This was it, the big one. This was the one that separates the men from the boys; or in Rei's case, the FAR from the Lilim. She cradles her Positron Rifle like a newborn child, the first thing she connected to in this new cycle. It was her preferred method of combat; distant and effective, a surgical tool. Like her. The rifle hadn't started considering harem ends, she thought, but she wasn't sure if that was a strike for or against it.
One Lilithian eye open, she sees beyond sight, drawing a bead on the Angel of Might's core. She found it funny how he had such a brazen weakpoint; all the better to hit for massive structural damage. The one named Fubuki provided her with calculations and angles to make the impossible shots she saw possible. With a whispered prayer, she pulls the trigger; three shots screaming in perfect synchronicity. Two go wide, deflected by the gravity of the AT-Field. The third finds purchase with a satisfying hiss. Rei smiles daintily at the explosion; that made two to Nagisa's zero. Her eyes go wide with shock as a paper-thin limb slashes against Unit 00's shoulder. The smoke clears; the Angel of Might gazes upon her, smirking. She gasps, flinging Unit 00 into a roll right before the detonation hits; the magnitude of the blast still strips armor off of her flesh.
"That…could have gone better."
As soon as Zeruel had made his move, Mari was off, pistols akimbo. She empties her clips into the Angel of Might, catching his back exposed. The shots bounce off of his armored hide, but that's okay. It was good for such things to be rock hard. It turns to her, levels an explosive blast. She slides to the side, the blast sending her stumbling into an embankment. It puts her within neutralization range, but also open to a follow up blast. Before Zeruel can go for another shot, Unit 00 hits it clean with a Positron Rifle round. The blow is enough to give Mari time to get her bearings, Pallet Rifle fire giving her an extra breather.
She grabs an overcompensatingly large minigun off of one of the Geofront's embankments, pushes in closer, and fires almost point blank. The Angel flinches under the withering storm of bullets, giving Rei enough time to run for cover. It turns around with a roar of challenge, slices through the minigun with an offhand slap. The nearest weapon embankment would put her back in range of that explosive eye thing, or leave Rei open to further attack. Whoops. Time for Plan B, at least until Red and the Ikari kid get into position. Mari grins, slapping the shoulders of Unit 04 in a grappler's invitation. She deploys a Prog Knife, gripping it backhand as Unit 01 crashes fields with Zeruel. Looks like Ikari didn't need that much time to get into position, she thinks.
"Hey ugly, let's dance!"
Shinji sighed; it was always a challenge to get psyched for fighting. He never had Asuka's enthusiasm, or Rei's stoic nature. He wasn't sure he wanted to have whatever the hell Mari had. It usually took someone getting hurt before he was able to sack up, which is why he enjoyed being the plugger of the group. He could protect, he could throw himself into harm's way pretty easily. The sounds of gunshots roused him into action; it was starting. Mari had gone ahead a little earlier than her cue had said, but it was going after Ayanami.
Nobody hurt Ayanami.
With a pained roar, Shinji and Unit 01 get moving; AT-Field spread into a shield. Zeruel blasts at him with his gaze, but the barrier of three souls intertwined repels it. Undaunted by the heat, the Third Child charges; his Pallet Rifle spitting death. It is enough to serve as a distraction, gives Mari some room to breathe, and lets Asuka find the right time to strike. Shinji doesn't think of that though, and neither does Yui. All they think of is hurting the thing that hurt Ayanami. Noriko factors these things in, gently nudging the Eva into a better firing position as it rushes forward. Carelessly tossing its spent rifle aside, EVA-01 slams its AT-Field against the Angel of Might, hands pressing desperately against it.
"You stay away from them!"
Asuka frowned; she wanted to be the first one to greet Zeruel. She knew Wondergirl was the better shot, but the thought of not being first into the breach gnawed at her. The bag of goodies Misato left her was a minor comfort: not only did it have an armory's worth of handcannons, but also the prototype of the 'special request' she asked Hyuuga to put in for her.
She saw Rei take the first few shots, get driven back by those weird arms, almost get blown to bits. Amateur.
She saw Funbags go ahead of schedule, but couldn't be arsed to pull her in line. It shot at her, but didn't hit her, which was good. A useful distraction.
She saw Shinji dash forward, moving up the retreat line out of her current position. She smiles. Stupid bastard, running after his favorite doll.
Well, if it was time to throw caution to the wind and go buck-wild, she didn't want to get left out. Romantic fool.
Gritting her teeth, she picks up a pair of grenade launchers; wielding them cross-armed. She lets a controlled burst fly, the whistle of projectiles catcalling her. They bounce of the Angel's AT-Field, but it does get his attention. It turns to her, eyes glowing. She runs forward, firing one after the other. The blast licks at her heels, drives her forwards. With a quick command and a cheery whistle, she initiates melee combat protocols. Tossing the empty grenade launchers away, she reaches back with Unit 02. A longer projectile flies towards her, portions falling off and rocketing towards Zeruel. The casings impact against its barrier, but that's a distraction for the main show.
She grips the projectile by the base, running her hands along the jet black shaft. A wicked blade protrudes from the front end, counterbalanced by a blood-red spike. Evangelion Unit 02 flies through the air, trademark brown cloak cast off. She swings the Progressive Falchion in a lazy circle, before slicing it through the air like a red comet. The familiar hum of a chainsaw blade provides a background track for Asuka's warlike scream, as Hyuuga's special request makes itself known.
"I am Asuka Sohryu Langley, the Spear that Smites Evil!"
Track 14: The Beast {2.22.2222 Mix}
The air to ground tsundere missile slams into another pane of AT-Field, progressive teeth chewing hungrily on the obstruction. With a disgruntled noise, Asuka kicks off of it and swings Unit 02 into a somersault, using the momentum to lash out with a one-handed strike. Zeruel levels his aim upwards, aiming to blow the pesky Lilim out of the sky. Unit 01 growls and pushes forwards, sending Zeruel's aim off. It wobbles to correct its flight path, takes a swing at 01. It ducks, lets the appendage pass harmlessly overhead. Mari takes the opportunity to dash in, going for the kidneys. Asuka lands behind her, thrusting her polearm up and over the crouched Unit 04. Zeruel can't get around in time with Unit 01 still harrying it, so it strikes blind; pushes the falchion out of the way. Mari gets her licks in, but the Prog Knife shatters against its back.
"Man, I thought guns were supposed to be useless," she snerks, launching a tonfa from Unit 04's right arm. She brings it into the small of Zeruel's back and unloads with a few shots.
"Out of the way Funbags," Asuka yells, Prog Falchion held low. "This one's mine!" Unit 04 hops back; Asuka's looping slash barely missing it. Zeruel repels Unit 01 for a moment, sends it staggering. It turns to face Unit 02, masklike face turned in a sneer. Both arms fly out, catching Unit 02 across the face and shoulder. Asuka scowls, pushes forward with a flurry of stabs and slashes. The Dummy Plug yells in her ear, tells her how she should be attacking it, but she doesn't care. It doesn't know what it's talking about. She won't lose. She can't lose.
"Asuka, it's charging up for another shot!" Shinji warns, shoving Unit 01's hand into Zeruel's side. She slides under its legs, Prog Falchion splitting the gap. The shot fizzles as Zeruel screams in pain, a flailing strike pushing Unit 01 back again. It strikes again, but Unit 01 catches it, reels it in for a devastating right cross. A jab-jab-cross combination leads into a pommel strike from Unit 02, which sends a hairline crack along the face of the Angel of Might.
"Come on Angel," Asuka mocks, kicking it in the back of the head, "aren't you supposed to be the strongest?" She cuts it on the back with an upwards slash. "You're fucking pathetic!" As if to add punctuation, it eats a blow to its side; the AT-Field weak enough there for a Positron Rifle round to hit cleanly. This was not going as planned; the Lilim had grown more vicious.
No matter.
With a thunderous roar, it forces the light of its soul into a bludgeon; catching the impudent Lilim across the face. It staggers back spinning, clutching its eye. A circular collection of Absolute Territory forms around Unit 02's neck, raising it off the ground in a makeshift garrote.
Asuka chokes and sputters, dropping the Prog Falchion. Unit 02's hands dance and jitter; grasping for Prog Knives. She desperately flings them one after another at Zeurel, some get lodged into its flesh, but the pressure doesn't cease. The longer she's held, the worse her aim gets, and the weaker she feels. Her vision starts to fade, she feels her head swimming. Out of knives, she reaches out to the enemy, hands splayed. The only thing keeping her conscious is a single thought.
"I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll fucking kill you, I'll-"
The AT-Field contracts with a crunch. Unit 02 twitches, and then falls limp. The bridge bunnies gasp as they watch it get thrown away like so much trash.
"Unit 02 has gone offline," Makoto says somberly.
"The pilot?" Misato asks, trying to keep her game face on.
"Stable, but unconscious. Switching control to Dummy Plug system."
"No," Gendo says, impassive. "Tell the Third and the Fourth to push the Angel towards the First. Allow the Fourth her…indulgences."
"But Commander, Unit 02 is a sitting duck out there!" Misato snaps.
"It doesn't matter. Recovery of Unit 02 would be detrimental to the Second's mental state."
"Her dying would be detrimental to everyone's mental state!"
"Major Katsuragi," Gendo says, glasses glinting, "do you have that little faith in your ace?" She stares him down for a tense second, but is the first to balk.
"No sir, I don't," Misato says, looking away. She takes a deep breath, commands all of her authority. "Shinji, Asuka's not dead; go on the offensive."
Shinji nods grimly, pretty face turned into a snarl. This thing hurt Ayanami, and took out Asuka. It had signed its own death warrant, as far as he was concerned. Yui growls in agreement; her baby had tried so hard to open up to those girls, and she'd be damned if someone was going to take that from him.
"Mari, you're hereby allowed to cut loose," Misato says, arms crossed. "No strings attached."
Mari squeals, rubbing her legs together. "Missy, you've made me the happiest girl in the world!" She punches a code into Unit 04, turning the cockpit's lighting emergency red. Warning signs cover the screen, screaming bad ideas on deaf ears. "Hope you don't mind if I get a little freaky." Her eyes glow green; lips pull back into a feral grin.
"So, she's using 'that', huh?" Ritsuko says casually as her monitor blare warnings.
"What do you mean by that, sempai?" Maya asks, worried about anything further out of the ordinary Illustrious could do.
"She's willfully casting off the humanity of the Evangelion," Ritsuko says, running through the lines by rote. She pulls out a cigarette and lights it. "Unleashing the killing machine within." She takes a drag, exhales the smoke into the air. On the screen, Unit 04's facemask cracks open, its true face spreading in a rictus grin. Restraints pop off like angry spikes, belching steam into the air. It slumps over, panting heavily, tongue slavering. Ritsuko raises an eyebrow, interested for once. "Forced Berserk Mode: Codenamed…"
"ZA BEASTO!"
Unit 04 roars terrible freedom, Mari crying with it. Every inch of her was singing, she was overflowing with emotion. She licks her lips like a hungry predator, Unit 04 following suit. "Hey, Shinji," she says, almost barking, voice low and rich. Her eyes are glassy, transfixed on Zeruel. "Let's double-team this bitch."
Unit 01 howls recognition, hands lashing out to grab Zeruel's appendages. It kicks at its core, sending it skidding back. Unit 04 crouches on all fours, and then launches itself at Zeruel, tearing great bloody chunks of its AT-Field off. The ends of the tonfas emit twin lances of AT-Field contained light; Sachiel's weapons writ small. It bounds back and forth, ripping at the Angel of Might like a mad dog. Unit 01 is scarcely better; true berserker mode held back by Noriko's pleadings and the remaining strands of Shinji's rationality. He deploys a Prog Knife, sticks it between his teeth, uses it to rend and tear at stray limbs as Zeruel fights to keep him at bay. Zeruel folds inwards, compresses his AT-Field, and takes an arm off of Unit 01. Shinji doesn't even notice, his fury at this monster reaching a fever pitch. Neither pilot is in their right mind, it'd be a minor miracle if they could form coherent sentences right now. That said; they understand each other perfectly.
"They're doing it," Misato says, cracking a hopeful smile. "They're actually doing it! Go Shinji! Go Mari!"
Ritsuko chuckles, ignoring the abnormal readings coming from both pilots. "You're enthusiastic."
"Well of course I am," Misato pouts, "We're winning."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Shigeru Aoba says, lying through his teeth. "But the Fourteenth doesn't seem to be taking any substantial damage." He looks at the information readouts the MAGELINGs show him. "And Units 01 and 04 are getting more and more worn down. They need backup."
"Way ahead of you," Misato says confidently. "Hey Rei, how's the Positron Cannon charge coming?"
"Ready to fire in T minus 30 seconds, Major," Rei states, one eye squeezed shut, the other black. "I'm going to blow him back into the Stone Age."
"That's what I want to hear!" Misato says with a thumbs up. "Man, this is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Outside of Asuka, this is going pretty well."
Maya blanches, "Uh, Miss Misato?"
"Yeah Maya?"
Ritsuko gives Misato a sideways glance. "You haven't heard of the phrase, 'tempting fate', have you?"
~!~!~!
Zeruel had to give the Lilim credit; they were persistent. Like cockroaches. The direct approach wasn't working as well as he would have liked. This was good, he enjoyed having a challenge, and a challenge involved outwitting as well as outfighting his foe. The two Lilim had become little more than beasts; fierce and driven, but stupid. The pet Nephilem was trying something, but no matter. She was timid, weak. She would not bring her soul to bear, too scared of her children losing themselves again. The one who walked as he did thrashed at his flesh; finding no purchase but on the light of his soul. The other worried at his soul, slashed and tore. It was far too troublesome. He just had to hold out for a few moments more. A few moments more and the Lilim would fall by their own hand.
"C'mon, c'mon," Mari growls, tongue out. "Whip it out already!" Unit 04 latches onto the AT-Field of Zeruel, tearing and thrusting with every part it can use. "Why won't you give it up?" The AT-Field melts away; both Unit 04 and Mari's faces brighten. "Jackpot!"
"High energy signature reaction detected!"
"Oh god," Maya covers her mouth in horror. "It's going to hit her point blank."
"Get out of there Mari!" Misato yells.
Mari's eyes widen, her smile jumps off the slippery slope into crazytown. She's got it; she's going to climax finally. Unit 04 cocks an eager arm back, stops. She snaps back to reality, the deadly glare of Zeruel upon her. Twin points of light burn into her vision and she prepares for the worst. Tears well up in her eyes, her face falls into one of quiet terror.
"Oh, fuck me."
The blast lights up the Geofront, strips the armor off of Unit 04. It goes flying, crashes in a tangled heap. Skin and steel sizzle, red eyes go dim. Inside the entry plug, Mari heaves and shudders; the pleasurable tingle turned to searing pain. She's alive, barely. A small mercy, if it could be called that.
Unit 01 screeches with rage; Shinji's urge to protect now completely subsumed by murderous hatred. All pretense of tactics or skill gone, he forces Unit 01's hands through a gap in Zeruel's AT-Field; every mote of power he has focused on neutralizing that one spot. It has no throat to grab, so he makes due with the facemask; squeezing it like a vice.
"You hurt Mari," he chokes. "You hurt Asuka." The grip grows tighter. He bites his lip, drawing blood. "You hurt Ayanami!" The Angel smiled at him.
Everything went bright.
"Rei," Misato gasps, voice caught in her throat. "You didn't…"
"T-target neutralized," Rei whispers, staring blankly. She doesn't notice the tears fall. "I could not let the same thing that happened to Pilot Illustrious happen to Pilot Ikari. I had to take the shot."
"What's the status?" Misato croaks. Hyuuga looks at her, concerned. She snaps. "I said, what's the status!"
"The Fourteenth Angel has stopped moving. Unit 01 is offline," Hyuuga pauses, "We did it."
"I want a full rescue team out there yesterday!" Misato orders, scowling. "Do it now! Now now now!"
"You might want to hold that order, Major," Ritsuko says, pointing to the screen with her cigarette. "Look."
"Oh god."
The Angel of Might roars like thunder, laughs like it has never laughed before. This was combat! This was excitement! This was going to be over very soon.
The boy had given in to his own anger, and failed to notice he had acted as a human shield for him. Truly foolish.
The new girl had thought she had won, fallen for the simplest of feints. Pathetic.
The Nephilem thought she had no other choice but to shoot, and in doing so did his work for him. Disappointing.
He paid no mind to the crippled servant of Lilith gnawing at his AT-Field; it would fall off like the refuse it was. He sauntered over, letting her and all others bask in the glory of their destroyer. It felt like victory.
Rei Ayanami was ready. She knew it would come to this eventually; in a sense, she wished for it. Sooner or later, circumstances would arise that would jeopardize her children's livelihood and as a good parent, she had to deal with it. She had chosen this position to fire from for two important reasons: it had excellent visibility, and it was where they housed the N2 mines.
Head bowed low, a mouthed apology to her sisters and her friends, and a systems override later, she could begin. "I will see you soon, Pilot Ikari. Pilot Sohryu. Pilot Illustrious."
"Major, Commander, the N2 silos are opening!"
"Unit 00 has shut off communications. She's picking up the N2 mines!"
"Rei, stand down! You don't have to do this!" Misato recoils, steps away from the screen as if it were going to attack her. She hits the outcropping of the Commander's desk, begs the Supreme Commander without words. Gendo simply takes off his glasses, looks down at her with red rimmed eyes, and shakes his head no.
Unit 00 sprints towards Zeruel, N2 mines at the ready, glowing moonlight white. Inside the entry plug, Rei stared death in the face with two blackened eyes; completely stoic. For everyone's happiness, she would sacrifice her own. The thought made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Perhaps next cycle, she could express exactly what that meant to her better. For now, this would have to suffice.
"Farewell."
~!~!~!
Click-clack, click-clack.
"We're on a train again, aren't we?" Shinji groans, head in his hands.
"Yep," Asuka says, lounging on the other side.
"I forget, does that mean we're dead, or crazy?"
"I think it means we're supposed to do some deep-seated soul searching," Mari says, cleaning out her ears with a pinky, "Or some stupid shit like that."
"It means we are at a crossroads," Rei says, stepping into the same train car as the others. "As you are no doubt aware of by my presence here, I have decided to commit suicide for the good of humanity Since I am here, I have failed."
"You mean nobly sacrifice yourself for the good of humanity," Asuka says, bored. She was the first to go out, so she had been sitting here for a long time.
"That's the polite way to put it, yes," Rei responds. "Seeing as how Zeruel has subsumed Unit 00's corpse into itself, my efforts were akin to a very flashy suicide."
"So," Shinji asks, reclining in the seat, "What do we do? You going to tell me you want all of me or none of me again, 'suka?"
"Eh, at this point a pityfuck would do us both some good I reckon," Asuka says, rolling over upside down. "This sexual tension isn't gonna resolve itself, and I'm tired of my only pre-apocalypse action being from a fucking beam of light."
Shinji blinks, turning redder by the minute. "Y-you mean it?"
"Sure, why not?" She looks up, suddenly wanting. "Unless, you don't actually like me?"
"Hey Red, this is a serious existentialist crisis, not a K-drama," Mari barks. "Unlike you guys, I'm more of a car sort of person."
"Pilot Illustrious is right," Rei says, more than a little jealous. "We have more important things to deal with." She splits into five: each nude, one eye black, one eye red. "What do you wish for?"
"I wish to keep fighting shit," Mari says, flippantly. "Duh."
"What do you wish for?"
"Everyone's happiness and the strength to defend it." Shinji says, somewhere between a boast and a plea.
"What do you wish for?"
"What are you, stupid?" Asuka says, rolling to her feet. "A chance to burn the brightest before I fade away."
"What do you wish for?"
"To live and die in the arms of my children." Rei says to herself.
"What will you do to achieve those wishes?"
"Overturn the end of existence itself," the pilots cry out.
"What have you done to achieve those wishes?"
"Given our hearts, given our souls, given our minds!"
"Will you fight?"
Unit 02's eyes light up a radiant green. Asuka gasps, brought back to life with fire in her eyes. "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!"
"Will you fight?"
Unit 04's armor plating starts reforming in brilliant red and white. It starts to laugh, and Mari laughs with it. "Fuck yeah I will!"
"Will you fight?"
Unit 01 cries out to the heavens, head reforming with brilliant energy, six AT-Field wings growing from its back. Shinji's eyes burn red, to match his boiling blood. "Of course I will; after all, I mustn't run away!"
"Will you fight?"
An explosion rocks the cages, pierces the sky. It's Evangelion Unit 07 in full glory. "Anything for you, Ayanami onee-sama!"
"Well then, show me," Rei whispers, deep within Zeruel's core. "Show me I'm not replaceable."
~!~!~!
"Huh, guess they managed to figure out some shounen anime bullshit for this, too," Ritsuko says darkly, betraying her genuinely warm expression. "Maya, take over for me. I'm going outside to watch the fireworks."
"I want to go with you, sempai!" she says, firm. "I won't turn away, as long as you're with me."
Ritsuko snickers. "Well aren't you the cutest little schoolgirl lesbian?" Maya turns beet-red, and then goes infra-red when her sempai puts an arm around her. "Fine, we'll see it together." She nods in Misato's general direction, "You too. We'll make it a threesome, like college."
Misato gives her a weak smile; the kids might just be alright. "Were you always this shameless, Ritzy?"
"Yeah," she says, tossing away a spent cig, "You just didn't notice it."
~!~!~!
"Hey Asuka, you want this one?" Shinji asks, the extreme sync ratio causing his very self to blur in a manner not unlike hotbloded pencil sketching. His arms are folded with Unit 01's; Yui's never felt so cool before.
"Nah, you can do the speech," a similarly sketchy Asuka waves him away. "I just want to cut him up with my Zankatou." She shrugs, "Besides, it's your RealDoll we're fighting for anyway."
"Thanks Asuka."
"No problem."
"Take it away kid," Mari coos, fascinated with her newly sketchy form. So this is what 400% synch ratio felt like.
"Right. We have seen countless battles, died countless times and lived countless more. We have stared the end of the earth in the face and jizzed in its eye! We are the Children of Eva!" Unit 04 moves like a blur, ripping gashes in reality as it strikes the Angel of Might.
"We won't be satisfied by the likes of you!" Mari cries, shattering Zeruel's AT-Field like fine China. He fires another point-blank blast, but Unit 04 tears through it with its bare hands.
"We will never be defeated by the likes of you!" Asuka howls, Unit 02 whirling its Prog Falchion like a typhoon. Zeruel strikes with both limbs, but both are cut down within a single breath.
"We will not be denied our greatest wishes!" Liao hollers; a white streak of light crashing straight through Zeruel's faceplate.
"Now give us back OUR AYANAMI!" Shinji, Yui, and Noriko yell in unison, arm made of pure AT-Field fuckery wrenching out Zeruel's core with ease. The Angel of Might collapses upon itself, flesh metamorphosing into that of a woman's.
Around the glittering core of the former Fourteenth Angel, the Second Angel, no, Rei Ayanami is reborn.
~!~!~!
"Hey Iruel?"
"Yeah Tabris?"
"Adam. It's Adam."
"Sorry boss."
"You know where I put that Lance of Longinus?"
"Left it in Beijing-2."
"Oh, me dammit."
~!~!~!
Whether you were the lowliest bum in Tokyo-3 or the Supreme Commander of NERV, you were looking up at the sky right now. Glorious red rings of light split the sky, shined down heavenly countenance in the middle of the city. A delicate latticework of every color danced across the clouds like cracks in glass. The air shimmered, the ground glowed. Everything felt peaceful. God was in his heaven, all's right with the world.
"Never in my life have I been this happy to have utterly failed," Gendo says, pouring himself a drink. He clinks glasses with Fuyutsuki, or more accurately, the puddle of LCL that was Fuyutsuki. He sips the drink, takes in his box seat view of the end of the world. "Dammit kid," he laughs, visions of Rei, Yui, Naoko and Ritsuko playing in the reflection of his glasses. "I'm proud of you."
"Looks like the Ree are coming for you again, Aoba," Hyuuga says, ignoring the apparition of Misato Katsuragi ready to jump his bones into oblivion. "Pray they're not the turnip loving kind."
"Hey, you know what they say," Aoba says to his rapidly disintegrating companion, "the more the merrier."
"So, Kaji," Mana asks, poking at a watermelon as the sky weeps orange tears of joy. "You think LCL's good for these things?" She looks around, sees that Kaji is nowhere to be found, and sits down. "Ah, no fair," she pouts, hugging her knees to her chest. "I wanted to use more allusions with you." She looks up and smiles. "You're good with words, right Ikari-kun?"
"Sempai, I'm scared." Mana shivers, staring stupidly at the end of everything.
"Then hold on to me," Ritsuko says, flat, but with a hint of warmth.
"That's the thing; if I hold you too tight, I might disappear."
"Funny thing about science," she says, raising an eyebrow at the duplicates of Maya and the Supreme Commander. She grabs onto the real Maya, ruffles her hair. "It can't be proven unless you're willing to test it."
Misato gazes up at the stars melting into the drain of self-definition and grins. She sees a dinner table, clean, proper, piled high with a sumptuous spread. Everyone's there: Ritzy and Kaji and all of the kids. Even her father decided to show up. If this was how she was going to die, she could've picked worse.
"I'm back."
"Welcome home, Ayanami." Shinji says warmly, Yui trying her best to put on a motherly smile while being a god-machine.
"It's just like Nonoriri, Ayanami onee-sama!" Liao squees, as she turns lazy circles in the air around images of Rei. "You came back! A whole bunch of you came back!"
"Yeah, welcome back Wondergirl," Asuka says with a grin, her sense of self getting sketchier by the moment. "If you bit it, I'd have to spend all my time with Stupid Shinji." She shushes the apparition of him in her cockpit, slaps his hands off of hers. Her mother laughs behind her hand. "I'd rather be in a coma than go through that."
"Heh, still can't spit it out at the end of the world, huh?" Mari says; feet kicked up in her entry plug, an army of Liao Rei and Hikari Horaki clones emerging from the floor.
"It's okay, she said enough on the train," Shinji says, watching Units 02 and 04 turn into similarly white and nude versions of their pilots. "Now if we had Kaworu and Misato, this'd be a party."
"Am I not good enough for you, Ikari-kun?" Rei asks, brushing her gigantic hand across Unit 01's cheek.
"Not quite yet," he says, barely holding on to his ego barrier. "Smile for me."
For the [REDACTED] time in [REDACTED] cycles, Rei Ayanami as Lilith smiles. Warmly, truthfully smiles.
Death couldn't come any sweeter.
{End. Turn Tape Over.}