Sorry for the long wait. I've been working on my first original novel, and it hasn't exactly been easy. Whew! Oh well, maybe I can pass it off as a parody when I finally get it published. Anyway, here we go!

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Vanilla…

That was the impression Shinji Ikari received from the shapeless void around him. Swirling nothingness surrounded him for as far as he could see. He looked down and saw that he was naked. He then looked back up into the void he floated in.

I hate vanilla.

"Me too." Shinji blinked, and turned his head. Nothing but nothingness to his right. Shinji considered this, and turned his head to the left. Still nothing.

"Behind you." Shinji twisted around, spinning slowly as though in micro gravity. A beautiful woman, also naked, floated before him. Shinji's mouth dropped. He had seen her only in dreams, and in faint memories emphasized by great loss… But it was obvious who she was.

"… Mother?" The woman nodded, smiling gently, and held out her arms. Fighting back tears of joy, Shinji pushed forward, landing in his mother's warm, welcome embrace.

"Mother… It's you… Isn't it?" Shinji murmured through wet tears and his mother's bosom. The woman smiled and held him closer.

"Yes, Shinji… It's me. I'm sorry we've been apart for so long…"

"I… You're dead though, right?" Shinji asked, feeling like a lost child again, and not remotely near his nighttime persona. Yui shook her head.

"Then… Where is-?"

"I'm sorry, Shinji," Yui murmured quietly. "But you aren't dead. And, well, neither am I. We are inside Unit 01." Shinji blinked quizzically at her. Yui smiled sadly.

"You don't want to remember, do you?"

The young man stared into Yui's eyes, before sighing and looking away.

"No… I don't. I don't want to remember… Anything… I just want to be with you, Mother." Shinji turned to his mother again, emphatic.

"I… I… I guess, my crusade was for you, more than for my aunt and uncle. I… I hurt so bad… Your death took away… Everything. And I wanted to lash out at something… Anything…" Yui clutched her son more tightly, rubbing his head, cooing softly to try and comfort Shinji.

"I am very proud of you, Shinji." Shinji blinked, and looked up into his mother's face again.

"… How? Why?"

"You have not become your father… No matter how much loss or neglect you suffered, you never became him. Well… That isn't completely true," Yui allowed. Shinji stayed silent, waiting for his mother to collect herself.

"When I met your father… He was bright, ambitious, determined. His will would not be broken, no matter how many failures or set-backs we experienced. He kept me on the path, no matter how bleak things looked," Yui murmured. She sighed, running her fingers through Shinji's hair.

"Shinji… I have done some terrible things in my life. Unintentionally or not, I still shoulder the blame for… many things."

"Such as…?" Shinji pressed. Yui smiled sadly.

"Let me tell you about Misato's father, and Second Impact…"

Batman leapt easily from rooftop to rooftop, the grace of a cat in his every movement. Silently, he alighted to the edge of a high rise in downtown, and looked out upon the expanse of Tokyo-3. His eyes narrowed as he stood stock still, as a statue.

The devastation wrought by the latest battle with the Angels was still being cleaned up, even after two weeks of round-the-clock work. The Dark Knight snorted. NERV had prioritized it's own repairs before any other projects could begin, leaving the city without power or running water for days. It was atrocious.

"Hello, Ayanami," he spoke quietly, before turning around and gazing upon the black form of Batgirl. If she was surprised he knew her real name, Rei didn't show it. The First Child stared at the vigilante.

"Who are you?" She asked simply. Batman smirked.

"Batman, of course."

"You are not," Rei said firmly. Batman shrugged.

"I am. Believe what you will." Rei moved and had the imposter against an air-conditioning unit, her hand at his throat.

"You are not," she stated, in controlled fury. Batman smirked… Before flipping around so quickly that Rei gasped in surprise, finding herself now held against the AC unit with a hand to her throat. She attempted to struggle, but found herself trapped. Her eyes widened.

"Kaoru," she whispered. The Batman smiled slightly.

"Sister," he acknowledged, in a different voice. Rei blinked at him.

"You are not supposed to be here… Not yet… Why are you here?"

"The human, Shinji Ikari… He is most unique, isn't he?" He nodded thoughtfully. "You care for him, deeply. And yet, he does not know what you are."

"I have not told him," Rei said calmly. Kaoru smiled his strange smile again.

"I see… It is interesting, the power this costume conveys, isn't it? It's all in how you wear it, how you express your soul through it. Shinji Ikari… The Dark Knight, they call him. A champion of justice and life… And yet, alone in the darkness." Kaoru shrugged. "It is an interesting dichotomy, wouldn't you agree?"

"Why are you here?" Rei asked again flatly. Kaoru's gaze shifted up slightly.

"A certain… Acquaintance of Shinji's contacted me. She gave me some interesting insights into the Batman." Rei's heart froze. Mana…

"Yes," Kaoru nodded. "The spy with the green eyes. She cares deeply for Shinji as well. When I learned of Shinji's incarceration, I decided to help him. Fill in for him until he returns to guard his city once more."

"Is this a directive of SEELE?" Rei asked. Kaoru frowned.

"I have not heard from SEELE in quite some time. They no longer contact me. After their last meeting with Commander Ikari… They vanished." Rei blinked quizzically. Kaoru nodded.

"Things are different. The Path is diverging. There is something new, a new set of possibilities on the horizon. Shinji Ikari started the process."

"Your destiny is of an Angel, Kaoru," Rei protested. "Our destiny… It is set. It cannot change."

"It is already changing, every second," Kaoru countered. "The broken pane of glass… The two shots… All that it took to set this new path into motion. Sister… Do not forsake your feelings. They are one part of the puzzle." Kaoru leaned closer, causing Rei to blush slightly, as her "brother" whispered in her ear.

"He will be home soon… Be ready to welcome him."

And with a burst of light, Kaoru was gone, leaving Rei to stand like a gargoyle atop the skyscraper. The First Child, Batgirl, stepped out to the edge of the building, but she knew Kaoru was long gone. She could sense it. She looked up at the stars and sighed quietly.

"Shinji… What have you begun?"

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Next time: Asuka and Misato discuss recent events, while Shinji languishes inside Unit 01. Rei finds Mana, while Kaoru continues being the stand-in Batman. But what happened to SEELE? What is Gendo planning? And what is to become of Instrumentality now?

All this and more, in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Bat Tales! NERV's Belfry, Episode 11!