

"Over here!" Shinji called back.

"We're coming! Why did you do now?!" Asuka's muffled voice came out.

I didn't do anything. Asuka... sigh Shinji thought.

"Back off!" the thief shouted trying to scoop down and grab his stolen community supplies, but having to shove someone off.

At least the adults decided to help Shinji thought.

"Hey. Just calm down. We'll get more food, we always do. It's hard for everyone but you can't go stealing... uh stealing-" Shinji said before losing his footing at the glare the thief sent his way.

"The hell you say?!" The thief yelled at him, shoving Shinji back and sending the teenager stumbling back again.

"Hey! Back off! He's a kid!" one of the storage officers said, pushing his way into the 'box' amid the crowd where Shinji and the thief stood.

Teenager Shinji thought with a small flicker of annoyance. But he let it go, there was no time to worry about stupid things like being called a kid.

Shinji watched as the thief paced back and forth with wild eyes, the uncertainty and fear in them as the crowd seemed torn. Some adults wanted to help, wanted to rush in and grab the thief, while others seemed hesitant to step in. The result was that everyone was stuck with no where to go.

The thief unable to run and Shinji trying to ease his way back out and regroup with the girls, but unable to. Everyone was too frozen in the scene. So very... very nervous about the future. Lost in a broken world. It was surprising to see in the grown ups, but they were people too.

"You're the pilot boy from the news! Angel Killer! Didn't you say this is all your fault?! You're the one who brought us back to this!" the thief shouted glaring at Shinji.

I know. I made this world and brought all of you back... I- he thought before shaking his head.

"I did... I brought us back. I didn't-" Shinji stammered.

"And you get more food than us. Why the hell do you get more food than us!" the man shouted, reaching forward and ripping Shinji's supply bag free.

The bag tore and its contents spilled free. A variety of canned foods assigned to him by the storage officers, a small amount of medicine that was nearing it's expiration date, and a bar of soap. More than double with the frantic man had been assigned before he'd tried to steal more supplies for himself, taking away from the community stockpiles. Shinji's supplies laid bare for everyone to see.

"Back off!" the storage officer whom had ran into the crowd shouted. The thief being forced back as he was almost grabbed.

The elderly woman whom was kind to Shinji and the girls, stepped forward putting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. She seemed to think she was his grandmother or something, always beaming up at him or else asking how he and the girls were doing.

"The boy lives with his friends. Young man, those supplies are for three of them." the elder woman said.

That was something that he still hadn't gotten used to. Some of the elderly people in this little society they'd put together treated him like he was special. Looking out for him and Asuka and Rei, making sure the three of them were eating enough and sometimes trying to donate their assigned food to them instead. It was a kindness that Shinji felt he didn't deserve.

Don't get involved lady. He's angry and he might hurt someone Shinji thought. Glad someone had tried to help but worried about the kind lady all the same.

"Let us through! Hey, move!" Asuka's voice sounded off. Rei following close behind as the two girls forced their through the crowd of onlookers.

"And there she is! The witch!" the frantic thief yelled just as Asuka and Rei emerged onto the scene. The girls shoving their way into the 'box' with Shinji and the storage guy.

Rei froze as all eyes turned to her. The crowd actually stepping back as Rei emerged onto the scene, baseball cap having fallen in all the commotion, leaving her short white hair plain for everyone to see.

"Leave her alone" Shinji said stepping forward and unintentionally slipping free of the elderly woman's reassuring grasp.

The storage guy whom had chased after the thief, stepped forward making to grab the man before things got out of hand again.

It didn't work, the thief shoved back shouting "don't you touch me!"

Everyone was stunned. Nothing like this had happened in all this time post Third Impact. In the early days of the community, everyone had been too busy working on getting the power and water back on, at least marginally so, and no one had time to process their grief.

Some had come back as early as three months ago. Emerging onto a world without their loved ones, where everyone had seemingly agreed to form a community in the ruins of their old city. Where they were forced to work together and share everything by adding their goods to the stockpiles.

A world where the Boss and his men made the rules. Where everyone was 'assigned' rations depending on household size, age, and what people contributed. Seemed fair enough, but not always.

"Get off me!" the thief shouted, pushing another onlooker back.

Shinji watched in horror as the thief turned to point at Rei and shouted.

"And to make shit worse we're living with this thing in our back yard! Don't you remember the little girl that killed us! Now we're giving her food! Our food! What the hell is wrong with you people?!" the thief shouted.

"That wasn't her!" Shinji said stepping forward angrily.

The thief punched him in the face.

Shinji couldn't say exactly how it had happened. One moment he'd been charging over to defend Rei and tell this idiot to be quiet and give back the food he'd stolen from the community, the next second Shinji was falling with blood on his lips.

Then he was tackled to the ground, hard. A fist slamming into him.

"It's all your fault! Everything is!" the thief shouted attacking Shinji again and again.

Shinji tried to fight back, but he was 17 and his attacker had almost ten years on him. He'd never been particularly strong, never really a fighter only an Eva pilot, and as he tried to punch back it was useless.

Asuka shouted and Rei moved, her eyes wide, as she ran for them and shoved the thief off of him. Using all her weight behind it, Rei forced him off of Shinji.

Shinji stumbled up, grabbing Rei by the hand to pull her back, he'd never meant to drag her into a fight. A fight that they'd probably lose.

Asuka was at his side, fists up and ready for anything.

Before the attacker could move again, Asuka rushed and slammed her fists in his face. Hard. Surprising how strong a 17 year angry girl could be.

The thief fell to the floor again, lips busted from the hit.

Some of the adults in the crowd, finally deciding to act, got involved calling out that the thief was an 'asshole'. Shouts of 'he just hit a kid!' and 'leave them alone!'

BANG

---

The gunshot cleared the air like a roar of thunder.

Everyone stopped, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, the crowd of onlookers, the storage guys, and the thief. Everyone froze at the sound of a gunshot ringing through the ruins of Tokyo-03.

An actual gun that had been fired.

The Boss had arrived.

Aoba was watching from the sidelines, having rushed over to see what was going on and whom had attacked Shinji, and he cursed at the sight that met his eyes.

A group of men dressed in military gear with faded JSSDF insignia pushed the crowd apart, parting the onlookers in a sea of movement as a single man in his early forties strode over.

Gun in hand, the Boss walked through the crowd and stopped just as he and his armed soldiers surrounded the thief.

Now the center of attention, the military man looked over the scene. Glaring down at the terrified thief, glossing over Shinji and the girls, before turning to the crowd with a stern look.

"No fights. No riots or protest. Everyone contributes." the Boss said sternly.

Former JSSDF battalion commander, Lieutenant colonel Hashi, now known by many as simply... 'the Boss'.

Boss wore his old military fatigues today, seeming to make something of a statement, as he stepped onto the scene.

"It's not fair... you don't get to take my finds. I scavenged it. I did! I did-" the thief started to stammer. The man's eyes glued to the gun in Boss's hand.

Japan's history with guns were an odd thing, long before all this, even before the Second Impact, before the Angels and the Evas, guns had been outlawed throughout the country, only the military allowed access to them. And the military relaying heavily on the UN for support instead of actively deploying.

That changed after Second Impact came, and the UN underwent massive restructuring with the result being the Japan was forced to revamp their military. The JSSDF taking a more active role in the global stage with the UN.

Hearing a gun fired still sent shock waves of fear and uncertainty through everyone's mind. Even now after the Third Impact, it would take a while for people to snap out of it.

The Boss knew this.

"You stole from the community." Boss said sternly, glaring down the thief as all the fight left him.

"I-"

"No. We have enough problems just surviving out here. Lot of mouths to feed. Take him away, we'll figure out what to do with him later" Boss said, gesturing to his group of armed men. Soldiers that had come back months and months ago along with the other adults.

The 'police' for lack of a better term.

Shinji watched the whole thing in silence. Watched as the former JSSDF grabbed the thief and hauled the struggling man away. And he suddenly realized that the 'police' all had rifles. Where had they gotten guns? When everyone had started coming back they hadn't had any... whatever had brought the soldiers back hadn't restored their gear. So where?

What are we going to do? Do we have to make a jail now? What then? I... when did this get so complicated. We were just trying to make a living out here Shinji thought darkly.

"Alright! Nothing to see here. Everyone please get back to business." Boss said, his rough military voice seeming to demand authority as the crowd started to disburse in murmurs.

Rei tugged on his arm and Shinji was hauled to his feet as Asuka turned to check on him. Aoba was making his way through the disbursing crowd to them.

"Third Child, should have known you'd be involved in this. What happened?" Boss said turning to loom over the three teenagers.

Asuka scowled at the man.

...

Shinji explained things as best he could, the thief running into him by pure chance, the confused crowd that formed a box aroundthem with no where to go. And the 'fight' that had broken out.

Throughout it all, the Boss listened calmly. His face unreadable as he nodded occasionally, seeming to fit pieces of the story together that even Shinji didn't know. Two men in military gear and rifles lingered beside the Boss through it all. 'Body guards' it seemed. When had this happened?

"Stupid man made me waste a bullet" the Boss commented once Shinji was done. The man glancing at his handgun with a look of minor annoyance.

Before any of them could add anything to that, the Boss turned back to them and spoke.

"You kids seem to make trouble wherever you go."

"Hey! It's not our fault!" Asuka started but the Boss shook his head at her. Shinji and Rei grabbed her by the arms to calm down. There was a lot of tension between Asuka and the remnants of the JSSDF.

"Do yourself a favor kids, try to lay low. Lot of people don't understand. Most of the survivors who came back weren't soldiers, they weren't part of Nerv, or whatever the hell you claim started all this mess.-"

"SEELE" Shinji interrupted.

He'd told the truth to the Boss so many times now that it seemed like it wasn't even worth the effort to correct the old man anymore. No, Nerv hadn't been trying to end the world. That was SEELE, and they'd had used the JSSDF as their puppet to stop Gendo's madness and to unsure they won.

Obviously, everyone lost in the end. Shinji hadn't even been able to save anyone. All he'd done was make a choice that brought them here.

"Right. SEELE, the people who really ran the old world and were the bosses of my bosses. Sure, whatever kid." Boss said, voice more annoyed than anything else.

The soldier in him never really believed Shinji and that would probably wouldn't change.

"It's true" Asuka said coldly, crossing her arms as she did so.

Asuka! Stop it... you'll only make it worse Shinji thought.

The Boss turned to the German girl staring at her with contempt.

"As for you Second Child, you're lucky we let you stay here. Stop trying to pick a fight." the Boss said.

Shinji tugged on Asuka's arm tighter, stopping the rebuke that was threatening to come bursting out. The Boss had been commanding the assault on Nerv when Asuka had piloted Eva Unit 02 and fought them off.

Boss had lost a lot of soldiers that day, and Asuka had actually died. Shinji was worried that inevitably something would go down between those two... but Boss was an adult and he had seemed to 'get' the situation despite his attitude.

All of civilization was a little over a thousand people, and they needed all the able bodies they could get just to support the community they'd carved out for themselves. Shinji and the girls didn't rank highly in the society that the Boss had led them into. The man didn't exactly trust them either.

Cold and commanding, he organized the adults with the necessary skills to make all this. People would have died with him taking charge... but still don't like him Shinji thought bitterly.

Finally, the Boss turned to Rei, looking the pale girl up and down. Shinji flinched, fear creeping down his neck as he noticed the twitch on the Boss's pistol grip. The man's fingers dangerously close to the trigger.

"And you... First Child. Save everyone the trouble and keep your head down. Stay. In. Doors." Boss said sternly, pointing his finger at her with the last of his words.

Rei stared at him unblinkingly.

"I understand" Rei said in barely a whisper.

"No." Shinji said stepping forward. In the split second he did so, one of the armed soldiers shifted. The guard ready in case Shinji tried anything. A ludicrous thought as Shinji knew he was only a 17 year old boy and the JSSDF were grown men and trained soldiers.

"No?" Boss said raising an eyebrow at Shinji.

"You don't get to punish Rei. Leave her alone-" Shinji started before Rei yanked him back.

"I will lay low. I promise" Rei said flatly, tilting her head as if bowing.

The Boss didn't reply. He simply turned on his heel and left with his soldiers. Leaving Shinji scowling in the hub with Asuka and Rei at his side, Aoba approaching them with a disapproving look on his face.

"Aoba. Keep those kids in line" Boss barked in greeting as he passed by.

"Yes sir" Aoba lied without missing a beat. Asuka glaring at him as he did so. Shinji only watching their 'leader' walk off with his men in disbelief.

When it was just the four of them again, Aoba put a hand on Shinji's shoulder. The last remnants of Nerv and the Eva pilots alone in a new world.

"Calm down. Let's get you guys home. Need to treat your face before the ghost of Misato comes back to haunt me" Aoba said.

---

The Apartments

"Ick" Shinji grunted.

"Stop moving" Rei said, her hands working gently on his face with the medicine and bandages. Deep frown planted on her face and sadly doing her best to patch him up.

"Yeah. It's your fault for getting involved. Stupid Shinji, should have stayed out of it" Asuka was saying from across the breakfast table.

"The guy ran into me..." Shinji mumbled under his breath.

He winced as Rei applied more of the medicine to his bruised face, her hands soft and gentle as she started to apply a bandage here and there.

Aoba stood back, leaning against the kitchen wall, and watching the black eye that was beginning to well up on Shinji's face. Part of him felt guilty for not helping earlier, but the crowd had been in the way and people were afraid of the thief when the man had started throwing punches.

Shinji winced just as Rei was finishing up. He had a few cuts and bruises but he'd be okay. It was nothing compared to what Eva piloting had been like.

"Thanks Rei" he said gently.

Rei smiled softly at him, her hand lingering on his bruised face before she let him go.

Asuka rose from the table, and turning towards Aoba, she said "alright. What do we owe you?"

Aoba shook his head saying "nothing. You kids got enough problems-"

"It's alright. If I hadn't gotten involved this wouldn't have happened. We should have some extra supplies around here somewhere." Shinji said.

"There's some leftover meat from yesterday. I'll grab it" Asuka said heading for the pantry.

Aoba shook his head saying "guys, stop."

"It is only fair. Food traded for medicine. It is not breaking the rules" Rei said softly, staying beside Shinji on the table and watching over him. The words went unsaid but everyone was thinking it.

The Boss can't stop it. It's our assigned supplies, we can do what we want with it.

Technically, bartering wasn't illegal. If there even was such a thing as 'legal' in this world now. And Aoba had given them some of his own medicine after everything that happened. He might not have been the nicest guy back at Nerv, but he liked to think he a was good guy underneath it all.

"Just take it. We're even now" Asuka said, shoving the boxed up meat into Aoba's hands before he could protest.

Still the same. Just has to get her way. Sigh, Asuka is still Asuka. Aoba thought with a small chuckle. Forced to accept the payment for the meds he'd given the kids.

"For what its worth, I thought you took things pretty well." Aoba said stepping forward to take a seat on the table across from Shinji and Rei.

Shinji laughed sadly, gesturing at the bruises on his face. "I just got beat up. I'm not a fighter. Never was. Eva piloting is different."

"Pshh. You just lay there getting beat up. Seriously Shinji, you gotta learn to fight back" Asuka said scowling at Shinji, but more at the fact that he got hurt than anything else.

"I thought he did the right thing. Boss would have taken him too if he'd fought back" Rei said.

Asuka rolled her eyes saying "oh stop holding his hand already."

Rei only tilted her head playfully at her.

Jeez, always has to back Shinji up. Supporting him with everything Asuka thought mildly annoyed with those two. The quirks one developed after living together for a long time.

Rei smiled, and Aoba was so shocked he almost fell out of his seat. He'd never seen that girl smile at anything.

"You are welcome to hold his hand too Asuka" Rei said still smiling at Asuka.

"I already punched the guy who hit him. What more do you what?" Asuka said crossing her arms, but smirking slightly as the memory that played back in her mind. The stupid thief stumbling back in awe at the fact that she'd punched him. Shinji was her idiot, and no one messed with him.

"Guys, you've done enough. It's cool. Really. It is." Shinji said awkwardly. The boy getting between the girls and their banter.

Wow. They really are... like a family Aoba thought. Glancing between the three teenagers he could see the subtle tugs and flows in their relationships, the coy teasing they gave each other as well as the genuine support they lent to one other.

Aoba was brought out of his thoughts as Shinji turned to him, bandages forgotten for now, saying "what did you want to talk about?"

"I uh... I had an idea. But I have some questions first" Aoba said, clearing his throat as he spoke.

"We don't know anything else. Been over this a thousand times, Shinji doesn't know why you all came back so late. Rei wasn't that thing that killed you and the others. No, wondergirl isn't a monster. Deal with it" Asuka said with a tired sigh.

Aoba nodded. Honestly, it had taken a few weeks for him to even be in the same room as Rei. The memory of the haunting little Rei's chasing him to his death lingered, and it unnerved him to see the girl sitting across him so calm and collected.

Regardless, he waved away the usual questions and continued.

"I know. There's a lot of things we don't understand about the impact. Why the weather is so unnatural. Three years of winter? And why did all the plants die? If it weren't for the green house... humph. Either way, I have a theory" Aoba said slowly.

"A theory" Shinji said awkwardly, trying not to sound skeptical.

"I'm scientist remember" Aoba said allowing himself a small lopsided smirk.

A scientist with no equipment. No data or staff. Not even a lab Aoba thought before pushing that aside too.

"I think the earth's orbit was changed. Only thing I can think of that explains it. Prolonged winter is strange... but it's not consistent with itself. There hasn't been snow for months now. And the cold winds are dying down. I think we'll eventually reach a period of spring and even summer again... one day" Aoba said clearly have put a lot of thought into this.

"And how long would that take? Another two years?" Asuka said with an annoyed groan.

No weather satellites to work with. No data to model and make predictions off of. All I have is a guess Aoba thought darkly.

"Truly, we can't know. Months? Maybe another year from now. But the cold winds are dying down. And I'm curious." Aoba said folding his hands under his chin, deep in thought.

Shinji and the girls exchanged looks.

"You three were the first ones to comes back. So you know more than I do." Aoba said with a shrug.

"Not really" Shinji said sorry to disappoint Aoba.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Give yourself more credit Shinji." Aoba said glancing over all three of them and the apartment, the place those three kids had survived on their own for over a year.

Before Aoba continued "when you came you said everything was dead. All the plants and trees. Ashes in the air from the battles at Nerv and the sea contaminated with whatever the red stuff is. And all of you just took what you needed from the city. Just like we're still doing" Aoba said more thinking aloud.

"But?" Asuka asked with a frown.

"Do you know what's out there. Past the city or the ashes of the Geofront?" Aoba asked.

Shinji shook his head feeling a chill run down his spine.

"No. Nothing grows around the Geofront anymore, like the place just died, and... and everything past the city is just empty." Shinji said rubbing the back of his neck.

"It seemed unwise to venture that far. We don't know what's out there" Rei said softly

Aoba nodded saying "are you sure? Shinji... you saw everything first hand. And I know you see things in your sleep. People talk, alright. What happened to the rest of the world?"

Shinji looked away, eyes downcast. So people know about my nightmares. Figures. He thought bitterly.

"I don't know" he said in barely a whisper.

"You were there when it happened. Try to remember, what did you see?" Aoba asked.

Shinji closed his eyes, lips trembling as he brought up the old memories again.

Images of what he saw in his dreams. The end of Third Impact.

…

Shinji remembering screaming as he and his Eva drifted in orbit over the Earth. The unnerving sight of all the souls Lilith had gathered, floating pillars of light hovering from all over the planet... and when the Angel had died she let them loose again. To come back or not to.

The process emerging as an eerie series of flashes across the entire world. Explosions that rippled across the continents laying waste to buildings, the land itself, and leaving Angel blood falling into the ocean.

Remembered seeing the scars on the planet itself as he drifted among the stars with his mother... before he'd woken to find himself on that small stretch of land. Where he'd sat there all alone for days on end, with nothing but the clothes on his back and regret over all the people that had died. He hadn't handled it well. Not until Asuka had came back.

...

"Shinji" Rei said softly in his ear.

He opened his eyes to find Rei hovering beside, her hand on his and watching him with concerned eyes. Shinji swallowed, shuddering as he realized that he'd started to tremble in his seat from the memories. He hadn't realized that his hands were shaking until he stopped.

Asuka was glaring at Aoba like he'd personally hurt Shinji.

"It's okay" Shinji said before something happened.

He wiped the sweat from his brow, and breathed. It took him a moment to calm down, the memories weren't pleasant.

"Aoba it was everywhere. Whatever happened... it hit the whole world. Not just gathering the souls but- but whatever scarred the land. Like Second Impact but different. I really think we might be all that's left" Shinji said darkly, shaking his head and unable to meet anyone's gaze.

Aoba sighed, and got to his feet realizing he'd made Shinji do something he didn't like.

"I don't know about. It's a big country, could be others somewhere. Thank you Shinji. I know that it wasn't easy to remember. That's all I was curious about." the man said.

"Why did you want to know?" Shinji asked suddenly. Feeling more sweet on his forehead.

Aoba paused at that, before seeming to decide he'd tell the truth.

"I'm curious." the man said with a shrug.

Rei blinked at him and Asuka shifted in her seat.

"One day... I think I want to see what's out there. An expedition maybe" Aoba said slowly, allowing himself a grin at the look they gave him.

"You're crazy" Asuka laughed.

"Maybe. Mute point by now, Boss has us all focused on the here and now." Aoba said with a shrug.

"It's dangerous, Aoba. I don't know if I like the Boss but he keeps things going." Shinji said, reaching a hand up to find his nose had started bleeding. Just a few drops, but the sight unnerved him. Remembering those last moments of Third Impact was hard.

Aoba noticed it and frowned, feeling guilty more than anything else for that.

"I know, Shinji. There's a reason I work with him and his men." Aoba said. He reached a hand across and Shinji shook it.

They were going to invite Aoba for dinner but he calmly refused, saying that Boss had a job for him and the others tomorrow. The former Nerv man didn't stay long after that. He said his goodbyes and polity left them to their apartment.

Shinji was grateful for that. He knew that man was still a scientist at heart, and he'd traded them the medicine but his mental scars were unpleasant and the less time he dwelt on them the better.

---

Days later
Greenhouse 4

The greenhouses were big, they had to be, with so many people having come back. As if a small park had been enclosed in a 'dome' and its soil twisted and turned to grow crops.

Working shifts in the one of the dozen or so greenhouses was something of a mixed bag for Shinji. On one hand it involved less traveling out through the ruins of the city, looking for anything that was still there after 3 long years of looting.

On the other hand, farming meant he could sleep in and work later, but farming was boring tedious work where he spent the shift being ordered around. They either tried to coddled him or else gave him the most physically demanding jobs, it depended on who was in charge that day and that depended on the Boss's schedule.

All in all, it wasn't so bad most days. Asuka hated it but Rei didn't seem to mind. And with the Boss 'ordering' Rei to lay low it was actually the better choice. With everyone busy tending to the plants people didn't have much time to chat, unlike the scavengers whom spent most of their time traveling the ruins on foot.

"College degree. Eva pilot. Prodigy" Asuka was muttering under her breath.

Shinji only shook his head stiffing his laughter as he dug the shovel into the ground again. Digging where the manager told him to dig whilst Rei trailed closely behind to help.

"Farmer" Rei whispered in response to Asuka's list.

Asuka scowled.

Shinji and Rei laughed quietly under their breath. She'd kept her hair short again, with her hood up and a scarf wrapped around neck. Hiding her unusual features and laying low just as Boss had ordered.

He was still angry at the Boss for that but it was just another reality they had to face, some survivors were terrified of Rei.

Human nature Shinji supposed, but what could he do? He could be there for Rei, that's what he could do. So they stayed close whenever they went out to work or else mill about, in rhythm.

Sometimes Rei liked to hum to herself as she worked, a strange new habit that'd developed over time. And Shinji found he rather enjoyed it. It was soothing.

He liked working with Rei. He found a calmness there that kept his more melancholy thoughts away.

Still, he had something he'd been meaning to say to her.

"I'm sorry about the other day." Shinji said suddenly, taking the moment to stop his work and look at her.

Actually look at Rei. He tried to do that whenever he spoke with her these days. So many avoided her gaze so Shinji made it a point to meet it head on, to make sure she understood what he didn't have words to explain.

Rei looked up at him, holding his gaze with a perplexed look.

"For what?" Rei asked tilting her head at him.

"For the crowd. The thief. Rei... I know it can be hard... people are afraid" Shinji said letting the words out with a heavy sigh. He could still remember the way people had called his friend 'witch' that day. He remember the very first day all the other had started coming back, many running at the sight of his longtime friend.

It made him uneasy and Shinji was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Rei's touch until it had happened.

Rei surprised him. Reaching a hand out to cup his face softly.

"You're the one who was hurt. Not me." she said frowning and running a hand down his bruises.

Hands could be such expressive things. Rei's were still soft and gentle despite the edges that had began to wear away at their hands in this harsh world. Her fingers were warm and Shinji felt himself surprised at the intimacy.

He hadn't know Rei was capable of such displays. It made him smile, seeing how far she'd come.

Shinji slowly pushed Rei's fingers away, feeling his face protest the sudden lack of intimacy, as he shook his head.

"Doesn't hurt anymore. It's not so bad" he said truthfully.

"I know they are scared. They a reason to be-" Rei began.

"Rei stop it. They're wrong-"

"Shinji." Rei said stopping his sudden outburst.

He stood frozen as he realized that she'd put a hand on his shoulder. Rei may have been quiet but when she had something to say he would listen.

"I remember what happened the day. The end of the world. I saw it just like you did, but from the other side. People saw images of me hunting them as their souls were taken." Rei said, her voice low and haunting. Guilt ridden the way his had sounded so many years ago.

Yet she never looked away, never cast her gaze aside, never lost in her thoughts. Not anymore. In her way Rei was stronger than him... he loved that about her.

"I cannot change what they saw. All I... all I do is move forward" Rei said seeming to think about that for a long time.

Asuka was watching the two of them with a raised eyebrow. If they kept this up someone would notice they'd stopped working.

"How do you do that? Just... keep going" Shinji said shaking his head in awe.

"I don't know exactly... these days can be hard but we are together. Always. I am happy that I am here with you. I really am." Rei told him.

Then she smiled at him. Her face seeming to brighten in stark contrast to her pale skin, a joy he'd never seen before reaching her eyes in its own subtle way. A gentle warmth that no one else ever saw.

A memory flashed through his mind, that day more than three years ago when they were only kids forced to pilot the Evas. When Rei had protected him from the Angel's laser attack, using her Eva as a living shield to cover him. Shinji remembered rushing to her freed entry plug, burning his hands as he stepped in, and Rei's smile that day.

"Uh I'm happy that you're here too" Shinji said awkwardly. Managing an nervous but sincere smile at her in turn.

It's like they forgot I'm here too. Sigh... freaking lovebirds Asuka thought with annoyed groan.

Shinji glanced her way managing to awkwardly recover. "And you too Asuka. We're both glad you're here too" the boy said with a small laugh.

Better be Asuka thought with a small smirk as she nodded coyly.

"Yes. You have become much nicer over the years Asuka." Rei said with a soft grin, not quite the smile reserved only for Shinji, but a human moment all the same.

"You two are never going to let that go. I can be nice" Asuka said crossing her arms at their teasing.

"If you say so" Rei counted with a teasing tilt of the head. Only she could make a head tilt a tease it seemed.

Before the banter could continue, someone finally noticed they had stopped working and the moment was ruined. In Asuka's mind, it was because every adult's mission in life was to take away their fun.

"Hey! No time for games. Back to work" the manager called. A somewhat 'stocky', well as much as one could be in a world with limited supplies, man shaking his head at the three of them. Boss had put him in charge of greenhouse 4 and that meant he had to keep people working.

"Yeah. Yeah." Shinji answered back mildly annoyed.

The three fell in line, working with the others in this little piece of artificial farmland the adults had put together.

When their shift was over, Shinji and his family left without saying goodbye. Making there way to over to nearby patio of a ruined restaurant a few blocks away. The three of them had a habit of eating there after their shifts.

Rei pulling out the food they'd prepared earlier, and handing them their plates. None of them mentioned it but things had started to change lately.

There were two soldiers in military gear in the greenhouse today. They hadn't talked to anyone and mostly stayed out of the way, but their presence loomed over them. Armed men tended to attract attention.

And no one knew what the Boss had done with the thief after all.

---

Greenhouse 4 wasn't the only place they saw changes.

Boss had started equipping his old soldiers with their gear after months of focusing solely on construction and maintaining the community with 'skilled civilians'.

Shinji couldn't say exactly when it had started. Only that it was suddenly there.

The hub had men with rifles and military gear stationed throughout. Mostly former JSSDF themselves, but a select few others that been given the faded uniforms. They kept a watch over things, forming a looming presence over the place as they lingered near the storage officers.

Soldiers patrolling the stockpiles so blatantly that even the storage guys found them unsettling.

And the strange thing was the rations. The assignment food handed up to the survivor depending on age, and group size per house. They were cutting down.

"What's this?" Asuka asked one day while they were in line. The hub much quieter these days with the soldiers patrolling the street.

"Your supplies for the week" the older man said with a shrug. Pushing their supply bag towards the three of them. Rei looked the bag over frowning. A little over half of what they got last week. Maybe three fourths in all, reasonable but surprising all the same.

"Did something happen. Hey, there's three of us and-" Shinji began.

"You're holding up the line. Move" the storage guy told them. Expression tired and the man's eyes downcast in that exhausted way that meant he'd seen this same scene all day. Apparently everyone was getting reduced supplies this week.

Asuka scowled but before she could say anything, the two guards made a show of lingering nearby their booth. Faded JSSDF insignia standing out in the crowd of people, separating them from the visage of the scavengers, survivors, and normal civilians.

Seriously? They're bringing guards over this? Shinji thought as he shook his head.

Ultimately, they were forced to move. Rei wordlessly grabbing their supplies whilst Shinji tugged on Asuka's sleeve to get her moving.

"Next" the storage officer called and the line moved on without them. More and more people complaining about the reductions.

---

When the announcement came, it surprised a lot of people. It shouldn't have. It was only natural, but humans are creatures of habit and they'd all been going through the motions making the community work for so long that changes were unexpected.

Out in the streets that made up the hub, the Boss took it upon himself to gather everyone out in the open.

The city was running low on supplies. Three years of looting, with the last year and half in particular, having taken more than half what the city had. Over a thousand people scavenging in what was left of the burned and battered Tokyo-03 took its toll.

Boss stood before his former soldiers when he spoke, his expression stern.

"The outer city and outskirts are a wasteland. Destroyed during the assault on Nerv, the Angel attacks, and the Impact. The roads are clogged with abandoned cars and we can't move all of them out of the way. But that doesn't mean that we stop. You've all noticed the reduced supplies." the Boss said getting their attention.

Speaking with a military grade megaphone. The unofficial official leader, major, sheriff, and judge of the community addressing his people. Faded military fatigues giving him a distinct look apart from the rest, even among his fellow revived soldiers.

The Boss paused, making sure people listen carefully when he spoke next, no doubt a tactic he'd learned from his career as a high ranking lieutenant colonel.

"I am preparing a mission to Tokyo-02, a series of waves for different teams of scavengers. It's the closest neighboring city from here and it's far... we forget how big a country is once we lose our transportation methods. No planes or subway system, even roads and highways for our cars... and a few hours drive suddenly becomes days or weeks on foot.

My men are working on that. Getting a few cars up and running, but first we need bigger stockpiles. I know things haven't been easy, building this home of ours, but we made it work. So I know it's hard to ask for you all to make do with reduced rations, but be patient. And have faith on us. We will survive"

With a last lingering look on the gathered survivors, the Boss turned and left just as the round of questions came roaring his way. Confused people wanting to know more, some understanding, some not so much, rushing forward.

Only the crowd was stopped before it formed by a wall of former JSSDF. In addition, a select few 'new' recruits in faded military gear.

Shinji only stayed back with his family, watching the scene play out beside Rei. Asuka scowling at the whole thing.

Rei crossed her arms.

Watching things with a frown, uncertain at all this for reasons she could not explain. A 'gut feeling' perhaps.

Shinji held her hand, neither of them could really say when it had happened. It just had, and Rei breathed easier with him at her side.

Together, the three of them turned away from the scene and headed back to the apartment.

---

Boss didn't let them to go on the mission to Tokyo-02.

When asked why, the man had looked down at them with an unreadable expression.

"I don't like to use the term 'breeding pool' but it's true. You three are probably the youngest people on the planet. I can't risk you. So no" - the Boss's order for them to stay.

Asuka had been more angry at the word he'd used than anything else. Shinji and Rei had had to hold her back least she punch the Lieutenant colonel in the face.

---

The Apartment

Working shifts at the greenhouse wasn't the same these days. Shinji always felt the presence of the armed soldiers and the growing anxiety from the other survivors.

Now that scavenging inside the inner city wasn't worth that much, with most things having been taking in the three years since returning, most people worked in a greenhouse anyway. It meant a lot more strangers in their lives.

Strangers and reduced rations. That's what their weeks were like now. They felt more isolated then ever now, and they weren't sure why.

"We have to make it last" Shinji said putting little food they had on the table.

He was starting to get thinner and that didn't help his sleeping problem at all, he knew they were all irritable lately. Less food to work with and Aoba gone with the others on the mission to Toyko-02.

Asuka rained herself in, nodding her thanks as she accepted the scraps of food for what it was. Rei calmly took the food and doing her best to look pleased despite Shinji's best efforts.

They eaten twice over the course of 50 hours. Trying to conserve their rations like Boss had told everyone to. It might not have been much, but the three of them were given more than most.

There was a lot less banter or laughs these days. All they could do was wander aimless through the community, work in the greenhouse, or stay at home. They tried to make the best of it, but it was a losing battle.

"Don't worry" Asuka said that night.

When Shinji and Rei had looked up at her curiously, Asuka had only shaken her head in a determined fashion.

"Aoba went on the mission. He's probably in Tokyo-02 by now, probably picking up souvenirs for us. And loads of food." Asuka said doing her best not to sound hollow.

"Yeah" Shinji said softly.

Aoba was their friend. He and the others would be back soon, they'd make it work.

"You'll have to get after him for taking so long" Shinji said managing a tired soft smile.

---

It was suppose to work.

The teams of scavengers going to Tokyo-02 in waves, always coming and going in a chain to have a steady stream of looting. But it hadn't.

There was a privileged class of people living in the community now. The Boss's men and women. They had first rights to the food and medicine, for what else could the Boss pay them with? Leaving whatever was left of the supplies for everyone else.

It just wasn't enough for everyone. Even with the greenhouses doing their part, crops can only grow so fast, and with limited space that had been hard won among the dead soil... it was as good as could be expected.

Throughout it all the Boss kept telling everyone to be patient. That they were working on getting supplies to everyone but Shinji wasn't sure if the man believed his own words.

Over a thousand people where a select hundred or so got first dibs, almost half of the supplies added to the stockpiles and guarded, leaving the other nine tenths of the community getting what remained of the last half.

Aoba did what he could. Sharing his food with them when he could, perks of having joined Boss's men and all, but the problem lingered... for everyone.

Looking back on it, Shinji couldn't say exactly when or where it had started. Only that it had. The resentment and dissent settling into the community as the days and weeks past.

The Boss's men patrolling the community, from the hub to the apartments at night, to the greenhouses, to the streets, armed men and women walking around better fed. The other adults whispering in small clusters after their shifts in the greenhouses, leaving Shinji and the girls out of it save for strange almost pitying looks.

Former JSSDF, or civilians, all the adults didn't take them seriously. By now, Shinji and his family didn't care as much. They only wanted more supplies than the small rations assigned to them by the very system they'd helped to create.

Rei was the one whom noticed it first. The looks between the Boss's men and the others. Not all of them for sure, but enough. In a community of over a thousand people squeezed into a few blocks of their ruined city, only a hundred or so were former military or else new recruits, and that left almost ten civilians to every one of the Boss's soldiers.

In the end, with the contempt for Boss's rule rising what happened was only natural. Yet the youngest people in the world never realized it until it actually happened. They thought the adults were supposed to be the mature ones... but people are people.

---

The riot

The gunshot went off in the middle of the day.

BANG

The sound echoing throughout the streets of the barren city just like it had all those months ago when a thief had tried to steal food.

Everyone froze.

The moment hanging in the air before another gunshot rang out. Then another. And another.

BANG

BANG

BANG

People started to leave the greenhouse, nervously stepping outside to watch from afar what all the commotion and danger was.

Shinji stood with the others at the sound. Rei and Asuka at his side looking just as concerned. They'd just been leaving the greenhouse with the others when it had happened.

What the- Shinji thought.

Suddenly the three of them were pushed aside by the Boss's men. The armed soldiers pushing their way through the crowd of survivors that had been working their shift.

"We're going to check it out. Everyone remain calm. Stay. Here." one of the soldiers said to the gathered people.

The manager nodded stiffly, just as confused as everyone, as the soldiers ran past. Rifles shouldered and pistols at the ready, the Boss's men making for the sound of gunshots.

"I don't like this" Rei said in a low voice grabbing Shinji by the arm.

Asuka stepped further out looking towards the inner city blocks that made up their community.

"Alright. Don't panic. The Boss's men are handling it. We should all just get back to work. Nothing to see" the manager said. The man tried to sound calm but his voice shook at the end.

Shinji stepped out with Asuka, Rei still tugging at his arm, as the three looked ahead into the distant streets.

"What happened?" one of the adults said.

Nearby, the other greenhouses were emptying too. People stepping outside to see what had happened even as more soldiers ran through.

"There's smoke. Something's on fire" Asuka said suddenly. Her eyes wide in shock. She pointed at the apartment complex.

Shinji's eyes widened too. He looked out for where Asuka was pointing and saw it. A pillar of smoke rising into the distance.

There was a fire in their homes or the hub. Maybe both.

"Fire?!" another greenhouse worker shouted taking in the sight too.

"They told us to stay here" The manager said panicking as he too saw the smoke. The poor man running his hands through his balding scalp.

"That's our homes. We have to help!" someone said.

Everyone started moving despite the manger's best efforts. Shinji and the girls stayed close even as many others took off.

"We have to put the fire out!" another voice called. The smoke growing thicker in the distance.

Shinji exchanged glances with Asuka and Rei, grim frowns on all their face. They took hands and started off too. They had a home to save.

...

Upon reaching the hub they found out what had happened.

They were out of breathe by the time they made it back, and the sight that met them when they got there made them think this was some nightmare they were yet to wake from.

Rioters.

Men and women, all survivors that Shinji and the girls had helped settle in the community along with the others, grouped together in clusters as they moved about the hub.

Bottles of alcohol wrapped in paper fuses in their hands and a lighter at the ready. Molotov cocktails.

The fire wasn't limited to the apartment complex. But to the new JSSDF base that Boss had set up his office and 'barracks' in. The building was burning as the rioters shouted and threw flaming bottles on the place, letting the fire spread.

Nearby the storage officers were shouting to stop... a large group of people having broken through and pried open the refrigerated stockpiles. The makeshift storage containers the Boss and his men had literally built for their long term food and medicine.

"Stop!"

"It's our food. Boss can't keep hording it for him and his men!" another voice shouted.

"Our food!'

"Not his" others were shouting.

The storage officers were pushed aside as people beat them back.

A soldier was laying on the floor with blood pouring down his face. A man standing over him with a lead pipe. Gun knocked free.

Shinji took in the sight with fearful round eyes. The other greenhouse workers whom had arrived before and after him all stood frozen.

Then like a dam breaking, many of them ran forward grasping for the supplies out in the open.

More soldiers were arriving on the street.

Boss himself emerged from his burning building, his home and office, alongside two men with guns.

"Stop this! You're break the refrigerators! We need to put out your fires! You idiots will burn the whole community down!" Boss shouted.

He fired his handgun in the air and many flinched. Many did not.

Shinji took it all in and thought how... how wasteful it all was. All their hard work put into the hub and the stockpiles... all of it ruined. The doors pried open and fire running along their home and the other buildings too.

These stupid people set fire to their own homes?! What the hell happened?! Shinji thought.

The rioters hadn't known what they were doing. They'd started out flinging their 'bombs' at the soldiers to keep them back, and at the 'barracks' in protest. But something had gone wrong... a bad throw... a shot fired, a stray bottle... something. And now things were on fire.

Boss ran with his men towards the rioters breaking into the stockpile. Shouting at them to 'grow up'.

Putting himself in the middle of it, Boss grabbed a young man and tossed him back. Shoving people away from the broken doors of their storages. People protested.

Cursing at him. Shouting at him. Boss tried to put them down peacefully. Telling them that if they stopped they'd been shown leniency. But his words were drowned out by shouts of the rioting people.

Boss raised his gun to fire into the air for silence, but before he could pull the trigger a man tackled him. Boss and his assailant both went flying to the ground. The gun went off and someone fell clutching their leg and yelling.

The soldiers took action, stepping in to save their commander.

BANG a shot went off. Then another and another.

"ahh!"

Two people in the crowd fell.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei found themselves standing the middle of it all... alone. Abandoned by their fellow greenhouse workers whom had either ran to their homes to stop the fire or else joined the rioters in their struggle with the soldiers.

It was pure chaos in the worst of possible times. Stupid, wasteful, and so every human. Ten people to every soldier in the community, with most of Boss's men spread out across the city... there was no contest even with the guns.

"Stop! Stop!" the kind old lady cried, storming out of her apartment on the ground floor, the old frail form wobbling out at all the commotion.

"Hey! Stay back it's not safe!" Shinji cried out. He ran forward, Asuka and Rei following, the lady had always been kind to them.

The elderly woman went to check on the storage officer on the ground, the poor man having been beaten by the rioters storming of the stockpiles. She was calling for help when the crowd of rioters was suddenly pushed back, the sea of people engulfing her and the injuried man as gunshots rang out.

A soldier with a rifle fired into the air to push them back. But he was running out of bullets.

Rei tugged on Shinji's arm.

"Too dangerous. Stay back" Rei said eyes wide with fear.

She was right. The soldier ran out of bullets and the rioters rushed him, the stampede of people engulfing the scene once again.

People were running in all directions. Some leaving, some helping but which side? Boss had been lost somewhere in all the commotion and without him to call the shouts the scene turned bloody. The end of the world all over again.

What do we do... I- what do we do? Shinji thought.

The three Eva pilots held hands again. Momentarily apart from all the violence, the adults on both sides of this stupid waste of a fight having forgotten them...

Just a bunch of lost souls witnessing the collapse of their home. It was so pointless, the riot had only made things worse for everyone.

"Asuka!" a voice called.

The three teenagers jumped and were surprised to see Aoba pushing his way through to them. Fighting his way out of the burning apartment complex, bag of home supplies in hand. Had he ran into a burning building for supplies?

Aoba pushed his way past the crowd of survivors fighting it out. He wore the faded fatigues of a plain JSSDF uniform, a sign of his cooperation with the Boss over the years. Only now it seemed he had abandoned it all for the three of them.

"We've got to go. Come on!" Aoba said making it to them. Bits of ash clung to his hair from the burning apartments, giving his hair a greying look that seemed to age him.

"Aboa. They... they broke into the stockpiles and stole... the Boss... he... he was hit and" Shinji stammered trying to fit everything into a single sentence but failing. His words were on edge and he was in shock along with the others.

"I know. Rioters. It's not just the hub. Doesn't matter anymore. We have to leave. All of us, come on" Aoba said taking the time to grab each of them by the shoulder.

Asuka stumbled back. Doing her best to hide her fear even as the riot continued all around them, the smoke rising and the sight of the burning apartments threatening to bring tears to her eyes.

BANG

BANG

BANG

Gunshots rang into the air as the fires and smoke started raising higher and higher.

Asuka flinched as something went whizzing past her head and made her ears ring softly. A bullet flying inches by her before striking a window across the street.

The glass shattered and Shinji flinched too. Rei holding his hand tight. All of them jumping in alarm.

"Anywhere but here! Come on, I'm taking you with me" Aoba said grabbing a hold of Asuka before looking at Shinji and Rei pleadingly.

Rei was the one whom snapped them out of it.

"We have to go. Now." the pale skinned girl said, tugging on both Shinji and Asuka's arms.

Before they knew it, Rei was pulling on them to run as Aoba nodded at them and took off with them in tow.

Shinji and Asuka snapping out of it and joining Aoba as he lead them away.

They left the hub behind... left the chaos in the streets and the horror of the ruined supplies. The fire that had spread to the stockpiles. Months worth of canned foods, medicine, some crops, and all manner of necessities burning. Gone forever.

---

Shinji didn't know how long they ran. Or where they were running to. All he knew was that Asuka and Rei were holding tightly to his hands and he to theirs. Following Aoba as he lead them down unfamiliar paths.

This mutiny hadn't been isolated to the hub and the apartments. Whomever had organizated this had started it across multiple parts of the community. There were people looting the greenhouses...

Boss's men had figured out what was happening. They defended themselves and their stations, but they were badly outnumbered. Those like Shinji and his family, whom hadn't known what was coming, were caught in the crossfire.

People were dying.

Shinji shook his head at it all.

What was the point? Such a waste. Everything falling apart.

Shinji had to look away from the sights of violence and despair, keeping his gaze firmly locked on Aoba as the man lead them away.

Other Soldiers spotted Aoba and openly gaped as he ignored them and ran past with the teenagers in tow.

…

"Here. We'll have to be fast. I won't be the only one with the same idea" Aoba said.

The four of them stumbled through the gate of a strange building far from the hub, maybe a forestation in the old world. A police station? It didn't matter any more, the Boss had reclaimed it and started using it for something.

The door had been locked, actually locked. With a heavy kick, Aoba broke the door open and ran through. Running a hand behind his back and grabbing a concealed pistol he'd kept tucked between his belt and back.

Asuka and Shinji blinked in surprise, Rei barely noticing as Aoba went first. The former Nerv man walking through the station, pistol raised as he gestured for them to follow.

Inside was a garage... with cars.

Eleven in total. All of them having been pushed inside long ago or else having been there from before. Faded and old, metal frames rusted and looking like they'd been carefully pieced back together.

"Cars? Boss had cars all this time?" Asuka said nearly shouting in shock.

"No. Boss had me and some of the others fixing them again. After three years the gas had gone bad, shit just goes bad after a few years alright. Impact messed the engines up. Barely got them running yesterday. Only half work." Aoba shouted back as he rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out a set of keys.

Rei blinked as Aoba handed her his bag of supplies saying "put it in the car", before heading to the front hood for some last minutes checks. He had been a scientist, and something of mechanic under Nerv and from his pre-college days, that was why he'd been chosen to work on the repair jobs.

Shinji watched mesmerized as Aoba tinkered with the engine under the car's hood, before seeming satisfied and closing it. That was Aoba's plan. To steal a car and take it far away from this mess.

"If people had waited... this would have made a big difference" Rei said glancing over the semi-working cars.

In the early days of the community everyone had been too busy getting the infrastructure working that no one had the time to fix vehicles... and now that they finally did, it had been too late. Cars would have made the trips easier, would have allowed them to take more supplies with them every time they went out... all of this wasted.

"Shinji help me with this. Asuka, you can drive?" Aoba said working quickly as he headed for the garage.

Asuka took a moment to snap out of it again. It was a lot to take in all at once, the riot, the fall of their home, and the Boss's secret project that they hadn't known about. But Asuka handled it well.

She shook her head saying "of course. Child prodigy remember." Asuka's smirk was forced, but she was shaking her nerves and that was still impressive.

Aoba tossed her the keys and Asuka caught them.

Shinji went with Aoba as together, the two of them began hauling the garage door open. The two of them grabbing the bottom and lifting.

No power, everything was manual labor it seemed.

Shinji's back ached but he got it. The garage doors lifted and together Aoba and Shinji got it open all the way, exposing the open ruins of Tokyo-03.

Asuka got inside the car, inserted the keys and turned. The car engine whined but wouldn't start. She tried again and again even as Rei got in the passenger seat, putting her seat belt on... even now in a time like this. Rei was Rei after all.

"Where are we going?" Shinji asked again. Feeling his age as the uncertainty ate at him from his core, he was only a 17 year boy at the end of the world. What would they do?

"There's more out there. Has to be, I had my theory remember? We can get at least as far as Tokyo-02 and-" Aoba began. Only to stop mid-speech at the sound running footsteps.

Four of the Boss's soldiers were running through the alleys heading for the station just like they had been minutes ago. Aoba was right, he had not been the only one with that idea.

"Get back inside!" Aoba shouted a second before the gunshot rang out.

Shinji flinched running back inside. Asuka turning the car keys in the ignition as the engine whined.

"Traitor! Those are ours!" one of the soldiers called. Pistol raised and chamber smoking as the man ran for them.

Aoba doubled over, falling over in a sitting position as he raised his own gun.

BANG

BANG

BANG

Aoba fired three shots.

The soldiers split apart swerving out of the way and looking for cover. Shinji's heart started pounding in his chest. This was so tense and unflinchingly real. Nothing like the dangers of fighting the Angels, nothing like Eva piloting, everything here was grounded and gritty. The bullets firing through the air loud and crackling, the sensations his own instead of from an artificial nervous system.

The gunshots came from both sides.

Aoba was trading shots with the men outside, crawling his way to the car as he did so.

Asuka got the car running with one final turn of the car keys. She almost shouted but flinched at the sound of the gunshots.

Shinji slammed into the car, running as fast as he could, and was taken aback when Rei opened the back door for him. The girl having crawled her way back from the passenger seat to help him.

Wordlessly, her eyes round and filled with worry and panic, Rei grabbed him by the arm and pulled him in.

"I'm in!" Shinji called.

Asuka put the car into drive and started forward slowly.

Shinji reached across from Rei and opened the back door. The both of them stumbling forward as Asuka started moving out of the garage.

Aoba was still crawling backward, gun raised.

"Hold on!" Shinji called his voice little more than squeak. His hands shaking as he reached out alongside Rei.

Together, Shinji and Rei grabbed Aoba and pulled him inside. Hauling the older man's body in as he groaned in pain. Blood ran down his chest.

They hadn't even managed to close the door when Asuka floored it. Slamming her foot on the gas pedal.

BANG

CRACK

The windshield of their car dented and split as a bullet came crashing into it. Asuka flinched, ducking her head down and crying out.

She hit the gas hard. Flooring it again.

The men outside cursed and swerved out of the way as the car emerged onto the city streets.

Shots fired out after them. Hitting the frame and one of the back windows. The glass shattered and Rei and Shinji flinched, crying out as debris went flying in the back seats.

"Gah!" Aoba groaned as the glass hit his face leaving thin cuts across his cheek.

Still, Asuka drove on in spite of it all. Before her breakdown, she had been quite possibly the best Eva pilot for a reason, she could get things done when she needed to. So she drove on, leaving the madness behind.

"Give it back!" one of the man called.

"Traitor!"

"Damn kids! That's ours!"

Shouts from the Boss's old men in an order that had fallen apart all over again.

Someone tried to shoot their tires out but Asuka swerved out of the way and escaped. Aoba groaning weekly in the back seats with Shinji and Rei.

Rei reached out and slammed the back door closed with a heavy thud.

---

In the car

"Now what!" Asuka shouted back panting, her hands trembling but steady enough to drive.

Their stolen car whizzing passed the once empty streets. All around them there were signs of the mutiny against the Boss for the community. People running, looting, fighting, or else trying to hide.

The fire from the hub and the apartments visible just as they passed it. Smoke seeming to consume the streets that had been their courtyard for three years.

"Head north. Follow the roads but don't get on. I-" Aoba said before letting out a heavy cough.

Shinji glanced at the man and gasped.

Aoba had been shot... more than once by the look of it. There was blood staining his faded clothes and he was breathing hard. He might have been going into shock for all they knew.

Rei put her hands on Aoba' chest hard, trying to stop the bleeding whilst Asuka drove aimlessly.

People noticed the car, how could they not, and shouted in surprise and awe but Asuka ignored them all.

"Tokyo-02. Get as far as Tokyo-02 then keep going. There's... pant...there has to be somewhere we... you can go. We can't be the only ones left..." Aoba wheezed.

Blood was coming out of his mouth, seeping through his lips as he spoke.

"Aoba" Shinji said panting in shock. His chest feeling like it would explode as he sat with Rei in the back, doing his best not to throw up.

The former Nerv man laughed harshly.

"Did you see me, eh Shinji? I was a soldier there... heh..." Aoba said darkly. Blood stained smile on his lips.

Shinji looked at Rei not sure what to do. Rei wouldn't meet his eyes, only stared ahead at Aoba and his wounds.

"Don't know where I got that from. Three years ago... when Nerv was attacked I was useless... couldn't... couldn't do anything... just... just died like everyone else..." Aoba rambled between heavy pants.

"You were brave. You helped us defend Nerv all those years ago. You were... Aoba you-" Shinji stammered, grabbing a hold of Aoba's hand.

Aoba tried to squeeze Shinji's hand in a returning gesture but his fingers were weak and shaking.

"Shinji..." Rei whispered her lips trembling.

The pale skinned girl lowered her head as Aoba stopped moving. His eyes falling as he suddenly took a single heavy breath.

Asuka glanced back at them as she drove. Wide eyes falling to her family in the back seat with the wounded Aoba.

"I have to stop somewhere. Get help and-"

"NO!" Aoba snapped. His eyes whipping back to life as he shouted. Groaning, he shook his head at them.

"You were shot. We have to-" Shinji said his voice shaking.

"No. Keep driving. If you stop someone will take this car from you. Keep going. Just... keep going" Aoba wheezed.

Shinji looked up from his cramped spot in the back seats, looked at Asuka up in the driver's seat with wild confused eyes.

"He's right" Asuka said solemnly. Smirk gone... having faded somewhere along the drive.

Rei never took her hands off of Aoba's wounded chest. Keeping pressure on it through everything, the car bumping over the rough roads as Asuka drove on and on.

"... I'm sorry" Aoba wheezed suddenly.

Shinji turned back to him.

"No. I'm the one whose-" Shinji began.

"I was on the team that brought the guns" Aoba interrupted.

Silence filled the car.

Rei and Shinji bobbing in the back seats unsteadily as they passed road after road.

Aoba laughed coldly. Blood falling down his lips.

"Didn't know at the time. Thought we were getting food... and we were but it was about the guns. Boss thought he had it all figured out. I should... should have fought him on it. Should have known guns would make things worse... ah! I should..." Aoba said shaking his head. Grimacing from the pain.

"You didn't know what would happen. No one did." Rei said shaking her head.

She looked back at Shinji before turning to Aoba.

"The rioters were the problem. This world was the problem... guns made it worse but it's not your fault" Rei said tilting her head sadly at the former Nerv man.

Aoba didn't seem to hear her. He closed his eyes saying "just keep going. Get as far away as you can. There has to be more. Others. More... whole world out there... just keep going."

That was the last thing he said.

The rest of the car ride was done in silence. Aoba's quiet breathing fading over time. Shinji sat back helplessly with Rei, the both of them watching the wounded man unable to do anything but sit.

Asuka looked away, focusing on the road and what was in front of her. Taking them past the city limits and the ashes of the Geofront.

Taking them past the decaying corpses of the Mass Production Evas. The ghost white monstrosities lying in the open waters near that small stretch of land where she and Shinji had first returned. They never looked back.

Driving on and on in silence.

Aoba had stopped breathing.

---

Sometime later

Night had fallen

Past the ruins of what had once been Tokyo-03, and then the ruins of the community the survivors had pieced together, there lay the abandoned roads of the old world.

The roads were clogged and barely drivable. Littered with abandoned cars that hadn't been moved in three years. People going about their days when the end of the world came. People trying to evacuate the city in a mad dash as three years ago the JSSDF had launched their assault on Nerv.

In a sense... it felt like that all over again.

Everyone lost in the end.

Asuka drove alongside the roads before slowing, and coming to a stop somewhere in that massive stretch of land between two cities.

Together, all three of them lifted Aoba's body out of the car.

Respectfully, they laid his corpse out in the dirt outside. Dried blood had stained and soaked his clothes. His eyes were closed... they had been for quite some time now.

Inside the trunk of the car they'd stolen, they found a few blankets. It wasn't much but they draped one over Aoba's body.

Shinji, Asuka, and Rei stood over the body of their friend.

Somberly they watched the remnants of their old life, the long haired man that used to run sync test on them, check out Misato, complain about the long hours, play guitar in his free time, the man whom had tried to look after them upon returning. Shigeru Aoba.

The man whom had given his life to get them outside the city after the mutiny.

"Thank you Aoba" Shinji said sadly.

Asuka opened her mouth to say something but the words got caught in her throat and she looked away as if struck.

"Goodbye" Rei said sadly.

They couldn't bury him. They didn't have any shovels and it was dark and getting cold. This was all the funeral and respects they could pay.

Shinji hung his head low.

Everything we've been through and we're back to square one. On our own... not even a home anymore. And Aoba... he... ah! Why?! Shinji thought.

He gazed up at the night sky looking for her. Looking for Evangelion Unit 01 drifting somewhere up with the others stars above, but he couldn't find it again.

Mom... oh mom... what are we supposed to do? Shinji thought pleadingly.

He wiped his eyes before the tears started.

Rei took his hand and Asuka put an arm on his shoulder. The three of them leaning into each other, forming a family hug of sorts. Their heads bumping together softly. They were all each other had.

"We stay together. Always." Rei said sadly, feeling lost again. Wandering in a cold and indifferent world. She rested her head on Shinji's shoulder

Shinji squeezed her hand, and then Asuka's.

"Yeah. Always together, I promise. Okay Rei, I promise we'll make it through this" Shinji said the emotion in his voice choking him up.

This was so much for a kid to handle. He'd thought he'd seen everything about the End of the World, but he had been wrong.

"Aoba was right. We keep going." Asuka said at last.

They paid their respects, and turned to the car once more.

And so they left their friend's body there. Driving into the night with an uncertain future. Together, but so very alone.

I am 17 years old... and I feel like I've aged another ten Shinji thought.

---

I hope you didn't hate the chapter, it is very different from previous ones.
Really long, but I didn't want to split it up into two parts again.
I wanted this to be one big continuous tale. With the ending supposed to be jarring and a major shift in tone for both the readers and the characters.

Shinji and the gang just weren't aware of the mutiny. They didn't really see it coming except for the early signs of resentment, but to them it came as a harsh shock crashing down on their grim reality. What happens years after the end of the world.

They spent so much time in their old homes but now that's gone. Again.

I could go on and on about these chapters, they could be an entire novel onto themselves.

Thanks for Reading and please Review.