Chapter 30

Not a single word had been spoken in the NERV command centre since the loss of Rei and Unit-00 to the Revenants. Everybody was too focused on what the orange beasts were now doing with the stricken Evangelions.

Everybody, that is, except for Kyoko, who had slid bonelessly down a wall shortly after watching her daughter vanish. Misato vaguely thought that she had half-expected the mother of NERV's most fiery employee to have made some effort to regain that title for herself. But Kyoko was now sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees, mumbling to herself and focusing intently on the screen. Misato sighed and turned her own attention back to the screen, still puzzled by what was going on on the surface.

After their victory, the Revenants had carefully dragged the Evangelions, a Lance still lodged in each core, to a point some distance away from the city and laid them down next to each other to form a three-pointed star with their heads at the centre. Each Revenant was kneeling at the foot of an Evangelion, looking to be concentrating deeply. There was an occasional orange flicker in the air around the scene, a sign of an immense AT-Field building up.

Misato finally broke the silence.

"Any-" She swallowed in a dry throat, and tried again. "Any response from the Evas? Anything at all?"

"No ma'am," Makoto dully replied. "Activation commands are having no effect, and all emergency systems are failing to respond. Their AT-Field seems to be-"

There was a brilliant flash, and the flickering AT-Field became a solid orange dome.

"...is blocking everything," the spectacled officer lamely finished.

"It's just like when Nagisa blocked out everything in Terminal Dogma," Ritsuko remarked. "Only this time, we have nothing to counter it." The scientist leaned over Maya and typed a few commands on the console, before straightening up with a frown. "There's not even any point throwing N2 mines at it. We'd do more damage to the landscape than the enemy. And I'm not exactly confident that nuclear weapons would accomplish much either."

"Just what the hell are they doing?" Misato hissed. "They come along, wipe the floor with us, and then... begin some kind of ritual?" The day was well past being too much for the woman, and she just barely restrained herself from slamming a fist against the wall. Again.

"I have a pretty good guess that it has something to do with the anomalous reading coming this way."

The Sub-Commander's words pulled Misato's gaze away from the main screen, towards the console Shigeru Aoba was sitting at. Indeed, there was something the MAGI couldn't easily identify rushing through the ocean on a direct course to Tokyo-3.

Mere seconds later, an immense orange orb burst out of the water by the shoreline, its rippling surface giving it the appearance of a ball of liquid held aloft by an invisible hand, heading straight for the dome the Revenants were hiding under with the Evangelions.

"Oh. Oh don't you dare," Misato growled out. "Don't you fucking dare steal my kids!" She took a quick breath and gave the order. "I want everything firing on whatever that is, now!"

Even if they had their doubts about the effectiveness of human weapons against this threat, all three bridge officers immediately jumped to obey, intent on doing something to try and hurt the enemy. Above their heads, all around Tokyo-3, the static defenses came to life and opened up on the new arrival. Bullets, cannon shells, and explosive warheads all streaked through the sky towards the floating orange mass.

And every single projectile passed right through it as if it wasn't there. A couple of weapon emplacements suffered friendly fire as a missile exploded near them.

It was, Misato decided, adding insult to injury that the thing refused to even pretend to be affected.

"Energy spike detected within the target!" Makoto loudly called out. Nobody needed to hear him, as they could all see for themselves what was happening.

A glowing white hand, larger than even an entire Evangelion, was reaching out of the bubble towards the dome. The sight of that hand, and the realisation of just what was in the bubble, froze Misato solid.

"Adam..."

Despite the weapon emplacements shifting their aim, there was no stopping the hand of the First Angel as it latched onto the orange dome and slowly lifted it up into the air. As it ascended, rock and dirt fell away to reveal that the dome had cut through the ground as well to create an impenetrable sphere a mere fraction of the size of the bubble it was now being drawn into.

"Commander, if we're going to use N2s or nukes, we'd better do it now," Ritsuko warned. "Bombers have already lifted off and are en route. Shall I give the order for them to drop everything on Adam?"

The Commander of NERV dropped her chin to her chest, unwilling to look at the screen anymore. "Give... give the order," she whispered. "We'll burn the entire region to radioactive ash if we have to. It'll still be better than the alternative. At least humanity will still be alive."

The AT-Field sphere was soon lost to sight inside the bubble.


"Rise and shine, Miss Soryu. Rise and shine."

Pain was the first thing Asuka felt as she fought her way back to consciousness, taking the form of an incredibly bad headache. Thankfully, that quickly disappeared, and she blinked the fuzziness out of her eyes as she got to her feet.

Asuka was standing in a city plaza, but she couldn't make out any details. The entire area was blanketed in a thick fog that seemed to begin a few meters around her. With a start, the redhead realised that she had been here before. It was the same plaza where she had spoken to her mother the last time she had been in Instrumentality. But unlike that time, she was still in her plugsuit.

Somebody politely cleared their throat behind Asuka, and she whirled around to face them.

"Hello, again," said the newcomer. "It's been a while since we last met, hasn't it?"

The look of death now aimed at them would have sent any normal person running for the hills. The way the angry German girl was stomping towards them would have made that same person decide it wasn't worth packing. Asuka slipped past the casually raised hand they held out, before grabbing onto both their shoulders and slamming a knee into a certain part of their anatomy.

After a few seconds, the young man hesitantly said, "Is this... some sort of Lilim greeting? Should I be doing the same to you?"

Asuka blinked, before hurriedly letting go and backing away. The boy had not even twitched at the blatant attack, and was simply giving her a bemused look. If anything, that only made her madder.

Now that she had time to fully regard him, she saw that he still had the appearance of Kaworu Nagisa. Despite never having seen the Seventeenth Angel herself due to being in a coma, the memory of him rescuing her and Shinji was still etched clearly in Asuka's mind.

And now she knew exactly who he was.

"Come to gloat about winning?" she contemptuously asked. "Beating us wasn't enough, you have to personally rub it in our faces as well, oh mighty Adam?"

"No, nothing of the sort," the First Angel replied. "My plan requires the Evangelions but not their pilots, so you three were extracted once I gained control of them."

At the mention of her fellow pilots, Asuka glanced around. There was no sign of Shinji or Rei nearby.

"Where-"

Anticipating the question, Adam cut her off with an explanation. "They are with Lilith for the time being. I understand she wished to speak with them about a few things."

The redhead narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists as she walked in a slow circle around him. "'Things'? What things? And why did I get left out? Why am I stuck with you?"

Adam smiled and did not turn his head to follow Asuka as she stalked around him. "Out of respect for Lilith I did not press the matter when she brought it up, but I can assure you that your friends are safe and that you'll see them again soon."

Asuka stopped at a point behind Adam where the circle of clear space in the fog around her just barely began to creep over his form. "And the reason for me being here with you?" she asked again.

Without seeming to even move a muscle, Adam was suddenly facing her again. "A couple of reasons; purely for your benefit. As the chariot you rode against my Revenants was made from my flesh and a fragment of my soul, I felt it would be appropriate if I were to be your... guide. I would have extended the same offer to the other Lilim girl, but..." He shrugs.

"Guide? Guide to what?"

Adam raised his hands to gesture at the plaza they were standing in. "Why, Instrumentality of course. If I were to simply leave you alone, you'd soon become nothing more than another lost soul."

"Get to the point!" Asuka snarled. "Why the hell would I want to wander around this place?!"

As his arms faltered before dropping back to his side, Adam stared quizzically at her. "You... do not wish to see any members of your family that are still in Instrumentality? This would be your last chance, after all. Once everything is ready, it won't be possible for any more Lilim to leave."

Asuka snorted derisively. "Are you referring to the asshole who happens to be my father? Yeah right." She stomped towards Adam, stopping when only centimetres separated their faces. "What I wish right now is to perform some below-the-belt surgery for what you and your damn toys have done," she said in a dangerous tone of voice.

It was probably an automatic response built into every male in existence, but that didn't stop the tiniest of smirks from appearing on her face when she saw the First Angel clench his body slightly at the threat and twitch his hands towards his groin.

Although that didn't explain his lack of reaction to Asuka's 'greeting'.

"Peace, please," Adam requested, once he had backed away and managed to recover. "The fighting is over. There is no need to get violent anymore."

"Oh, there is every need," Asuka retorted. "You want to wipe humanity off the planet just so you can give it to your Angels." She took a step forward. "You preyed on Shinji at his most vulnerable moment, turning yourself into his friend and then forcing him to kill you." Another step, putting her well inside Adam's personal space. "And you hurt him. I may not have my Evangelion but that won't stop me from kicking your ass!"

Asuka pulled her fist back and and drove it into Adam's fa-

Through Adam's face, throwing her off-kilter as her attack hit nothing but air. She stumbled for a moment before regaining her balance, and turned around. Adam was still standing there, staring nonplussed at her.

"You are an... interesting Lilim," he said, all emotion gone from his face and voice. "Alone, without your weapon of war, against a god, and yet you attack despite the futility of such an action." Adam looked down at his body. "I suppose this form has something to do with it. Perhaps it is finally time to do away with it."

His body... flickered.

And then melted into the ground. Before Asuka could even begin to process what had just happened, the ground beneath her feet began to rumble. She cast her gaze about, looking for the source of the quaking, but saw nothing until she looked behind her.

A humongous white head was emerging from underneath the plaza, phasing through it as if it didn't exist. Asuka stared in shock as the rest of the body slowly followed, and she had to squint and shield her eyes from the glow its flesh was producing. Its shoulders were already at the height of the tallest building in the plaza when it finally stopped ascending and the ground stopped shaking, putting Asuka at eye height to the middle of a glowing white stomach.

Part of her wanted to move, to run, but her legs wouldn't obey, frozen to the spot by something Asuka refused to admit was fear. Her fists and teeth clenched.

"Y-you think that's enough to scare me?" she yelled up at the giant. "So what if you're huge? That's just more of you to hurt!"

In response, the white giant slowly folded its arms in front of a chest almost the width of the plaza itself. The brilliant glow faded slightly, just enough for Asuka to be able to cease squinting and make out what little detail there was on its body.

The giant was almost completely featureless, like a department store mannequin. Except for the the wings. Asuka was pretty sure she had never seen a mannequin that had six thin but incredibly long wings seemingly composed of pure light.

The ends of the wings curled up and over the giant's shoulders, before slamming into the ground around Asuka. She held her ground -or perhaps was still unable to move, she couldn't tell which-, even as the giant began to lean forward.

Asuka Langley-Soryu stared into an eye with a pupil as big as her entire body.

"Alright, father. I believe you've made a suitable impression on her by now."

The eye swivelled upward, focusing on something behind Asuka. She slowly looked over her shoulder, and raised an eyebrow at what she saw.

A couple of metres away, standing with his hands in the pockets of his school uniform pants, was a young white-haired teenager that looked exactly the same as Adam had, before the Angel had shed that form.

"Hello, Miss Soryu," said the boy. "May I request that the two of you stop this pointless posturing?"

Asuka stared at him, before casting her gaze to the giant in front of her for a moment then returning her attention back to the boy.

"...Nagisa?!"


For somebody who had once been merely one clone of a batch numbering well over a dozen, Rei still found herself shocked to wake up and look into her own face. She stared for a long while, before it finally clicked in her head.

"...Lilith," she said.

The other person nodded. "It is good to see you again, my child," Lilith replied as she offered a hand to Rei and lifted the girl to her feet.

"I wish it were under more pleasant circumstances, however," Rei remarked.

Lilith smiled. "All will be made clear in due time. For now, know that you are safe."

"And... Shinji? Asuka?"

"Asuka is with Adam." At Rei's shocked expression, the mother of humanity quickly added, "Do not worry, she will still be safe. As for Shinji-"

"Waagh!"

Both bluenettes turned at the startled yelp to see the object of their discussion a couple of metres away, sitting up and staring agape at them.

Upon noticing that his eyes were jumping between the two of them, Rei cleared her throat and said, "I believe he is surprised to see what appears to be a clone of me."

"...Ah," Lilith replied. "My apologies. I have worn this form for so long I had forgotten about it."

A brilliant white glow erupted out of Lilith's chest, blinding the two teenagers for a moment. When Rei blinked the spots out of her eyes, she saw that Lilith was now a white-skinned, somewhat-feminine figure with six thin white wings, floating just above the ground. The glow had faded to the point where the figure's skin now seemed lit by an inner light.

If anything, Lilith's new form only surprised Shinji more, but Rei was soon by his side to lay a hand on his shoulder in reassurance. He looked up at her, and the relaxed expression on her face was enough to settle him back down.

"Hello, Shinji."

Lilith's voice, sounding almost like two people speaking at exactly the same time, drew the boy's attention back to the floating goddess.

"U-um... hi," he weakly replied as he got to his feet.

"Before anything else happens, I would like to say something." Lilith placed a hand on her chest. "I am... sorry for what you endured in your role in Third Impact. I realised too late that you should not have been put in such a-."

"No!" Rei angrily interrupted. "If anyone is to blame for that it is me! I was the one who believed that Gendo Ikari was unworthy, and I sought somebody else." She calmed down slightly, and her chin dropped to her chest.

Lilith smiled slightly. "To be honest, if it hadn't been for the ones you call SEELE, none of us would have faced such a conundrum in the first place."

"Yeah," Shinji mumbled, before letting out a harsh, humourless laugh. "But that knowledge doesn't exactly wipe away everything I've been through."

"Again, I am sorry, Shinji." Lilith placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If I could take away all that pain, I would."

"You gave me the memories of the ones who came before me," said Rei. "Surely you could do something about his trauma."

The goddess gave a sad shake of her head. "It is not as simple as removing a memory. Those ordeals have left their mark on your soul. I could remove the memories, but the emotional scars would remain. I could make a person forget about the most horrible day of their life, but what would that do to their personality?"

"P-please..." Shinji begged. "There has to be something you can do!" He slapped a hand to his forehead. "Being with... being with Asuka has helped, but... I can still hear the screams sometimes."

Lilith raised an eyebrow, before floating towards Shinji. Her feet touched the ground when they were almost nose-to-nose, and she gently removed the boy's hand from his forehead before bringing her own hands up to cup his ears. Her head tilted back slightly, and the glow of her body seemed to intensify slightly. Shinji's eyes turned glassy as Lilith held his head.

Rei took the time to look around, which didn't take long as they appeared to be in an utterly featureless white room. Only a slight difference in tint prevented the goddess from being invisible.

After several minutes, the glow dimmed once more as Lilith let go and stepped back. Rei was quick to catch Shinji before he collapsed, and the boy roughly shook his head as his senses returned.

"Feels like... somebody just poked me in the middle of my brain," he muttered.

"Now I believe I do have something to actually apologise for," said Lilith. "That was not a memory you had been experiencing, but a..." She stopped speaking Japanese, and the doubled effect of her voice ceased as she said something in a language Rei could not understand before returning to Japanese. "...It is impossible to describe properly in a human language. The closest I can get is that a fragment of Instrumentality itself was still attached to your soul."

"Was?" Shinji repeated.

"I have removed it." The boy collapsed again, but it was with relief on his face. "It should not have been there in the first place, for which I am really to blame." Again, one of Lilith's two voices ceased as she said something in her strange language, and then shook her head in dismay.

"It doesn't matter if you can't explain it," said Shinji. "The fact that I don't have to deal with it anymore is enough."

Lilith smiled. "In that case, I have something for the two of you that may lift your spirits."

"Should we not be concerned about Adam's plan, first and foremost?" Rei interjected. "He has beaten us, after all."

"There is nothing to worry about. Trust me, we have plenty of time before anything will happen. Now then..."

Lilith waved a hand at one of the walls, and a door appeared with no fanfare, as if it had always been there.

"Shall we go?"

Shinji and Rei looked at each other in confusion. After a moment, Rei moved towards the door and Shinji followed. It opened as they approached, and the teenagers stepped through...

Into a hallway.

"Um... is this...?" Shinji began.

"Whatever you see in Instrumentality is merely your mind's interpretation," Lilith explained as she stepped out of the door behind them. "Right now we are moving from one... closed off section to another."

She set off down the hallway, and Shinji and Rei followed hesitantly. What felt like only seconds later, despite passing seemingly dozens of doors, the goddess stopped in front of one that looked no different from the others. With a wave of her hand the door opened, but whatever was inside was covered by a brilliant glow that the teenagers had to shield their eyes from.

"I will not be following you just yet," said Lilith. "What is through this portal would best be experienced without my interference, for the time being."

Again, Shinji and Rei glanced at each other. This time, Shinji was the first through the door. Rei followed, and almost immediately bumped into his back as the boy had stopped suddenly.

There was a woman in front of them, sitting on a bench under a tree in a beautiful park. A brown-haired woman with a very familiar face.

"M-mother...?"


"...Nagisa?!" Asuka exclaimed incredulously as her clenched fists relaxed out of sheer surprise.

Kaworu Nagisa nodded and smiled. "Correct. And I would just like to clarify something." The smile vanished. "Adam had nothing to do with what happened to Shinji Ikari. That was all me, and I regret it now as much as I did back then."

That got Asuka's legs to move. She stormed up to Kaworu and gave him the exact same greeting she had given Adam. This time, the redhead got the reaction she was expecting as the boy collapsed to the ground and curled into a ball.

Behind Asuka, she heard a growl of anger, but Kaworu swiftly raised a hand and wheezed out, "N-no, father, there's... nothing to worry about." He gingerly got to his feet and continued. "It's far less than I deserve, after all."

"So what happens now?" Asuka asked. "Do I get to kick your ass instead of your dad's?"

"No, that won't be necessary," Kaworu replied. "There are more important things right now than delivering the punishment I deserve. Such as congratulating you."

"...What," Asuka flatly replied.

"You won. You were victorious."

The redhead felt a gust of wind against her back as Adam snorted contemptuously, but she kept her focus on Kaworu.

"To put it simply, Adam has... conceded," the boy explained. "With some... ah... convincing, we managed to come to something of a compromise."

"Conceded. A compromise," Asuka flatly repeated, before her voice rose. "So what you're saying is that the entire last year was a fucking waste of time, effort and resources!"

"No no no!" Kaworu hurriedly said, waving his hands in front of him. "Your victories against my father were what finally got him to agree."

"Yes," said the giant behind Asuka, in a voice like lead slabs falling on a marble floor. "If you had failed, if humanity had simply given up in the face of my attacks, I would have had no qualms about ending their existence."

Asuka turned around. Adam was now leaning on the ground as if it were a table, chin in hand and tapping a finger on his cheek.

"But... what kind of being would erase such a tenacious, determined race just to propagate another?" The giant looked down at the redhead. "The universe would be a poorer place without humanity. But at the same time, the urge to spawn my progeny, to restart my race is... almost overwhelming."

"And so Lilith, Father and I managed to work something out," said Kaworu. "The Angels are from an entirely different galaxy, sent to this one billions of years ago when their race was about to die out. Adam and Lilith were not meant to be in the same solar system, let alone land on the same planet. Father doesn't know what happened, though."

"It is something perhaps only Lilith could explain," Adam stated. "Her Seed was launched second, and was supposed to go in a different direction, yet it turned to follow mine not long after it left orbit. By then it was too late to do anything but watch."

Asuka blinked, before shifting her attention back to Kaworu. "So what is this 'compromise'? Are the Angels going to exist alongside humanity or something?"

"That would be... nice," the boy admitted, "but impossible. In order to create more Angels now, Father would have to initiate something similar to an Impact event. That is what would have happened if humanity had lost. But there would have been no chance for you to survive in any form, unlike what happened with Third Impact. No, instead he will leave Earth with Lilith and the Evangelions."

"He's taking the Evas?!" the redhead loudly exclaimed.

Kaworu nodded. "That is the compromise. Their bodies are needed, as Adam and Lilith cannot exist outside of Instrumentality as they are right now. The S2 Organ that Unit-01 possesses is also required."

"But..." Asuka began. She felt utterly torn on how to feel about losing her Evangelion. On the one hand, it was what she had almost literally spent her entire life working with. On the other... if there were no Evangelions, Shinji would be safe. He would never need to pilot again.

And Asuka realised that she would give anything to prevent Shinji from such a fate.

"...Alright, I guess I can't really do much to stop you," she conceded, before a thought occurred. "Wait, there's Adam and Lilith, but there's three Evas. What's happening to the last one?"

"It is going with them as well, simply to remove its presence from this planet," said Kaworu. "Humanity was never really meant to have such a thing to begin with."

"The chariots of you and the other Lilim girl were made from my flesh," Adam rumbled. He leaned in close to Asuka. "Is there a problem with that?"

Asuka stared right back at the giant for several long seconds, before shrugging and saying, "Eh, you may as well take it anyway. Humanity would only get... ideas if an Eva was left behind."

Like building more of them. And more. Along with weapons for them to wield. Wars would erupt, spearheaded by bipedal giants that could only be stopped with massive quantities of explosives, and piloted by children. As it was, there was going to be somebody attempting to build their own Evangelion in secret. It was inevitable that someone would try.

A vision flashed in Asuka's mind of a war-weary child that looked strikingly similar to Shinji, staring out his Evangelion's cockpit at another behemoth across a wasteland, and she shuddered at the thought.

"Good."

Adam's flesh began to glow, forcing Asuka to shield her eyes again. When the glow faded, the giant was nowhere to be seen.

"Father is preparing for the exodus," Kaworu explained. "But there is still plenty of time left, if you wish to meet anybody still in Instrumentality."

"Like I said to the big guy," Asuka irritatedly replied, "I don't give a damn about my father. Besides, anybody who hasn't left yet is obviously perfectly happy with their own perfect world."

The teenage boy tilted his head in a half nod of agreement. "True. I can say that the members of SEELE wholeheartedly believe that they actually succeeded in their plan. Every single one of them is convinced that humanity has become a singular being, ruled by them."

The redhead snorted. "Old men, running the world. A new age," she sarcastically commented, before turning serious. "So... everybody got their perfect world thanks to Third Impact, but most people rejected it. And yet everybody who left couldn't remember that world."

"A simple failing of the human mind, unfortunately."

"Yeah, pretty much exactly what Doctor Akagi said. Anyway, I distinctly remember not getting any world at all. I went straight to my mother convincing me to leave."

"Oh no, you did have your own world, Miss Soryu, but you're still human." Kaworu shrugged helplessly. "You remember your mother because at that moment you two had been... separated from the rest of Instrumentality. And you did not reject your reality, you were pulled out of it for the meeting."

"Damn," Asuka muttered, but then she brightened up. "But hey, my reality back then would probably just have revolved around my mother. Now I have her and Shinji. The real reality is definitely better than whatever's in here."

"Actually..."

A hand shot up to forestall any comment. "Let me guess: My false reality was me, Shinji and Mama."

"...Pretty much. It was a world where Evangelions and Angels never existed. You and Shinji found love and..." Kaworu broke off with a smile. "Well, I'm sure whatever comes next for you two after this will dwarf the false reality."

More dates.

Graduating together.

Being with Shinji through college.

Getting... married.

...Having... children...?

Asuka's cheeks were now burning brightly, and she missed the chuckle the boy let out as she turned her head away.

"Shinji is truly fortunate to have you, after everything that life has thrown at him," Kaworu commented wistfully. When Asuka looked back at him, there was melancholy written all over his face. "I almost wish I could return with you so that I could apologise for what I did to him. But for his own good, I must remain separate."

"I don't want you anywhere near him either."

"Soon, I will be about as far away from him as it is possible to be."

"Good," Asuka replied in a reasonable impression of the departed Adam's voice.

A moment of silence passed between the two, before Kaworu spoke up. "How... is Shinji doing now, anyway? While he has been in here, I have not had the... courage to check on him."

"He's fine... or at least much better, thanks to me." The redhead stopped and thought a bit. "Okay, thanks to me, Misato, Wondergirl and our friends, I guess."

"Then I am satisfied. It is certainly an improvement compared to Shinji's false reality."

"...What do you mean?"

Kaworu sighed, long and deep, before turning away from Asuka. "It would perhaps be better to show you," he said as he waved a hand in front of him.

A doorway was suddenly always there. The boy beckoned Asuka to follow before stepping through. With some trepidation, she went in after him. Her vision shimmered and wavered, before refocusing on the back of Kaworu's white school shirt. In front of them, hovering in a black void, were what looked like several television screens, all showing friends and family that Asuka easily recognised.

On one screen, Class 2-A at school were chatting before the first bell rang. On another, Misato, Asuka, and Rei were at the beach with their friends. On yet another, Asuka was at a restaurant talking to a strangely handsome young man that wasn't Shinji and-

"Wait," she said, as she started to realise what the common thread between the realities was. "Where's..."

"He's not there," Kaworu sadly replied. "In these realities Shinji created, he simply doesn't exist." He glanced sidelong at Asuka, who was staring in horror at the visions.

"He... he thought a perfect world was one without him?" Asuka asked in a voice filled with horror.

"There were a dozen more, similar to this. There was one where he did exist, but it didn't... last long, so to speak."

"Show me."

The redhead's voice seemed to be all that Kaworu needed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest for a split second before throwing them outward as if he were tossing confetti. The images of the worlds without Shinji evaporated into dust, and something seemed to fly out of the boy's chest; a screen that expanded to fill the void left by the smaller ones.

"The one reality Shinji created that was... nice," Kaworu murmured. "It is... what I have been using to stay hopeful for him."

A scene played out in front of their eyes on the screen. A larger-than-life Asuka burst into a bedroom, waking up a sleepy Shinji before being shocked by something the real Asuka had already accidentally experienced once or twice thanks to their sleeping arrangements (Shinji had had to embarrassedly explain, with a bright red face, the male phenomenon of 'morning wood' to her, and after that Asuka simply poked a little fun at him whenever it happened).

The scene progressed, showing both of Shinji's parents in the kitchen as the children got ready, and then went on to have Rei Ayanami crash headlong into Shinji on their way to school. Various other 'normal life' things happened, but the scene dissolved just as Asuka was beginning to enjoy it.

"Even after all his hardships, and despite all those realities he made without himself, Shinji still managed to create a happy world," Kaworu mused. "For a while I kind of... regretted that he chose to end Third Impact so soon."

"Take me back to him," Asuka quietly ordered.

"Hmm?" The boy twisted his upper body slightly to glance at her. "What was that?"

"I said take me back to Shinji."

"Oh." Kaworu distractedly waved a hand, and another doorway appeared. "Go out there, turn left and take the twenty-eighth door on your right."

Rather than waste time analysing the directions or convincing him to come along, Asuka simply committed them to memory and ran through the doorway.

Kaworu returned his attention to the screen as the scene replayed itself, and he smiled contentedly.

"Godspeed, Frau Soryu," he whispered. "I wish you two all the best."


It took Rei several long seconds to get over the shock of seeing her other progenitor face to face. In that time, the woman got up and walked slowly towards Shinji, who didn't seem to know whether he should run to or away from her. Yui Ikari, for her part, evidently felt the same way. There was a smile on her face as she stared at Shinji, but it was sad and brittle.

And so Rei took it upon herself to start the conversation.

"H-hello, Mrs Ikari," she haltingly greeted.

Yui turned her head to look at the girl, and the smile brightened an infinitesimal amount. "Hello, Rei. And please, call me Yui. In normal circumstances I would perhaps suggest something even more familiar, but..."

"These are far from normal circumstances," Rei agreed, before stepping closer to Shinji and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. To him, she quietly said, "Shinji, are you not going to talk to her?"

With what might have been the tiniest of shoves from the bluenette, Shinji staggered forward, closing the distance between himself and his mother before awkwardly placing both arms around her. Yui embraced her son, but even to Rei's eyes the hug seemed awkward, as both participants appeared incredibly unsure of each other.

"My darling son..." Tears were now flowing from Yui's eyes. "I have waited so long to be able to see you face to face again."

Apart from a single sniffle, Shinji remained silent.

"You were still in Unit-01, weren't you?" Rei asked. "You could have spoken to him whenever he was piloting."

"Yes, but... I couldn't," Yui replied with a sad shake of the head. "I wasn't... conscious when Unit-01 was brought back to NERV. The first thing I felt after Third Impact was... Shinji's pain. That was what woke me up." Shinji stiffened in the embrace, and she responded by tightening her hold. "That pain... I felt so guilty for my part in it that I hid myself away in the core. All I had wanted to do was give my son happiness, but I just ended up hurting him."

"You killed yourself in front of me," Shinji mumbled. "I couldn't even clearly recall that day until last year because it was so... so..."

Yui nodded. "I'm so sorry for that, my son, but I had to sacrifice myself. SEELE were about to make me... disappear. My death and absorption into Unit-01 was just the first step to ruining their plan for Third Impact."

"But..." Shinji yanked himself out of the embrace. "Why did you kill yourself in front of me? Why did you decide to traumatise your own son?!"

Flinching at the harshness in the boy's words, Yui replied, "That was the furthest thing from my mind, Shinji, but... it was unavoidable. The reason I brought you to NERV that day was... selfishness, in a way."

"Selfishness?" both Rei and Shinji repeated at the same time.

"Yes. That was going to be my last day as... a normal person. From that point on I would only exist as the soul inside an Evangelion." Yui stared longingly at her son as her tears continued unabated. "I-I brought you there so that the last thing I saw would be my wonderful son. As Unit-01 absorbed me, even through the agony I felt, I kept my eyes on you and thought of the paradise I could bring about for you."

"You..." Shinji breathed. Words failed him, and he instead chose to express himself by hugging his mother again.

There was silence for a while, before the scene was interrupted by a new voice.

"Guess that's what I get for automatically assuming the worst of people. Then again, I was pretty well within my right to distrust the woman who abandoned her son."

Three sets of eyes turned to the tree Yui had been sitting under, where a girl in a red plugsuit was leaning and propping herself up with an outstretched hand on the trunk. Yui flinched slightly as the girl locked a disapproving stare on her for a moment.

"A-Asuka?!" Shinji gasped, leaning past his mother to see who it was. "You're alright!"

Pushing herself away from the tree, Asuka airily replied, "Duh, of course I'm fine. I'm the Great Asuka Langley-Soryu!"

Hastily extricating himself from his mother's embrace again, Shinji ran over to the tree. "I-I mean I kinda already knew you were fine, like... I'm pretty sure I would have felt it in here if there was something wrong with you, but I got so caught up in every-"

Asuka placed both hands on the boy's shoulders. "Shinji, you're babbling."

"Um, so-... yeah..."

"Now are you going to introduce me properly or what?"

It took a moment, but Shinji's eyes lit up at the realisation. "Y-yeah, of... of course I will." He turned back towards his mother, pausing momentarily as he took in the sight of Yui Ikari and Rei Ayanami now standing side by side. He shook his head to clear it, took Asuka's hand in his own, and said, "M-mum, This is... well she just... um... told you her name... Ah... Asuka is... she's m-my g-g-gi... girlf-f-fr-"

Asuka sighed loudly, and reached up with her free hand to gently slap the stammering boy's cheek. "Come on, you can do this, right? It's not like she's the first to find out."

With a shaky nod of his head, Shinji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Mum," he said after a few seconds. "I'd like you to meet my g-girlfriend, Asuka."

Rei felt a smile creep onto her face. A sniffle drew her attention to the woman beside her; Yui had both hands over her mouth and was clearly struggling not to cry any harder.

"Oh... my dear sweet Shinji," Yui mumbled through her hands. "You grew up without me into a fine young man. I don't know how much weight my words have anymore, but you two definitely have my blessing."

"I do not mean to be rude, but was there really a need for the introduction?" Rei inquired. "Surely you would have known about their relationship already, Mrs- ah... Yui."

"It's not about her already knowing, Wondergirl," Asuka cut in. "It's about Shinji being able to say it. And I suppose he did alright." There was a grin on her face as she looked approvingly at the boy in question. As soon as Shinji returned the smile, Asuka turned back to Yui.

"So yeah. I'm Asuka Langley-Soryu. Second Child, pilot of Evangelion Unit-02, and your son's girlfriend." She held out her left hand to Yui. "Charmed, huh?"

Yui reached out and took the proffered hand...

And Asuka's right hand shot out as fast as a striking cobra, delivering a ringing slap to Yui's face that staggered the woman, sending her reeling away and almost falling over.

"I'm also the one that comforts Shinji whenever he has a nightmare about what happened last year," Asuka added in a dark tone.

With a hand raised to her bright red cheek, Yui stared fearfully at the angry redhead for a few seconds before shifting her gaze away out of shame. Next to Asuka, Shinji was gaping like a fish, unsure if he should move to check on his mother. The Second Child's fist clenched, but Rei stepped in front of her.

"You have made your point," she said. "There is no need for further violence."

The two female pilots looked at each other for several long seconds, before Asuka unclenched her fist, crossing her arms and turning away.

"Yeah, we're a lot closer to being even now anyway," she said over her shoulder.

Rei moved to Yui, gently moving the woman's hand away from her now flaming red cheek. "You were in Unit-01," she quietly stated. "Did you not know that Asuka would be... unhappy with you?"

"I did say I was hiding from Shinji," Yui said to Rei with a shade of reproach -and remorse- in her voice. "I hurt him, and didn't want to risk hurting him again, so I... kept away from him. The only time when I made contact with him this year before now was when..."

Shinji had finally broken free of his paralysis and moved in to check on his mother. "When I almost died," he dully finished.

His mother nodded sadly. "I felt you slipping away. I couldn't let that come to pass, so I took control of Unit-01 to save your life."

"Something nobody would complain about," Asuka remarked, before looking thoughtful. "Well, maybe SEELE, but who gives a damn about them?"

"Indeed. They shall never return from Instrumentality anyway," said Rei, before recounting what Lilith had revealed about the shadowy organisation's 'reward'.

Asuka nodded dismissively. "Yeah, Nagisa told me about them."

"N-Nagisa?!" Shock flashed across Shinji's face at the mention of the Angel who had tricked him.

"Hey, relax, he's nowhere near us," Asuka placatingly said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

The boy shook his head."N-no, that's not what... Isn't Nagisa part of Adam?"

"Oh." Asuka quickly spoke of her meeting with Adam and Kaworu.

"An exodus," Rei mused. "But no more people would return from Instrumentality. They would be trapped forever."

"Anybody who has not left by now is clearly happy with their false reality. Forcefully removing them would likely do more harm than good," said Yui. "As for those who engineered Third Impact, it is an apt punishment; though SEELE will likely remain too deluded to notice."

Asuka and Rei caught on to the hidden meaning in the woman's words at almost exactly the same time. While the bluenette was merely visibly shocked, Asuka's expression was a mix of surprise and satisfaction.

Rei tried to speak. "Are you saying..."

Yui nodded. "Yes. I will remain here."

"W-what!?" Shinji yelled. "No! You don't have to do this! Come back with us!"

"Oh don't be such a coward," spat Asuka. "If my mother was able to come back despite ten years in an Eva core and being mentally destroyed by Unit-02, you can do the same damn thing."

Shinji glanced sidelong at the redhead, surprised by the venom in her voice. "Asuka..."

Yui shook her head. "It's not cowardice, young lady. This is my penance. Besides, Lilith had... something of a job offer when she approached me soon after Unit-01 entered Instrumentality. She knew that I was planning to stay in Instrumentality, and suggested a task I can perform as... community service I suppose."

"A... task?" Shinji repeated.

"I would be the human ambassador to the Angels," Yui clarified. "Though their new home would be incredibly far away from ours, there will come a time when humans and Angels meet again. With my help, it will be much less... confrontational when it happens."

"So that's it then?" Asuka sneered. "You're just gonna piss off into space and abandon your son? Again?"

"Not abandon, no," Yui harshly replied, before softening her voice. "Shinji has grown up. He has friends, a sister, and you to look after him." She placed both hands on Shinji's shoulders. "Shinji, I'll always love you, and I'll always be proud of you. But you no longer need me."

Shinji seemed on the verge of tears again, while Asuka looked as if she had just stopped herself from uttering another acidic comment.

"...Can't I want you to stay with me though?" Shinji finally choked out.

"Stop trying to fight this, dummy," said Asuka. "It'll just be more painful for the both of you. She's already made her decision, after thinking it over for a long time. Let her go."

Shinji turned to her with a helpless look on his face. "B-but..." he tried to say, before looking down and heaving a sigh. "Alright, then."

The dull tone of his acquiescence reminded Rei of how Shinji had often spoken the previous year, when he would become utterly passive and monotone. In an attempt to salvage what she could of the situation, Asuka pulled Shinji into a tight hug. Rei didn't hear what was whispered into his ear, but it lifted her brother's mood just enough for him to hug Asuka back. They broke apart after a couple of minutes, and that was when Yui swooped in.

"There's not a lot of time left," the woman stated as she hugged her son once again. "But there's one more person you should see before you leave."

Asuka smacked the knuckles of her fist into the palm of her other hand. "Oh yes, I know exactly who you're talking about."

Yui glared at her again, but continued to talk to Shinji. "I know it's going to be tough, Shinji, but I feel that you need to see him. To see... your father."

Shinji's right hand instantly clenched into a fist at the mention of that person.

"Oh, but before you three leave..." Yui reached out and pulled Rei into the embrace. "I was not going to forget about you, my daughter." Rei's cheeks burned at the sudden attention, and she haltingly lifted her arms to return the hug. Yui squeezed Shinji and Rei for a moment, before releasing them.

"Now then, it's time for us to part." Though there were tears streaming down her face, the woman's smile was bright. "I've never been fond of long goodbyes. Shinji, Rei, you are both wonderful people, and do not let anybody tell you otherwise. As for you, young lady..." Her gaze shifted to bore into Asuka as she dropped the smile. "Look after my son, or I'll reach across space to give you a clip around the ear hole."

Though it was clearly a jest, Asuka paled and nodded, "Y-yes ma'am," she unsteadily replied.

"Good." The bright and sunny smile returned. "Farewell, children. May you all live long, happy and peaceful lives."

As her last word was spoken, Yui began to fade. Shinji rushed forward to try and hold onto her, but her form slipped through his fingers like water. In mere seconds, there was no sign that she had ever been there. Rei decided it was her turn to hug Shinji, but her arm collided with Asuka's as the redhead, evidently also planning to comfort Shinji, attempted her own embrace. The two girls looked at each other for a moment, before nodding simultaneously as a silent compromise was reached.

Standing on either side of Shinji, they snaked an arm around to grasp the opposite side of the boy's waist. Though he seemed too distracted to notice, Rei felt Shinji's tense muscles relax at least a little as the three teenagers stayed like that for some time.

Eventually, a flicker of light at the edge of Rei's vision caught her attention, and she looked to the right to see another glowing doorway.

"There it is," she quietly said. "Are we all ready to leave?"

"Not really," Shinji replied melancholically. "But let's just get this over with."

Together, they stepped through the doorway.


The first thing that Asuka noticed about the place the three teenagers found themselves in was that the colours seemed strangely washed out. It was as if she was looking at an area that belonged in a television show from the fifties.

The moderately-sized house in front of them, just one among many others on the street, stood out only because it seemed somewhat livelier than its surroundings. The paint was just a little fresher-looking, the lawn a little healthier, the flowers a little brighter.

Shinji, Asuka and Rei broke their awkward embrace as they headed through the fence gate, passing the letterbox that stated in discrete lettering that this was the Ikari residence, and stopping at the front door. Asuka folded her arms and sighed as Shinji and Rei looked apprehensively at one another, before reaching out and stabbing a finger at the doorbell. A tinny tune sounded somewhere inside, followed by a voice calling out.

"Just a second!"

It ended up being twenty seconds before the door was unlocked and a suspiciously familiar woman looked out at the teenagers.

"Good afternoon!" the woman said with a beaming but unsure smile.

"U-uh..." Asuka eloquently replied. "...Yui?"

"Why yes, that's me. What can I do for you?"

"What are you-"

Rei suddenly stepped behind Shinji, digging an elbow into Asuka's ribs. As Asuka turned to glare at the side of her head for the interruption, the bluenette said, "Please excuse my friend. We are looking for Gendo Ikari. Is he available?"

The sunny smile wavered a little. "Yes, my husband is in. Ah... are you friends of his?"

"In a matter of speaking," Rei replied. "Would we be able to come in and speak with him for a few minutes?"

"Of course. Come in, come in!"

The teenagers stepped through the doorway one at a time, removing their shoes just beyond the threshold before following the woman who was apparently Yui Ikari.

"What's going on here?" Asuka hissed.

In an equally low voice, Rei answered, "This is Gendo's reality. His perfect life."

There wasn't time for more to be said, as 'Yui' stopped at an archway. "My husband is just through here. He's been a bit under the weather lately, though."

Asuka was the second person to enter the lounge room, just behind Shinji, but she was forced to stop walking almost immediately; it was that or knock Shinji over.

In the lounge room, a small boy was laying on his stomach, paper and pencils strewn about the carpet.

A boy with brown hair and big blue eyes, that was now looking curiously at the newcomers.

Asuka was gently nudged aside as 'Yui' manoeuvred past her, with a "Pardon me, I'll just be a moment" as she picked the child up. As the woman passed a chair on her way out of the lounge room, she reached out to tap its occupant on the shoulder.

"Dear, there are some people here to see you."

Whoever was in the chair seemed to take no notice of the physical contact or the words. With both fists itching, Asuka waited until 'Yui' was well out of sight before stomping up to the chair. She drew a fist back, but stopped as her eyes took in the state of the person in front of her.

A thin, pale, and unkempt man was curled up in the chair, clutching a photo frame to his chest and staring vacantly at a spot behind Asuka while mouthing something she couldn't make out. Out of morbid curiosity, she glanced behind her to see what he was looking at, and her cocked fist dropped to her side.

On the wall above an unlit fireplace sat a massive photograph depicting two adults smiling at the camera while a child, no more than one or two years of age, sat in the woman's lap. To the sides, more photographs sprinkled the walls and furniture tops, showing various scenes in the family's life. As Asuka's gaze travelled around the room, she realised that there were no other decorations or knick knacks; the entire lounge room was filled with photos.

A low, disbelieving voice spoke up from behind Asuka. "This is the reality he has chosen?" Rei murmured. "To spend his days staring into the past?"

"Looks that way," Asuka quietly replied, looking back at the dishevelled man in the chair. Hate warred with pity and disgust in her mind. She had been looking forward to hurting the man who had caused so much pain to Shinji. But the thing in front of her was so pathetic that she had to hold herself back.

Because it would be like hurting Shinji; kicking somebody who was already knocked down so far they were buried in bedrock, having long since given up on extricating themselves. It was no longer worth doling out retribution to Gendo Ikari. In his current state, the man likely wouldn't even notice.

"I take it you will not be exacting revenge either?" Rei asked, breaking her out of her musing.

A glance at the bluenette told Asuka everything. Barely concealed disdain was on the First Child's face, with some pity mixed in. "Hmph. Hardly even worth it," she muttered in agreement.

A hand slithered into the hand that had so recently been a fist directed at the man's head. Asuka almost jumped in shock, before she recognised who the hand belonged to. She belatedly realised that Shinji had been right there next to them, also taking in the scene.

"...You okay?" she asked, punctuating the question with a squeeze of the hand.

"No," Shinji slowly replied, staring at the man that looked something like his father. "I don't really know what I was expecting to see when I saw my-... him in Instrumentality, but it wasn't... this."

Gendo blinked several times as Shinji spoke; his glassy, sightless stare shifting and sharpening. "...Shin... ji..." he whispered. "For... give... me..."

"Bit late for that, Arschloch," Asuka remarked as soon as she pieced the words together.

"For... give... me..."

The redhead groaned. "Shut up. You blew any chance you had for forgiveness a long time ago."

Shinji's grip on her hand tightened. "Asuka, I..." He took a breath. "Part of me wants to... I know it must sound crazy to you-"

"You're damn right it does!" Asuka exclaimed angrily. "This is the asshole that treated you no better than scum on the bottom of his shoe, and you want to forgive him?!"

Shinji shook his head. "Maybe that's the wrong word. I'll never be able to forget what happened, and if he had returned from Instrumentality I would have held it against him for the rest of his life, but..." He shrugged helplessly. "I kind of understand why he did what he did."

"...You're kidding," Asuka flatly said.

"Think about it. He lost somebody very close to him, somebody that was all he had keeping him afloat, and in his grief he decided that he would burn the world to get that person back." Shinji laughed once, humourlessly. "Any of that sound familiar to you?"

"Wh- That's not..." Asuka began, before falling silent. That scream echoed in her head once more; the scream of a boy who had finally lost absolutely everything.

"Is everything alright in here? I heard shouting." 'Yui' appeared in the archway, still holding the child.

Rei moved to intercept the woman. "We are fine. My friend was just a bit surprised about something."

"Oh... alright..." 'Yui' replied uncertainly. "Um..."

"I shall explain to you," the First Child said as she walked out of the lounge room.

"Ah... okay. Say, you and that young man look a little familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"

"In a matter of speaking."

Rei and 'Yui' left, leaving Asuka and Shinji alone with the broken man.

"Shinji," Asuka began again. "Don't compare yourself to... this thing." She pointed at Gendo. "You... alright, you made a mistake, but you fixed it. You're stronger than him. You're better than him."

"Am I? Am I really?" Shinji's voice was almost pleading.

"Yes." Asuka held up their still-clasped hands in front of their eyes. "Do you really think I'd be with you if you were anything like your father?"

Though he flinched a little at the mention of the familial link, Shinji smiled. He then glanced back at Gendo and said, "So yeah. It's not forgiveness, but it's..."

"About as close as somebody like him will ever get," Asuka finished, to which the Third Child nodded.

"Forgive me... Shinji..."

Asuka rolled her eyes at Gendo. "Oh knock it off."

"Forgive me, Shinji."

"Shut up."

"Forgive me Shinji!"

The man leapt out of the chair, the photo frame dropping to his feet, as he latched onto Shinji's shirt.

"Forgive me!"

"A-A-Asuka...!"

"Forgive me!"

Asuka let go of Shinji's hand and took a few steps away. "You know what to do. You're stronger than him."

Shinji gaped at her as his right hand reflexively clenched and unclenched. "W-what do you mean?!"

Crossing her arms, the redhead stared right back at him. "You know what to do," she repeated.

"Forgive me!"

Asuka watched and waited as Gendo continued to cry out.

"Forgive me!"

She placed a hand on the uncertain boy's left shoulder and gave him a pointed look. "You're better than him."

"Forgi-"

Shinji's right hand, curled into a tight fist, connected hard with Gendo's jaw, knocking him away and sending him sprawling face first onto the floor. With a deep shuddering breath, the boy's leg's gave way, dropping him to his knees as he stared at the hand that had just dealt with his father.

Asuka stepped forward and clasped both her hands around Shinji's hand, pulling it up and dragging Shinji back to his feet. She turned him away from the sight of the broken man on the floor before giving him a hug.

"F-forgive that," Shinji eventually mumbled.

The comeback was incredibly weak, but Asuka smiled anyway as she chuckled into his shoulder. "See? What did I say?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Now let's go. There's nothing left for us here."

Shinji managed to surprise Asuka, by taking her by the hand and leading them out of the house, pausing only to get their shoes back on. Outside, Rei and 'Yui' were standing to one side of the path from the front door to the street.

And Rei was cradling the little boy in her arms, gently rocking the now dozing child.

"You will make a wonderful mother someday," 'Yui' said to Rei, who could only respond with blushing and stammering.

"Hey Wondergirl," Asuka called out the moment she got over the strangeness of the scene. "Time to go."

"Oh, that's a shame," 'Yui' sadly said. "Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?"

"Sorry, but we really need to go," Asuka replied. "Besides, I think your husband's illness is starting to get worse."

"Oh dear!" 'Yui' hurriedly retrieved the boy from Rei, before retreating indoors with a quick farewell.

The moment the door closed, Asuka said, "Now let's get out of here before she realises what happened."

The trio took one step down the street before everything around them began to dissolve. Asuka clutched her head and tried to stave off the dizziness she suddenly felt.

"My apologies, but time is now very short."

They turned to see Lilith, standing next to Adam, who was now merely the same physical size as the mother of humanity.

"It is almost time for the exodus," Lilith explained. "Are all your affairs in order?"

"As much as they could be, given the circumstances," Asuka replied.

"Are you sure you do not wish to say goodbye to your own father?"

Only Shinji squeezing her hand prevented Asuka from shouting the first thing that came to mind. She growled deep in her throat.

"You're better than him," Shinji quietly said into her ear.

"Traitor," Asuka muttered right back at him. To Lilith, she said, "Fine. I'll give him a couple minutes."

Lilith's hands weaved a complex shape in the air. Without any ceremony, a large light-haired man appeared next to her, staggering a bit from the sudden transition.

"Was zum Teufel?!" he exclaimed, before recovering his balance and looking around. Upon spotting Asuka, he began to run over to her.

"Asuka, is that-"

In German, Asuka said, "Stop right there." She held out a hand, bringing the man to a halt several meters away. "I'm only doing this now because I won't get the chance to later. This," she indicated the Third Child next to her, "is Shinji Ikari. Last year while I was in a coma, he used the sight of my body to pleasure himself. He was manipulated into being the trigger for Third Impact. When I came back from Instrumentality, he tried to strangle me. Such a person should inspire disgust in me at the very least. Do you understand me so far?"

The man nodded hesitantly, and Asuka continued. "By all rights, I should have beaten him to within an inch of his life and kicked him the rest of the way. He betrayed me. Hurt me. But he is my boyfriend now. I forgave him for everything that happened. But you?" Her father withered as she stared at him. "I feel nothing for you. No anger, no sense of betrayal. Nothing. I care more about what I'm going to have for dinner tonight than the pathetic worm that abandoned my mother and I. Do I make myself clear?"

Dropping his gaze from the fiery redhead, the man nodded dejectedly. He glanced upward for a moment and said, "Asuka, I'm s-"

Asuka's father vanished, as quickly as he had appeared.

"His time was up," Lilith said simply by way of explanation, and Asuka nodded her approval.

"Are you all quite done, then?" Adam testily inquired. Now that he was no longer giant, his voice, while still deep and imposing, was not quite as loud as it was when Asuka first spoke to him.

The three teenagers glanced at each other. With a shrug, Asuka stepped forward and said, "Yeah, I guess we've done everything we can."

"Doesn't feel like it though," Shinji mumbled sadly.

His voice was so sad, so despondent, that Asuka swiftly enfolded him in a hug. Over his shoulder, she stared at the two gods.

"Can we just get this over with?" she almost demanded. "I really want to get the hell out of here."

"Very well," replied Lilith. "You shall be on your way in just a moment."

The mother of humanity began to weave her hands again, but halted when Adam made a questioning noise and looked behind him.

"...Ah," he said after a moment. "There is somebody who wishes to seeyou, Shinji Ikari."

"W-wait, me?" said Shinji, twisting slightly out of Asuka's grip.

The Second Child was instantly on her guard. "If it's that damn 'father' of his..."

"No, it is not a human. Rather, it is one of my children who would like a moment of your time."

"...What."

"Huh...?"

"Excuse me?" Rei's response was only slightly more eloquent.

This time it was Adam's hands that weaved a pattern in the air. Black and white mist began to form behind him, swirling as if caught in a whirlwind for a moment before coalescing into a distressingly familiar, and giant, figure. The three pilots recoiled in fear as they recognised just what exactly was coming to meet Shinji.

"You should know him rather well. It was his Fruit of Life that your chariot consumed. Shinji Ikari, this is my child, Zeruel; The Angel of Might," Adam said by way of introduction.

The Fourteenth Angel towered above everybody else present, its paper-like arms folded tightly against its sides. The red core in its chest was dark and lifeless, but that did nothing to detract from the Angel's imposing presence.

Asuka let go of Shinji and stepped in front of him, dropping into a fighting stance with only a slight shaking of her limbs, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Rei do the same. If this Angel wanted revenge against Shinji, it was going to have to go through them first.

The white mask of the Fourteenth Angel's face shifted, the jaw working itself like a person might smack its lips. It then opened its mouth fully.

"Greetings, young warrior."

A part of Asuka's mind idly noted that the Angel spoke in a voice very similar to Adam's when he had still been giant, likely due to the familial relation coupled with their physical size; that part was swiftly told to shut the hell up.

"There is no need to fear. He is not here to do battle."

Adam's words caused Asuka and Rei to relax only slightly. But before they could speak, the two girls were gently pushed aside as Shinji stepped between them. All Asuka could do was gape at the back of his head as the Third Child took several more steps towards Zeruel.

"What do you want with me?" the boy asked, staring up at the massive giant.

The Angel of Might leaned down slightly, pointing its mask at Shinji. "As one warrior to another, I wish to express my admiration for your bravery and skill in battle. You fought me, the strongest of the Angels, to a standstill. When your chariot fell silent, I was almost... disappointed. But in the end, I fell to you."

Shinji remained silent, and Zeruel continued. "Know now that you have the recognition of Zeruel, the Angel of Might." One of its arms unfurled, and it waved the arm in a parting gesture. "Go now, and let nothing stand in your path. Let none say that you are weak. You are Shinji Ikari. Slayer of Angels. Farewell."

The whirlwind returned, scattering the atoms of the Angel to the far corners of Instrumentality before dying down.

"...Did Shinji just get a pep talk from a fucking Angel?!" Asuka incredulously wondered. She threw her arms up in a manner that suggested she had had enough of everything. "Well that tears it. Get us home right now. I need some fucking sleep..."

Lilith gave her a thin smile, and resumed her work. The goddess' hands seemed to float through the air, and Asuka could not help but follow their path with her eyes, which suddenly seemed to be getting incredibly heavy. Perhaps she really did need to go to sleep. There was certainly no way she just saw Lilith's right hand pass through her left arm. It had merely been a long, confusing day and she needed sleep.

Asuka shut her eyes for a moment. Just a moment.

"Asuka. Wake up."

And opened them again.


On the shore a girl awoke, and stared up at the afternoon sky. A few seconds later her upper body shot up to vertical and she stared across the water, brushing a lock of red hair off her face with her left hand.

There was a massive orange ball floating above the water, rapidly drawing away from them. For some reason this didn't faze the girl.

"Are you alright, Asuka?"

She turned to her left. A girl with blue hair, wearing a school uniform, was kneeling on the sand nearby, gazing concernedly at her. The redhead's brain finally kicked into gear. Asuka. Right. That was her name. She vigorously shook her head, red hair flying all about her, to clear the last of the cobwebs from her mind.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Wondergirl," she finally said as soon as the brief dizziness passed. "Where are we?"

"This is the same part of the beach where you and Shinji once returned from Instrumentality."

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "How are you so sure?" Rei pointed to her right, and she looked in that direction. "...Oh."

Several familiar wooden grave markers sat in the sand. The same ones that Shinji had placed when he had started to believe that nobody else would return from Instrumentality.

Shinji.

"Wait, where's-"

"Right next to you. You are holding his hand."

Her left hand was empty, as that was the one that had brushed her hair away from her face. She gently clenched her right hand, and was rewarded with the sensation of flesh and bone putting up resistance. And then she received a returning squeeze.

Asuka's head swivelled sharply around, her nose coming within millimetres of colliding with the one on the face of the brown-haired boy staring intently at her.

"Hi Asuka," Shinji said with a weak grin. "I, um, won't bother asking how you're feeling."

Asuka sighed and let her head droop a little, so that their foreheads bumped gently together. "I'll tell you anyway, dummy: tired."

"Well the good news is that you still have a bed to sleep in, it seems." Shinji used his other arm to point towards Tokyo-3. "Looks like everything's still intact. That orange ball thing is moving out over the ocean."

"That is... what is left of Instrumentality, I believe," Rei clarified. "Adam and Lilith are still in there, but they will be leaving Earth very soon."

Wait.

His other arm.

Asuka yanked her hand out of Shinji's left hand and attached it to his right. Again she gave a squeeze, and...

Got another squeeze in return.

She wasn't going to jump to conclusions, though. Maybe Lilith had been nice enough to reattach his prosthetic limbs too. Somehow. They would have still been in Unit-01's entry plug anyway. Was she omniscient and thus knew how to deal with prosthetics? Maybe Shinji had just been paying attention.

Asuka pinched the skin on the back of Shinji's right hand, and watched as the boy's face twitched a little.

"You... you felt that?" she whispered.

"Um, so there's good news, good news and a little bad news," said Shinji with an embarrassed chuckle. "The other good news is that... well..." He wiggled his right elbow a little. "Just like Toji, I came back whole."

Asuka looked down. There, half-buried in the sand, were his school uniform-covered legs. All of his legs.

Shinji was nearly bowled over as the redhead threw her arms around him in a joyful hug. As it was he had to put an arm out as best as he could within the embrace just to keep the two of them from toppling into the sand.

"I believe it can be said that we are all okay now," came Rei's voice from behind Asuka, who gave an abashed cough before pulling herself and Shinji to their feet.

"So what's the bad news?" asked Asuka.

"Well, um..." Shinji nervously scratched the back of his head. "There's actually two bits of bad news now. I don't know if the patrols are still running along the beach, so it might be a while before anybody knows we're back."

Asuka shrugged. "Fine, then we'll walk back to the city. What's the other bad news? Did you twist your ankle? That's just great. Not even an hour back on your new legs and you've already hurt yourself."

"No, nothing to do with me. It's... um... that." Shinji pointed skyward, and the two girls turned around.

Though they were still far away, there was no mistaking the trails of dozens of missiles streaking across the sky.

"Are those..." Asuka began, horror creeping into her voice.

Rei nodded. "They are missiles. Heading directly for Adam and Lilith."

The Second Child's eyes were now like dinner plates. "...They're fucking nukes!" she yelled.

Shinji gasped in horror, before making a questioning noise. "W-wait! How do you know they're nuclear missiles and not N2s?"

"Because Misato probably watched us go down and decided it was time to nuke the assholes!" After a glance between the incoming missiles and the orange ball moving steadily away, she added, "I'll bet they're the strongest ones she could get. We'll probably be caught in the blast!"

Rei's eyes widened to match Asuka's. "Oh... shit," she whispered, before getting to her feet and sprinting across the beach.

"W-Hey! Wondergirl, I hope you're leading us to an Angel Shelter!" Asuka shouted, before grabbing Shinji's hand and taking off after the fleeing bluenette.

"No!" Rei yelled over her shoulder. "There's a NERV outpost on the beach to aid people returning from Instrumentality! Even if nobody's on duty, there should still be communication equipment we can use!"

Even while dragging the Third Child, Asuka soon caught up with the other girl. "How the hell do you know where it is?"

"Because that's where I was first taken when I returned!" Rei said, before putting on a burst of speed.

In a few seconds, the outpost was right in front of them, and Rei only halted once she was inside the perimeter. Her head jerked sharply around for a moment, before heading into a tent that looked exactly the same as the others.

Asuka and Shinji made it to the tent just in time to catch Rei say, "-me through to Commander Katsuragi! This is urgent!" A pause as she listened. "My authorisation is that I am the First Child, Rei Ayanami. Now patch me through or I'll see to it that you get reassigned to waste management! … Misato! It's Rei! I need you to-"

Even Asuka could hear the shriek through the handset as Misato let the extent of her joy be known. She growled and pulled the handset away from Rei. "Misato! It's Asuka! Shinji's here too, now shut up and listen! You need to stop those nukes!"

"Asuka?! Where a-"

There was no time to waste. Asuka injected as much urgency as she could into her voice. "Stop the nukes! Now! Adam and Lilith are leaving Earth! They're no longer a threat to us! DO IT!"

"...Alright, alright. I'll trust you, Asuka. We're sending the order now. Just... stay on the line? Please?"

Asuka glanced at Rei, before jerking her head in the direction of the entrance to the tent. The girl ran outside, and for several agonising seconds there was no word, before...

"Nothing is happening!" Rei's voice reported, turning frantic. "They're about to hit!"

"Are we out of the blast radius?" Asuka asked, directing the question to both Rei and Misato.

"I... don't know!"

"Misato! Hurry!" Asuka hurriedly looked around the tent for something, anything to use as protection.

"Calm down, everything's fine now," came Misato's reassuring voice. "Those missiles were being laser-guided by the bombers. The pilots have been given the order to abort, and the lasers have been shut off. With no guidance, the missiles will fail-safe and not detonate on impact with anything."

"They-" Rei's voice cut off for a moment, and then she said, "...Oh. They have passed directly through and crashed into the ocean. With no explosion."

All three teenagers let out a sigh of relief at the news.

"Rei..." Shinji began. "Were you... just going to stand out there and watch them go off?"

The First Child said nothing for so long that Asuka began to think she had wandered off. Then the tent flaps parted and the bluenette shuffled in, staring at her feet.

"I... do not know why I remained out there," she bashfully admitted.

"Asuka? You still there?"

Asuka rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the radio. "Yeah, we're still alive. Missiles passed through and hit the ocean."

"That matches what we were just told. Now then... Just where the hell are you kids?!"


"The preparations are finally complete?"

"Yes. Would you like a moment to say goodbye to your children?"

"...I think that would cause unnecessary problems at this stage."

"And you? No problems with that temporary body?"

"Why is my chest so flat?"

"...Shall we proceed?"

"Yes."


A flash of light through the tent flap caught the attention of the three teenagers. They glanced at each other, before stepping outside and immediately being forced to shield their eyes.

The sky was glowing.

At least, that was the first impression Asuka got. Eventually, she was able to make out the floating orange ball of Instrumentality, and she noticed right away that it had changed. The orange hue was much darker, and there were cracks running all along its surface, like an egg about to hatch. White light spilled from the cracks, casting almost completely black shadows everywhere and overpowering the light of the sun.

The egg hatched.

With a shattering noise that forced Asuka to clap hands to her ears, chunks of hardened LCL flew in all directions as the piercing light went out. Most of the pieces landed in the ocean, but the ball had been close enough to land that Asuka wondered if any buildings had been hit.

And then she saw the three figures shooting up into the sky, spiralling around each other like planes at an air show. She could only just make out the red, purple and blue Evangelions before they were lost to sight within seconds, travelling faster than the missiles that had almost struck them.

A tiny voice pulled Asuka back into the tent and towards the discarded radio handset. She picked it up and held it to her ear.

"Asuka? Asuka are you there? What happened?!"

"I'm here," she replied. "...Something just happened."

"We know. MAGI picked up the biggest Pattern Blue signal ever."

Asuka chuckled. "Probably the last one ever."

Misato was just as quick with her reply. "Hopefully the last one ever."


On the shore a boy awoke, and stared up at something he thought he saw leaving the planet's atmosphere. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, but whatever it was had disappeared without a trace. He sat up and looked at his surroundings, which consisted of sand, salt water, and a sand dune leading up to solid ground

He stood up, swaying slightly as he tried to adjust to his own legs, and fought down a wave of dizziness.

"New body. Weird," he muttered to himself. "And I appear to have been... kicked out?"

After an awkward climb to the top of the dune, the boy took a better look around. With the new perspective came confirmation of where he had ended up; back near Tokyo-3. Just as he was about to head towards the city, he noticed several broken chunks of orange material washing up on the beach.

"...I guess it was a good thing, then?" he wondered. "But what does that mean for those that were still trapped in there? And... did they get out in time?" He shook his head ruefully. "What am I saying? Of course they did."

The boy's thoughts were interrupted by a loud and harsh noise from behind and above. He turned, and saw a VTOL aircraft passing overhead, flying towards what looked like several tents near the other end of the beach. It set down for a few minutes, before taking off and flying back over him.

"I suppose it's too much to ask for a ride?" he quietly called after it, before suddenly turning pale as the aircraft halted and swung back around. It was hovering directly overhead before he could even think about whether the occupants had actually heard him.

The aircraft descended, and the boy saw what at first glance looked like a fireball sticking to its side, before he realised it was a red-headed teenager looking out of the passenger compartment directly at him.

Or rather, glaring at him.

The girl jumped out of the transport craft as it neared the ground, bending her legs to absorb the impact, but kept her gaze locked onto him. She remained still for a moment, as the downwash from the jet engines blew her red locks about like a fiery tail.

"I thought it was you," she finally yelled over the noise of the engines, before stalking towards him.

Too afraid of the look on her face, the boy remained frozen to the spot, unable to move as the irate girl approached. He knew what was to befall him, but that knowledge was useless.

And so once again he ended up on the ground in the foetal position, clutching at something he had never imagined could be capable of feeling such horrendous agony.

"We're still not even, Nagisa," said Asuka Langley-Soryru as she grabbed him by the shirt with one hand and dragged him to the aircraft. "But we're definitely a bit closer now."

"It's... nice to see... you too," Kaworu groaned, but his words were drowned out by the aircraft spinning up its engines.

He was unceremoniously dumped onto the floor of the passenger compartment, and through the pain Kaworu made out who else had been picked up from the outpost.

"Hello, Nagisa," said Misato as soon as the door closed and cut out much of the vehicle's noise. "Consider yourself under arrest for the time being."

"The reason I am not hurting you right now," said Rei, "is because my brother is watching and I have more restraint than Asuka."

Shinji, meanwhile, was too stunned to speak. All he could do was stare at the white-haired boy who had befriended then betrayed him.

And Kaworu found he could not maintain eye contact with the person he had forced to kill him.

Tense minutes passed, as the teenagers stared at Kaworu. Eventually, Rei sighed and reached down to force him out of the foetal position and flat onto his back, stating that the new position would aid in recovery after such an injury.

When they finally arrived at NERV headquarters, armed guards were waiting for them as the passenger door opened.

"This seems... a bit much," Kaworu noted, but did not resist as he was passed into the custody of the guards and cuffed.

"You infiltrated NERV under false pretences, caused extensive damage to military property, and almost brought about Third Impact," Misato stated. "Pardon me for being cautious this time. Whether you're still an Angel or not, you're potentially dangerous."

The former Angel bowed his head. "I understand. Do with me as you wish. It will be less than I deserve. But before you take me away, may I say one last thing?"

Misato frowned, but nodded her acquiescence. Kaworu looked directly at Shinji, who flinched slightly at the attention before Asuka's reassuring hand found his.

"Shinji... I don't expect you to ever forgive me for what I did to you, but I am truly sorry for everything that happened between us last year."

The Third Child finally spoke. "Just answer me this," he said with a calm voice despite the anger in his eyes. "What you said to me last year, about us being... friends... were you telling the truth?"

Kaworu nodded resolutely. "Yes. Everything that I said to you was truthful."

Shinji looked away and sighed. The anger faded a little from his features. "In that case, once NERV is... done with you, I wouldn't mind... if you paid us a visit sometime."

One of the guards tugged on Kaworu's arm, and the boy let himself be taken away in silence. He kept a smile on his face towards Shinji, even as a crying woman came running into the area and tackled Asuka to the ground.


One of the three glowing figures halted at a point a few hundred thousand kilometres past the Earth's moon, and turned to look at the blue and green marble they had just left. Its two companions stopped a short distance away. The human-created armour began to detach from their bodies and drift away. The pieces would soon burn up in the atmosphere, causing another interesting show for the planet's populace.

"Not having second thoughts, are you?" wondered the red-armoured, masculine one of the trio. No sound could travel in the void of space, but all three heard him anyway. "It's a little late to change your mind."

"No," said the androgynous one in blue armour who had first stopped. "I'm just... taking one last look."

"Despite what Adam said, it isn't quite too late," said the feminine one. A piece of purple and green plate detached from her shoulder, and she distractedly reached up to knock it away as it brushed against her face. "You have until we reach the edge of this solar system to change your mind, Yui."

Yui shook her head, slowly. Her temporary body felt strange, even for somebody who had once controlled a similar enough construct. Perhaps it was the fact that she was now in a body made from Adam, instead of Lilith.

"I've made my decision, Lilith," she said, before holding a hand out in such a way that to her eye she appeared to be holding Earth in her palm. She smiled as best as she could with a face with no mouth.

"Goodbye, Shinji," she whispered.

With a final parting glance, she moved to rejoin the two Angels.

'Interesting,' Yui thought to herself, after some time had passed as they continued their journey to the edge of the solar system, and her scientific mind began to go to work. 'How are we propelling ourselves through space? And this quickly? It was only a few minutes or so to reach the moon. No visible form of propulsion. Is an AT-Field involved? How did those Angels that could hover propel themselves? Gravitational waves generated by their S2 organs, perhaps? I wish I had time to study this... Oh? Are we already coming up on Neptune? That's 30 astronomical units in... just a few hours!'

Adam soon held up a hand, bringing all three to a halt an unknown distance past Neptune. Almost all of their armour was gone now, only a few chunks left sticking to their limbs.

Something was waiting for them. Something that was coloured like the galaxy's most demented spherical chess board.

"Isn't that the Twelfth Angel?" Yui gasped upon recognising the black and white orb. "Didn't... didn't I...um... kill it?"

Both Adam and Lilith chuckled at the confused scientist. "You merely damaged one of its apertures," Adam explained. "For which Leliel is a little unhappy with you."

"Leliel? ...Oh..." Yui gulped. "Um... please tell it- them... that I'm sorry."

The ball rippled, before letting out a sound that made Yui wish her temporary form had eyebrows.

"Did... did that abstract mathematical anomaly just chirp at me?!"

"Of course not," Lilith replied. She turned her attention to Adam. "Have you actually decided where we're going to settle down?"

The masculine Angel huffed. "Only since I came to the conclusion that Earth would be spared."

Lilith gestured, taking in as much of the cosmos as she could in one wave of her arm. "Then please, direct us to our new home."

Adam's head swivelled for a few seconds, then a finger stabbed towards a distant star. "We shall go there, Leliel."

The ball rippled and chirped.

"There! It-they just did it again!" Yui exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the Angel.

"Stop levelling baseless accusations at my children," replied Adam.

Yui sighed and gave up, even as a sound reached her ears -or whatever her auditory receptors were in the void of space- that sounded like a twittering bird.

Turning his back on the exasperated scientist, Adam spoke to Lilith. "Epsilon Eridani is my choice. Any objections?"

Lilith folded her arms. "Well, it's not my first choice, but it's not my last either."

"Then let us go."

As he finished speaking, Adam held out a hand towards Lilith. The goddess reached for it, before hesitating and drawing back fearfully. The First Angel slapped his forehead in realisation, then gestured towards the last piece of red armour to detach, drawing it from his thigh up to his hand, where the metal began to shift and melt, forming itself around the hand before hardening again. In a second, he once more had a red metal gauntlet.

Lilith caught on quickly, and did the same. When she had her own purple gauntlet, she reached out, still hesitantly, to Adam.

Yui expected something to still happen when their hands clasped. She just wasn't expecting that something to be her letting out an involuntary squeal.

Two Angels and a mathematical anomaly stared at her. Though Yui could feel heat in her face, she had no idea if an Angel was capable of blushing. She cleared what was probably her throat.

"Don't we have somewhere to be?"

Lilith smiled widely. "Of course."

The black-and white orb shimmered, and an inky pool of darkness began to grow, blotting out the stars as it expanded. For a brief moment Yui wondered if she had just hastened the destruction of the universe, before she shifted perspective slightly and saw past the edge of the void.

"After you," Adam said with a gesture towards the portal. "Oh yes, I should mention that it may feel a bit... odd."

"I've been living in an Evangelion for ten years," Yui haughtily replied as she moved towards the portal. "I'm very used t-"

The void swallowed her.

"You didn't send her somewhere else, did you?" Lilith asked.

Adam shrugged. "Maybe." At a pointed glare from the other Angel he conceded. "...No."

"Good. Her punishment will not be being stranded."

"But how exactly is this a punishment, even a self-imposed one? Simply never being able to see her child again?"

Lilith sighed and shook her head. "You clearly don't understand humans, Adam. Or mothers."

Humanity's progenitor cast one last glance back towards Earth, before pulling them both into the void.