And Update...alright its been a while. Sorry about that everyone, but we are nearing the end. I've had a long break however and am eager to finish this off, and with the two year anniversary of Spawn of Adam coming up, I intend to do that. To those of you that have been waiting eagerly, here you go!
Also, if you didn't check out my Valentines Day one shot, do so now. Very fluffy with a bit of citrus at the end. Discovering Love!
Lilith's AT-field roared towards Shinji, cutting apart the rotted ground as it neared him. Reacting quickly, Shinji drew back his right arm, and projected his own AT-field in a dome around him. The two AT-fields collided, created a shockwave that shook the very foundations of the dimension they resided in. The two beings squared off against each other, waiting for the other to strike. Lilith's white kimono flowed behind her, but her features had changed. Her face was now twisted upward evilly and her eyes glowed blood red.
Shinji stared at her for a second, his right arm careless at his side. He didn't want to have to fight her if he couldn't help it. But-
Lilith suddenly projected her AT-field forward, cutting Shinji's thoughts off.
"What the hell do you know about me!" shouted Lilith as she continued attacking Shinji. "Who are you to know what I feel!"
Shinji was silent as he blocked Lilith's AT-field time and time again.
Lilith stopped however, and took several steps back, breathing heavily. Something seemed to be paining her.
"You creation of Adam! What the fuck could you possibly know about me!"
"It has nothing to do with Adam!" Shinji shouted back at her.
Projecting his AT-field in a wide arc, he swung it down towards Lilith. Lilith projected her AT-field over herself, and as the two AT-fields clashed, an explosion of bright white light ricochet around the battlefield, blinding the two momentarily. Shinji felt his eyes sting from the burst of light, but stood motionless, letting his other senses kick in, searching for Lilith; he was sure that she would take this opportunity to attack.
Sure enough, he sensed a presence to his left and turned towards that way, just in time to see Lilith's white kimono lashing out at him. Shinji dove backwards as her AT-field soared towards him. Swinging his arm forward, Shinji projected his AT-field around himself, blocking Lilith's AT-field.
"Damn you!" screeched Lilith from his right.
Shinji turned again but wasn't quick enough this time. Lilith caught him off guard, but instead of attacking him with her AT-field like he thought she would, she punched him cleanly in the face, sending him reeling backwards and to the ground. Shinji had not expected this tactic from her. Moving fast though, Shinji rolled to his left just as her AT-field stabbed into the ground. Pushing himself upward, Shinji grabbed one of Lilith's arms and threw her over his shoulder. However, Lilith majestically corrected herself in midair, and landed easily on the ground.
Lilith stared at Shinji hatefully, hating him for everything that he was. But she also envied him in a way.
"Why do you exist?" asked Lilith suddenly.
Shinji stared back at her for a few seconds before he sigh and said, "Haven't I been asked that enough lately?"
"I don't care! Why do you exist? How is it that someone such as yourself, with Adam as your father can exist! You who have been shunned all your life and beaten down by people greater than you! How is it that you can still exist!"
Shinji was silent, his eyes glazed over as he thought about this. Yes, many times he had almost given up, but he had always continued pushing forward. Was it because of Asuka? That may very well be apart of it, but something more he thought. The human spirit itself was something that refused to give up, even in its most hopeless moments. Maybe that was the human side of him that refused to give up, while his angel half wanted him to give in and except all the pain and torment.
"I exist because I can," Shinji eventually said. "A future where I existed was something that I had never thought of after I discovered my angel half. I always assumed I would die somewhere along the line, and sometimes even searched death out. Part of that was my disassociation with Asuka, but part of that was just my own hopelessness over the situation. Why should I live? I am something which is an abomination, something that has no right to live. But that itself is my own selfishness. What about the others around me? How will they be affected by my death? Would my father and mother truly be pleased if I wanted to die?"
"But your father was a being beyond human comprehension, and your mother was a lost woman!"
"They are may parents, and so they still care about me. I've talked to my mother a few times, and she still cares about me. As for my father...I'm sure he feels the same."
"Lilith, I don't want to die. I don't want anyone to die. I want to live my life with the person I love while my friends and family are around me. This world that you are creating, you claim it is for us Lilim, but in reality it is your own selfish wish. You only care about yourself now, whereas you used to care about things that could grow by there own devices."
"So what if I wish that! I deserve that after this centuries of-"
"Don't go throwing everything else away for that!" shouted Shinji. "I should know what loneliness feels like, and I hate myself for getting caught up in that world that I created. Even if the world you create is repopulated by humans, nobody will be the same. Asuka won't be the Asuka I know. Misato won't be the same, and Rei won't be the same. Every human is unique in there own way, and can never be recreated. I don't want something like that...I've already experience it once before. Asuka in particular...her crudeness, her kindness...nothing could replace who she is."
"Why should I care about one human out of billions?"
"I do though," said Shinji with a slight smile. "Asuka is very important to me...more so than I care to admit."
"You can't bring her back though, so why even try?"
"I can though," said Shinji. "Third Impact happened because of the combination of Lilith and Adam; myself and yourself. I have a hand in this, but I shut out the truth by enclosing myself in that false reality. I was the catalyst that brought this all about, so I should also be able to reject Third Impact."
"I won't let you!"
"It is odd Lilith, how even at the end of everything, you had to rely on me, the offspring of Adam to bring you here."
Lilith's rage suddenly erupted, and wings of light exploded out her back. The white kimono she had once worn was shredded to pieces. Her face no longer showed any human characteristics, and it was once again the facelessness of Lilith.
She attacked Shinji in a blinded rage, her AT-field erupting in great torrent so that it split the ground. Great chasms opened up in the earth as her rage erupted forth. Shinji finally appreciated the difference in power between himself and Lilith.
Lilith's AT-field broke off into several forms and rushed at Shinji. Dodging the first attack, Shinji was forced to block the second with his own AT-field, though the second one pierced into his left thigh, bringing him momentarily to the ground. Blood poured from the open wound, but very quickly, the wound started to close up as it regenerated. Shinji was still surprised at how far his regenerative powers had come.
Lilith yelled in fury as she sent wave after wave of her AT-field at Shinji, though Shinji didn't seem fazed by this in the least; he dodged or blocked each of them easily.
"Why are you smiling?" shouted Lilith as she continued attacking him.
"Your stubbornness is actually reminding me about Asuka," smiled Shinji.
"Don't compare me to that bitch!" roared Lilith as she swung both her arms down. Her AT-field turned into a spear similar to that of the Lance of Longinus and charged at Shinji. Shinji projected his own AT-field around him, and met the spear head on the. The two collided with each other, creating a blinding explosion. Shinji could feel the ground tremble beneath him as if it was in fear of the two beings fighting. The landscape was starting to look like a war had taken place.
Standing up straight, Shinji looked through the cloud of dust to where Lilith stood, but realized too late that she had moved. Feeling a presence above him, Shinji looked up into the black sky devoid of stars and saw Lilith several feet above him, her AT-field rushing towards him. Shinji brought both his arms up, generating a dome around himself, blocking the AT-field.
Lilith landed on the ground, and rushed at Shinji again, attacking him from all sides, her AT-field attacking every inch of Shinji's. Shinji could feel his AT-field starting to break down, and dissipated it, jumping backwards as he did. Lilith charged after him, throwing out her AT-field towards.
'This has gone on long enough,' thought Shinji.
Stopping suddenly in his tracks, Shinji turned towards the oncoming Lilith and swung his right arm down. Shinji AT-field exploded from within him, and rushed towards Lilith's own. Lilith's eyes widened as she saw this, and froze, stunned at this sudden turn of events. From her perspective, it seemed to her that Adam had come to thwart her plans. But as her vision changed, she saw Shinji only standing there, a calm look on his face.
"You bastard!" screamed Lilith as the two AT-fields collided.
Almost instantly, Lilith felt herself get pushed back several inches; her AT-field was losing, losing to a weak human. Lilith's fury redoubled, and she attacked back with everything she had, pushing herself to the very limits. Why was she having such trouble over one boy? As she looked up though, and saw Shinji still standing there with his arm extended, she felt something waver inside of her. Was it Rei?
Shinji easily shattered Lilith's AT-field then, and stood motionlessly, staring at Lilith.
"Why," mumbled Lilith. "Why are you impeding me?"
"I'm not losing Asuka," mumbled Shinji.
"Its Adam, isn't it! He's telling you to stop me!"
"Adam isn't telling me anything anymore," said Shinji with a sigh. "He's decided not to interfere anymore, for better or for worse."
"Then that girl? Only for that girl you would go this far?"
"Not simply for her...but for everyone as well. They deserve it. Many people had nothing to even do with Nerv, or the angels; so what about them? Is it fair to take there life away? That isn't what I believe."
"You don't even know what awaits you! So how can you be so optimistic."
"I have to be, because I don't know myself to where I'll go after this is all over. What the state of earth is, or whether everyone will even be able to return."
Lilith grimaced at him, but didn't move. Something within her seemed to battling itself.
"What will you do Lilith?" asked Shinji.
"What can I possibly do?" shouted Lilith. "You take away everything from me and expect me to just be okay with that?"
"What did I take away from you that you had?" asked Shinji. "You never had anything in the first place; you gave all that up a long time ago."
"I created you humans, and gave you the knowledge to live, so I can take back what is mine then!"
"You won't do that," said Shinji as he started walking towards Lilith. "Or I should say Ayanami won't allow that."
"What are you-"
"I know Lilith, that Ayanami is simply a body created from you to heal Gendo of his hurt over losing my mother, but she managed to develop her own self. It must be difficult having to warring minds argue. Ayanami was always quiet, but very resolute in her decision. She wont budge an inch, and in order to be complete, you need her."
"I don't need her, or anything else!"
"But she is still a part of you, and without that, you are incomplete. Lilith, let me talk to Ayanami. I don't want to force her out if possible, but I will if you force me."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Lilith, you should know very well by now that I am capable of that. You on the other hand poured yourself into so many things that you have lost much of your power. The Evangelions, Ayanami, Third Impact, it has taken its toll on you. You are not as powerful as you used to be, and I would not have much difficulty extracting Ayanami from within you."
"Why do you even want to talk with her?"
"To confirm things which you will not tell me."
Lilith was silent for several seconds until she said, "Why did I ever interact with you."
"It was your own decision, and now you have to live by it. But...I think I learned things from you that I would never have learned on my own...and for that I have to thank you. You killed Asuka, and for that I can never forgive you, nor do I have any remorse for you. But Ayanami is still with you, so I can't bring myself to kill you."
"Hmph, do what you please then," said Lilith. "But by no means am I done with you Shinji."
"Bring Ayanami out then."
"...Fine."
Lilith's face suddenly changed; her hair grew slightly, and her face changed to that of Rei, but she still had the same eyes.
"Ikari-kun," whispered Rei.
"Sorry about calling you like this," mumbled Shinji as he scratched the back of his head.
"...No, its okay," said Rei as she shook her head. "You had something you wanted to ask me?"
"Yes, and I suppose I should get it over with before Lilith returns. Ayanami...where is Asuka...and everyone?"
"...Do you want to see?" asked Rei after a moments pause.
"I do," nodded Shinji.
"I have to tell you this first though Shinji, even if Third Impact is avoided as you wish it...not everyone may comeback."
"I know, I was prepared for that."
"Ultimately, it will be everyones decision whether they chose the false reality that was offered to them, or the world as it is."
"So then...I wasn't the only one who accepted the false reality?"
"No, you weren't. You were the first one to accept it, and afterwards, people started accepting it as well, though you were the only person to wake up from it. Some however, didn't chose the false reality, and so became as everyone else...LCL fluid. Though there are those of course that died before Third Impact."
"What happens to them?" asked Shinji.
"I am not sure. Lilith may know, but won't say."
"What about Asuka though? Is she-"
"She is fine, though trapped with everyone else within the Black Egg of Lilith that didn't chose the false reality."
"The Black Egg buried under Tokyo-3?"
"Correct, the earth now is-"
Shinji felt his feet suddenly leave solid ground, and felt his body moving at speeds unfathomable by the human mind. All to suddenly though, he felt himself crash into something, or was that just what he felt?
Shinji looked around him and felt a familiar setting; he was back inside the entry plug of Unit 01.
"...What is this?" wondered Shinji.
"Where your body is," said Rei.
Shinji turned to his left and saw that Rei was kneeling beside him in the entry plug of Unit 01. She was wearing her own entry plug suit now.
"Your mind had traveled to the false reality while your body remained here. Since Lilith still needed the DNA of Adam to initiated Third Impact, she sectioned off your body from your mind and let it wander free, much as she did during that activation test of yours. Though when you escaped from the false reality, your mind traveled to the Garden of Eden where Lilith was."
Shinji looked out from the entry plug of Unit 01, to the earth below. The entire earth had turned a dark red color as though the entire planet had died, and Shinji viewed all this from space. Unit 01 had been impaled with the Lance of Longinus and had fused with Lilith. A swirling vortex formed around the earth, everything seeming to meet in the center of where Lilith's arms where. A black sphere was floating there unsupported as humanity continued to turn into LCL fluid.
Shinji looked to his left and right and saw the true body of Lilith floating there. Wings had grown out of her back and the face seemed to have also changed back to Rei. The twelve Mass Produced Eva Units floated like a crown above her head, each of them impaled by one of fake Lances of Longinus.
"...Asuka is...there?" said Shinji as he pointed to the black sphere in Lilith's hands.
"Yes, that is likely where she is, but you can't get there yet."
"...I know," mumbled Shinji painfully. He wanted nothing more than to be with Asuka again, but in order to do that, he had other things to deal with.
"Ayanami...is it my fault that things have come to this? I destroyed the angels before, and now the Tree of Life is almost dead."
"The angels did there duty to serve the tree and destroy humanity if it came to that, you did what you had to to protect the people you cared for. You are not in the wrong."
"But what can I do to fix all this?"
Rei was silent for several seconds before she said, "You want to reject Third Impact, but in order to do that properly, you must either kill Lilith, or convince her otherwise."
"I won't kill her, because that would kill you as well."
"Ikari-kun...you should know very well what will happen to me either way at the end of this."
"I can't accept that!"
"Then you can become like everyone else; the exact same."
Shinji was silent, thinking about his course of action. He didn't want to kill Lilith, but he couldn't give up on Asuka and everyone else.
"Ayanami?"
"Yes?"
"Lilith has been lonely for a long time now...correct?"
"...Yes..."
"Why is she doing what she is doing?"
"...You should have already guessed Ikari-kun."
'So I was right,' thought Shinji sadly. In the end, Lilith just wanted to be recognized again, even if it came to this.
"Adam won't budge though," said Shinji. "He's leaving me to decide what happens next."
"Is that so?" asked Rei.
"Yeah...I think he has already...moved on. Humans can do what they please, and since his angels have also died, he has no reason to stay here any longer. But Lilith is-"
"Still holding on," mumbled Rei.
"Yeah," sighed Shinji.
Looking down at the black sphere, Shinji tried to find Asuka within it, but everybody's AT-fields had blended together that it was near impossible to find one individual out of millions.
'But she's there,' thought Shinji, 'and she's waiting impatiently for me as well.' This thought made him smile slightly.
Turning back to Rei, he said, "I think I've seen enough. I'm ready to go back to the Garden of Eden."
"When we return, Lilith will take control again," said Rei. "Is that what you want."
"Its fine," nodded Shinji. "My quarrel is with her, not you after all. And Ayanami..."
"Yes?"
"Thank you...and this is, likely goodbye, isn't it?"
Rei stared back at Shinji for several seconds until she nodded once.
"Ayanami...I..."
But Rei shushed him by placing a finger of hers over his lips.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be okay, and Asuka is waiting for you."
Shinji blinked, momentarily surprised.
"Since when have you called her Asuka?"
But Rei just waved at him, before tapping him lightly on the head. Once again, Shinji felt his body moving at speeds unfathomable...though it wasn't really his body he supposed.
Shinji felt his feet hit the ground and was momentarily disoriented. Looking around though, he felt his equilibrium mellow out, and saw Lilith standing there, no longer Rei. She watched him silently, but Shinji could feel the killing intent radiating from her. She wasn't about to stop yet.
"Lilith, wait a second."
"Why should I? You had your talk as I allowed you."
"I don't want to fight you anymore. I'm tired of all this."
"So then just die all ready!" shouted Lilith as she rushed towards Shinji. But Shinji his ground with moving an inch until he shouted-
"Adam has moved on!"
Lilith froze in her tracks, her eyes wavering. Adam had moved on? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"What do you mean he has moved on?"
"He no longer cares about earth," said Shinji. "And the Lilim he has decided to let be."
Lilith narrowed her eyes into slits; she was confused about this sudden change.
"So what are you saying? That since Adam is no longer here, I am supposed to just pack up and leave? Fuck that! Earth is mine then if he no longer cares about it, and I will claim it as such."
"Lilith, isn't this enough already? Everything...everything was all for the sake of being recognized again, even it was by hatred. You didn't care what it took, as long as Adam looked at you again."
"Shut Up!" yelled Lilith as she cut the air with her AT-field. She easily dodged this and stared back at her, pitying what she had become.
"Lilith...I had always wondered why you had such an interest in me, and part of me understands that because you needed me to initiate your version of Third Impact, but it was also out of curiosity. I was born from a human and Adam, something which is itself strange. But you were jealous because it was my mother that Adam loved. I don't know if you had watched me since before we first met, but I knew that you were curious about the powers I may possess. But why were you so curious? Was it because you saw Adam within me, or that you wished to make Adam suffer through me? I have no idea really."
"Thats bullshit!"
"Is it? I don't know," shrugged Shinji. "But Adam is gone, and whether he accomplished what he wanted, I have no idea. He had his own plans for me, but he seemed to have dropped them somewhere along the way. He has moved on, and I have no idea as to where. So then why Lilith? Why would you remain here when the person you love is-"
"SHUT UP!" roared Lilith as she clutched her head in agony. Everything that this body was saying, everything...
"Lilith," whispered Shinji, "lets stop this. I don't think you ever wanted to destroy earth, you only wanted recognition from Adam. But instead, at least I think, he used me to get through to you, and once he saw your state, he gave up. Maybe he thought there was something still left within you that he could care about...but now, after all his children have gone, he as left."
"I don't care, I don't care," mumbled Lilith as she shook her head. "Everything can just burn away."
"Would you do that to this planet which you cared about so much?"
Lilith didn't answer, as tears started to come from her eyes. Her face was no longer featureless, and she had reverted to that of a shrine maiden.
"The feeling of being alone for all those years...it must have been hard," said Shinji. "I know what loneliness is like, but never could I imagine feeling that for centuries. I'm lucky for what I've found, and I don't intend to let it go."
Lilith looked up at Shinji then, her face contorted with confusion, sadness, and anger. Everything that Shinji had said, she was having trouble denying it, since-
"What do you want to do Shinji?" asked Lilith suddenly.
"Myself? Well...I suppose I would like to hold Asuka in my arms right now and never let go of her again. Afterwards...probably see Misato and Ritsuko, Touji, Kensuke, and Hikari. Ayanami though..." Shinji trailed of here, unwilling thinking about Rei.
"But I want to do many things," he continued. "So many that I wouldn't know where to start. But with all of them, I want to experience with Asuka. Its strange, because even though we know each other so well, we still don't really. We haven't shared much with each other yet. Birthdays, Christmas; so many things I want to do with her."
"Do realize what you are saying though?" asked Lilith. "Third Impact has been initiated and everything has reverted to the soup of life. Asuka's consciousness is-"
"She's there though, waiting for me," smiled Shinji slightly. "And I'm sure she'll beat me half to death after this."
Lilith frowned at Shinji, before letting out a low sigh and standing up to her full height. "I'm beginning to understand why I tested you as I did, though I think I always understood."
"What?"
"The connection between yourself and that girl...it reminded me of myself and Adam in the days of our youth. The mistakes that we made...that I made, I wanted to see how the two of you would fair. It was surprising though, that humans could love each other such as you two do."
"It is not like that for all humans though," said Shinji.
"I know. In your entirety, you're a despicable race which deserves to be destroyed, though for that I must take blame for. Showing the Lilim the Black Egg was a mistake on my part, and Adam has never forgiven me for it."
"Maybe he will though," shrugged Shinji.
"No, he will never forget it," said Lilith as she looked up at the sky. She was silent for a few seconds as she looked up at the black sky, until she looked back at Shinji and asked-
"Adam, your father, I had wondered it before, because I have felt his presence more than once, but was he with you today?"
"...I believe so," shrugged Shinji. "He never gave reasons as to why he did what he did, but he also helped me along the way until I could handle things my own. In a way, he was acting as a parent should, though whether that was his intention, I don't know. I talked to him before Third Impact though, and understood that he was leaving."
"I thought so," smirked Lilith. "He was always interfering with my plans though." Lilith seemed to brighten slightly at this thought.
"Lilith..." asked Shinji.
"Yes?"
"What will you do now?"
"What will I do?" blinked Lilith. "I haven't thought about that much honestly. Do I chase after him...or not? I can't decide. You are right though...I love the earth very much, but honestly don't have control over the growth of living things anymore. The Tree of Life is that which governs the earth, and if it dies-"
"But isn't that my fault for killing the angels?" asked Shinji.
"Not true. The angels governed certain aspects of nature correlating to the branches of the tree. True, when the angel was killed, the branch it governed withered, but the tree still had a chance to regrow. The ultimate fault must lie with humans, because they have steadily polluted the earth."
"But it can regrow?"
"Yes, but only if given the time, and it may take several years."
Shinji looked at Lilith, wishing that he could believe what she said to be true, but-
"What will the earth...be like until then?"
"A ruin," answered Lilith simply. "Mankind has been brought to its knees by Third Impact, so the infrastructure may take time to rebuild. Animals and plants will be the same as usual, but will start to take dominion if the Lilim do not claim there place again."
"Can't you do anything about that?"
"No, I can not. I don't have the power anymore. Though frankly, this is a good lesson for the Lilim."
"I suppose," sighed Shinji. "But...I want to ask you something else...Asuka is-"
"LCL fluid along with everyone else," answered Lilith.
"So then...is it not possible for me to find her?"
Lilith paused for a second before she said, "It is...possible, but unlikely. If your AT-field were able to find her, then the possibility exists. But I have to warn you Shinji."
"...What?"
"Asuka has likely regained her memories while floating in the LCL fluid, so if you meet her...I can't know what her reaction to seeing you would be."
"How is that she would regain them?"
"Her memories of you were destroyed, but not lost. She remembered things, meaning that fragments remained. When everyone became LCL fluid, her memories likely reformed from the scattered pieces. It is possible even, that she has sectioned herself off from everyone else."
"Do you think I should find her."
"I won't say anything," whispered Lilith. "Myself and Adam have already interfered enough in your life and the person you love. The damage that has been done may be...irrevocable."
"What do you mean?"
"Asuka may hate you, because she will remember everything you did from the moment she lost her memories, and everything before she lost them. She will hate you for what you did to her."
"What choice did I have then?"
"It is in the past, so it no longer has any meaning. You can only look back and reflect on your mistakes. Maybe, with time, she will be able to forgive you."
"What if she doesn't though?"
"You will have to live with the knowledge of what you did," said Lilith mournfully.
"...And there is nothing you could do?"
Lilith was silent as she watched Shinji, but she eventually whispered, "There is something I can do, and I suppose you deserve it after everything I've put you through, but I can't do it without her consent as well."
"What is it?"
"I won't say anything, not until you have found her. In the meantime though, I will halt Third Impact so that you have a chance to find her. But remember, it is extremely unlikely that you can find her."
"...I'm not worried about finding her, I'm worried about how she'll react after she sees me," mumbled Shinji.
"Suit yourself," said Lilith. She watched as Shinji stood where he was and tried to search for his body high up within the earth atmosphere.
'You are a strange boy Shinji,' thought Lilith. 'I still can't understand you, even after watching you for several years, but I did get to see you grow unlike someone else, so I suppose it hasn't been all bad. But for what awaits you when you finally find the girl you love...I hope you are prepared.'
'He will be,' came a new voice from inside Lilith. 'I have faith that those two can become one again.'
'We'll see,' thought Lilith in reply to Rei's statement.
In front of her, Shinji's mind suddenly vanished, returning to its body high above in the atmosphere.
Shinji opened his eyes in the entry plug of Unit 01 and looked down at the earth. True to her word, Lilith had halted Third Impact so that Shinji could find Asuka. Admittedly, he was finding it hard to believe half of what Lilith said, and he still loathed her for killing Asuka, but if she was truly remorseful about everything she had done, he could live with that.
The black sphere in front of him...Asuka was somewhere within there, and he intended to find her.
Sending out his AT-field with his very self projected within it, he put all his thoughts into finding Asuka. He conjured up memories from times almost forgotten. Asuka cooking breakfast in the morning, eating lunch with her at school, there questionable date, every memory that he cherished of her, he thought as his mind plunged into the black sphere.
Darkness enveloped him almost instantly, but he felt the presence of people around him. Suddenly, the darkness lifted, and Shinji found himself floating in nothing but orange LCL fluid. Voices echoed all around him as he heard the people who had been turned in LCL fluid. Everybody's voice had blended into one however, so that it sounded like one coherent voice.
'Asuka,' thought Shinji as he heard voices echoing all around him. He was saddened by the many people trapped within the sphere, but he couldn't do anything to help them right now.
Shinji moved further within the sea of voices, continuing to search for Asuka, his thoughts constantly on her.