Like Father Like Son

by JazzCabbage

This time Gendo Ikari gets a chance to right his wrongs, sent back from the third impact inside the brain of the Shinji we all know and love from episode 1. With a great father like Gendo to lean on this can only lead to positive growth for our hero. Not to mention with his foresight of the angels the fights are gonna be easier than ever right?, RIGHT?

21. This is (Not) The End

Ch 21 This Is (Not) The End

---

Mari's eyes tracked the gigantic flying forms of their approaching enemies. She hefted the two oversized rifles into her arms, letting the targeting computer do the hard part for her. After a few seconds, she squeezed the trigger, unleashing a barrage of explosive bullets raining down onto the approaching Evas.

The one approaching closest took the worst of her assault. She aimed for the wings and her efforts succeeded, damaging the membrane enough to force the creature into a steep dive. She repeated this for the next one approaching, tossing the weapons to the ground and grabbing a new pair when they overheated.

Without warning, their position was shrouded in darkness. Looking up, she saw the city's skyscrapers lazily floating above them. As suddenly as it appeared it came crashing down, the blue Evangelion was faster than her. Dragging her away from the blast zone while she kept trying to fire her weapons. They were almost too slow. Chunks of stone and dirt flew out and struck their Evas as the titanic structure crumbled to pieces.

They weren't fast enough to dodge the second one. Like a train sliding across the earth, another skyscraper was barreling right for them. Her last instinct was to put her body in between the building and her partner. Softening the blow for at least one of them.

Getting a skyscraper thrown at you hurt, a lot. Even with time to prepare, she was still knocked completely flat as a river of stone and metal washed over her. Luckily for her, most of it hadn't settled on top of her, so she could still move. Rei had not been so lucky.

Without wasting time, she scrambled over the exposed limb of the blue Evangelion and began lifting the boulder, currently pinning it to the floor.

Mari heard an engine roaring overhead and flicked on her comms unit. "Rei's trapped! I can get her out. Just keep them busy for a minute!"

"We'll do a lot more than that Mari, Wunder out." It was rare that she heard the blonde scientist's voice sound like that. Normally, it was so devoid of life. Instead, now the woman sounded almost giddy. She couldn't decide if it was a good sign, or the doctor finally snapped.

The roaring overhead became deafening as Mari hurriedly pushed away the pieces of metal and rock covering her friend. Pressing with her both hands to get the largest boulder then helped the blue Evangelion back to its feet.

Their weapons had gotten lost in the chaos. Mari cracked the knuckles of her Eva as the two of them climbed out to gaze upon the battlefield. The Wunder flew like a ship of half its size. Small flashes of light illuminated the ship's exterior as it lay down an unending barrage towards the enemy.

It wasn't blind firing; the shots were all targeted. She watched as shells obliterated the flying humanoid figures one by one. She saw a couple being blown apart into a shower of gore. A wall of light moved to protect the remaining Evas. Six remained in the air and she could see the one she'd shot down, moving slowly to rejoin the group. It was impossible to monitor the small and fast-moving form of the enemy Angel. The only sign he was nearby was the massive pieces of earth and buildings getting thrown at them.

If Mari didn't know any better, she'd say the Angel was pissed. The mass production Evas were speeding directly towards them while the Wunder focused on avoiding the enormous projectiles being flung at it.

Without warning, a wall of light appeared in front of the immense vessel, stopping it entirely. Hexagonal shapes began surrounding it from all sides, and a cold pit of fear settled in her stomach as the sight sank in. This Angel's AT field was absurdly powerful. It made the previous Angel and their own fields seem pathetic. Slowly, the box of light surrounding the ship closed in. She could already see the damage being done to the outer decks.

It was going to be a massacre. If he was left alone, he'd slaughter the entire Wunder's crew and make them watch. All those people who'd trusted them with their protection were about to be crushed to death in a massive tin can. She felt helpless watching events unfold above her.

Then, a miracle happened. Like a gift from the heavens, a meteoroid came streaking towards the earth. Her eyes locked onto a silvery speck in the distance for a few moments before it was swatted out of the sky. Exploding into the ground with enough force to tremor the earth beneath their feet.

Mari couldn't help herself from breaking into laughter, despite the situation. Puppy, you sure know how to come with an unforgettable entrance. I taught you well."

---

Gendo Ikari's eyes roamed over the massive scorched corpse that lay crucified before him. It had once been Lilith. Now it was only a husk after the Third Impact. Two red spears were piercing its core and helping keep it in place. All of it, down to the last detail, was ready for the completion of his scenario. Including a purple Evangelion idly pacing in the dark underground interior, awaiting the destruction of those who'd tried to get in his way.

Without doctor Akagi, he was left with the responsibility of handling most of her duties.

Any of the staff with enough technical knowledge or skill had left on the Wunder along with her, leaving only him with a handpicked few, mostly useless but still loyal technicians.

His experience in helping create Project E at Gehirn came in handy. He had a degree of his own, not that he'd put it to much use. Still, clearly the doctor had iterated upon the work of mother significantly, leaving most of his knowledge incredibly dated.

He'd had to force the Magi back into an earlier operating system to be able to even begin using them. Luckily for him, there was only one purpose he still needed the computers for. Everything else was unessential. The collapsing facility around them didn't take up much space in its processor.

Gendo checked the surveillance feed and was surprised a camera was still active, checking the feed and seeing two Evas, blue and white armor respectively, splattered in reddish liquid. On all sides were the mass production evangelions, teeth gnashing and snarling audible over the limited audio equipment still functioning on the surface.

If WILLE didn't deal with them, they'd be a problem, same with the final angel. His death was a requirement for the next step in his plans. Once either side was sufficiently weakened, he'd make his move.

In a place as empty and cavernous as terminal dogma, any disturbance to the routine was made immediately obvious. The sound of footsteps drew him away from the computer. There were no staff allowed in this part of the facility. He reached into his jacket and retrieved his sidearm. Loading a round into the chamber and flicking the safety off as the sound got closer.

Eventually, after another couple minutes of walking, the noise stopped. Quickly Gendo whipped himself out of cover, keeping his weapon in front of him as he tried to find the intruder.

It was some old fool. He looked ancient, hunched over one of the metallic tables facing away from him. Without warning, the man turned around, two piercing midnight blue eyes met his own. Eyes he'd not seen in years yet could not ever forget. The ones that glared at him in his nightmares. Instead of the malice, hatred, or disappointment he'd remembered always existing in them, he saw a lightness behind him. The man looked excited and much too pleased with himself.

"No…."

"Yes."

"You. You should be dead."

"That's all you have to say? It's good to see you too, Son."

---

Rei and Unit-00 felt more united than ever. It could sense the strength of her purpose and seemed aware of the direness of the situation. Now they were surrounded, moving as one, all 6 of the airborne Evas dived on top of them. Their massive bladed weapons swung wildly as they tried to score a hit on them.

Mari performed somersaults to avoid the incoming blows. Rei was less agile but as successful, relying on her footworks and twisting her body to dodge and counter the blows as they came in. Her last attack was the most successful, grabbing onto one of the white Evas' wings and dragging it to the ground. Its cumbersome weapon clattering to the ground beside it.

Without wasting time, her foot immediately went to the creature's jaw. Her blow shattered the bone, letting out a sickening crack as the mangled jaw tried to snap at her feet. Hearing sounds behind her, she ducked and rolled, a blow that would've easily sliced her head off cruised over the top of her.

There was no time to recover. Another Eva came after her, swinging its blade to chop her in half, longways, in one powerful swing. Instead of moving away from the blow, she moved into it, tackling the creature's legs and straddling it. Once she was positioned, she moved her fists like a flurry, bludgeoning the creature's head into a fine paste.

The mass production unit seemed unphased by her assault and its lack of a head. Kicking and struggling beneath her to get free. The damaged Eva she'd forgotten about hadn't forgotten her, hooking its arms around her shoulder in an iron grip that left her helplessly exposed.

She imitated a move that had succeeded against her, but to no avail. Head butting the mindless Evangelion holding her in place damaged her more than it.

Rei made eye contact with a third Evangelion, rushing forward with its weapon tucked under its shoulder. She tried to twist out of the way, but couldn't avoid the blade's tip embedding itself into her chest. Gritting her teeth to endure the agony in her gut. Only worsening as the weapon impaled her further. If it had been a little higher, her Eva's core would have been pierced and she would most likely be dead or badly injured.

"Rei!" Her partner was too busy defending herself to offer any help. With 3 Evangelions working together with ruthless efficiency to kill them, all it took was one slip up and no one could help.

Her lungs seized against the LCL as pain washed over her. She could hear Mari calling out to her, but couldn't respond. The enemy Evangelion pushed its sickly grinning face almost on top of hers as it drove its blade further into her abdomen. Her attempts to move and free herself only made the pain splitting her gut worse.

Rei closed her eyes and focused, ignoring the pain and grabbing the sharp piece of metal currently embedded in her stomach. With a sharp kick, the Eva holding the weapon was knocked away. LCL gushed out of the vertical wound in her Evangelion when she ripped the glistening weapon out.

Fury powered her swings, blindly lashing out at the now unarmed opponent in front of her. It tried to deflect her blows with its arms, leaving massive gashes as the blade easily sliced through the Eva's armor and flesh. The enemy that had previously held her down while she was impaled had regained its weapon; she barely deflected it in time to save herself.

While it recovered, she moved to finish the wounded Eva, bracing her feet and swinging with all her might at the staggering monster's waist. Its torso went flying into the treeline behind it, while its legs tumbled uselessly to the earth.

The pain in her stomach only got worse as time went on. It was all she could do to use her new weapon to defend herself from the ceaseless onslaught of her other two opponents.

She heard a loud THUMP! Going off next to her as she watched a tangle of limbs crash into the ground, looking over to see Mari standing up. The Eva she'd been fighting had its head crushed into something resembling a dropped watermelon.

The two Evas fighting her reacted to her temporarily distractedness, she barely lifted her weapon to block another synchronized pair of sweeping strikes. Her enemies did not remove their weapons. Instead, working together to force her backwards and she tried her best to hold her ground.

It reminded Rei of a situation she'd been in the reverse of. She knew exactly what to do. She dropped her stolen weapon to the ground, catching both her opponents off guard as they staggered forward, their own weapons burying themselves in the dirt.

Unit-00's wounds made its movements sluggish, but Rei's plan still succeeded. Her Eva's hands grasped each of the creature's throats tightly, using her momentum to slam both of them into the ground. It took all of her remaining heads to hold the two thrashing Evas down, driving her fists forward on the controls as hard as she could. The sound of flesh tearing filled her ears and her efforts were rewarded with two near synchronous cracks going off at the same time.

The struggling stopped, Rei quickly staggered to her feet to move over and help Mari. Before she could, she moved to avoid the footsteps approaching her from behind. Her movements were still too sluggish. She stole a glance backward to see a damaged MP Evangelion. It must've been the one shot down by the Wunder, rejoining the battle at the most inopportune time. Its weapon held like a spear as it prepared to chuck its weapon directly into her back.

She tried putting her AT field to stop the flying sword, the wall of hexagonal light shining visibly as she strained the last of her focus. The weapon warped in front of her eyes, becoming a two-pronged spear that drilled its way through her field like it wasn't there.

Rei was completely helpless as the spear shattered her field, flying directly towards her face. Her hands instinctively moved to block the projectile, making them the first part of her to be impaled. A wave of white fiery agony washed over her before she felt her Eva fall to the ground and she slipped into unconsciousness.

---

Mari fought relentlessly against her two remaining opponents. Having recently disarmed them of their oversized weapons, the battle became much more even. She could finally go on the offensive without worrying about losing a limb.

She delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to one of the approaching Evas' heads, smashing it into the dirt as she ran and tackled the second Eva.

She combined her fists and brought them down with all her might, again and again. Until the enemy beneath her ceased its resistance.

The Eva she'd previously kicked returned with a vengeance, leaping atop her with its jaws snapping wildly. Eventually connecting with her shoulder as she felt its impossibly sharp teeth ripping into her shoulder armor.

The two White Evas were now almost indistinguishable. A tangle of limbs and glints of the shiny armor not yet soaked in the red liquid drenching large parts of the battlefield surrounding them.

"Just! Die!" Mari brought her right fist in an uppercut using the last of her remaining strength. Her arms went right through the Evas chest. Her hand came into contact with a red sphere. Instantly, she realized what it was. Grasping it in her fist and crushing the orb into shards.

"Rei, we have to destroy the cores! Otherwise, they won't stay dead!"

She looked over to see her new best friend's face about to be impaled by a spear. She was helpless as the long red object cracked through the AT Field. Sprinting as fast as she could, her brain was quick to provide a solution. Grabbing one of the nearby discarded weapons and hurling at the last standing mass production Eva's chest.

Mari was exhausted. Her muscles ached and begged for her to rest. With her mind somewhat cleared, the cut she received on her side burned painfully. It was a massive gash leaking a small fountain of LCL down her white armor. Barely any of it remained unblemished by dirt or otherwise.

With one quick heave, she removed the weapon still stuck inside her now unconscious friend. She had no way of knowing whether she was alive. The Wunder had more pressing concerns than their own desperate situation at the moment.

The two Evangelions Rei had taken down with her hands each made a loud, sickening crack. She watched in horror as the creatures grabbed onto their grossly damaged heads and jammed them back into their proper place.

Within seconds, all the previously wounded Evangelions rejoined the battle, unbothered by their previous wounds and driven by the same killer instinct. Their smiling faces seemed to mock her weakness, only enraging her further.

"There's five of you and one of me! Don't tell me you cowards are still scared to come and fight me!?"

Mari wouldn't let them hurt Rei again. She stood over the limp form of the blue Evangelion. She swung out her long weapon wildly at the approaching enemies. Her primary goal now was to sever limbs. If they were going to keep getting back up, she'd chop their legs off.

It took everything she had to keep her defenses up. Slashes came from every direction, including above as the Evas with still working wings used them to maintain their constant assault from above. They'd forgotten about Rei, but she didn't know if it would last.

This was bad. If she didn't do something drastic, they were all going to end up dead.

---

Shinji awoke inside his entry plug, still submerged in LCL. His plugsuit had vanished, leaving him naked and feeling exposed. His senses felt dulled, his body floated limply in the semi-transparent liquid.

He had no recollection of time passing, but his body felt like it'd been through hell. Every inch of his body throbbed painfully, moving only exacerbated it. Slowly reorienting himself back in the chair, he tried to get a bearing on his surroundings. Outside of his entry plug, there was only darkness.

He could hear rumbling, distant explosions going off around him from nearly every direction. With sluggish movements he pulled at the controls, the Eva responded. Its massive limbs moving feebly to move the debris covering its body. His efforts proved useless as, once he was almost free, an invisible force sent him flying into the air.

Now free from the rubble, Eva flew with the object tossed alongside him like a rag-doll with enough force to dash him against one of the nearby hills. The impact was not pleasant on his already bruised body. The LCL was heating around him. It felt like the liquid was using the changes in pressure to massage his injured muscles. It was pleasant, but not nearly enough.

Focusing back onto the battlefield, he looked to see what had just thrown him. The sun in his eyes temporarily blinded him, but when his vision cleared, he saw a silver-haired boy floating in front of him. The same red eyes he'd seen in his dream, penetrating his very being with the intensity of its gaze.

"That hurt!"

"Uhh, I'm sorry? Can I just ask? You look really familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"You do not know me. Your soul answers fate's call, even if you refuse it. I know who you are, Shinji Ikari. Trigger for the third impact and champion of the Lillim. Awaken your Evangelion once more. I desire a challenge. Faith without perseverance shames my father's name."

"You want me to do that!? I can't do that on command. I didn't mean for it to happen the first time."

"As I thought, you need something to set you off. If I were to threaten the Second Child's life, would that prove sufficient?"

"Asuka!? Where is she!? Don't you dare touch her!"

"The truth? Waiting for your death, so she can be reunited with her mother. Deeds speak more than words, however. The daughter of Lillith shares your blood, does she not? Would her death spur you into action?"

"Leave them alone! You wanna fight!? Fight me then!" Shinji picked up a sizable rock from the ground around his feet, angrily chucking it at the boy's floating form.

"I'll show you I'm serious."

The rock stopped in midair. He saw the boy clench his fist, pulverizing it into smaller chunks, swirling the stream of rubble around his body like a cyclone. He tried to figure out what his opponent was planning, and an answer was quickly provided. All around them, the debris began breaking apart and shattering, coalescing into a massive tempest of debris now encircling the boy. The cyclone of stone and metal stretched so high it looked like it was reaching out to touch the sky itself. It began speeding up into a barely visible blur, preventing him from properly seeing its size.

There was nowhere for him to run. He braced his body and protected his face with his arms. Using his remaining concentration to focus his AT field in front of him.

A solid river of rubble erupted into him, hundreds of thousands of pellets striking the hexagonal field as cracks started forming around its edges. His head strained under the intense effort to keep up his field and cracks only grew larger. It felt like something was trying to force his brain out through his eye sockets before the sound of glass shattering rang in his ears.

He was completely trapped, the torrent of debris washed over his armor and he could feel chunks of it being eroded away by the constant battering. The pain was almost unbearable. He sharply bit the side of his mouth to keep himself focused. Still, he remained standing, not wanting his Eva to be completely buried by the assault.

Finally, he could see the sun again, its burning brilliance illuminating the small floating form of his enemy. Not even having moved from his spot in the air during all the destruction. Behind him, the Wunder zoomed to a point in the battlefield. Looking in its direction, he could see a group of large white humanoid figures fighting. The glint of blue he saw in the crowd made his heart sink.

"Awaken your Evangelion! Fight me! I will not warn you a third time!"

Shinji sprinted forward and leapt, swinging his arm into the air to swat the boy out of the air. Just before his blow connected his Eva froze in mid-air. A sensation like steel wires wrapping around his body and limbs overwhelmed him. Strangling the air out of his body.

The two of them flew across the battlefield as if weightless. When he saw what the boy had moved them over to see, he screamed.

A blue Eva lay collapsed in a heap on top of a nearby hill. A fountain of LCL ran down the green grass. The sight made him sick to his stomach. It only got worse when he saw a badly damaged Evangelion fighting for its life.

He continued struggling at the invisible bonds holding him in place, straining both his mind and body as he tried desperately to rejoin the fight.

They were fighting with some sort of strange sword. They were massive, each one about as long as an entire Evangelion.

It was a terribly mismatched fight. Four Evangelions surrounding and attacking a lone target like a pack of animals, jaws snapping and trying to rip chunks out of the girl currently fight for her life.

"Both of them will die and you will bear witness to it. That is what will happen if you do not destroy me. I will destroy you. In mind, body and soul."

"Why are you doing this!? What did I ever do to you!?"

"The same reason you are here, it is my destiny. We all have our roles to play, however this moment, this is where our story may change. The battle will determine the fate of your species, whether they will move forward or stagnate in the bog of mortality. Fight me, Champion of the Lillim, fate is calling."

Shinji needed to do something, and fast. He didn't want to, already knowing what the potential consequences would be.

There weren't any other options at this point, so he asked his mother for her help. Calling on the power within the Eva to help him save the people he cared for.

One last time.

---

Gendo Ikari had an almost imperceptible tremble as his finger moved to the trigger of his pistol. His gaze wandered over to the still petrified form of his subcommander standing next to him. The man's eyes were wide as saucers and the only sign of life was the steady fall of his chest as he breathed and watched the man.

"Go, I will take care of this. Ensure the scenario continues as planned."

His words shook his old friend from his apparent stupor. The man nodded his head and jogged away from the pair as they locked eyes again.

"It's been some time. You look well."

"I killed you."

"Yet here I stand. Honestly, did you really think you could beat me? Such arrogance. It reminds me of myself when I was younger."

"How is this possible? I watched you die. I am quite certain I didn't miss."

"Really? You of all people would ask me that? I raised you myself. I know you're not that fucking stupid."

Gendo took a moment to ponder the man's cryptic answer to his question, realizing the answer sent a chill down his spine.

"How can you abandon your humanity? Wouldn't there have to be some for you to lose?"

"Humorous. The powers that control this universe care little for our petty ideas of morality. The only true universal language is power itself. I have abandoned my humanity for a greater purpose, something you couldn't even succeed at fully."

He fired his weapon. Even if it was useless, he had to try. Two shots flew into his father's chest, the other hit the top of his skull, sending a splash of blood and bone and exposing the man's head to the open air. Not once during the gross spectacle did the man move, or even flinch.

"Your biggest weakness is now and always will be your lack of vision. Relentless when pursuing a goal, but so focused, you miss what's right under your very nose. You've barely scratched the surface of the power you've awakened within yourself. I don't need an Evangelion to rewrite humanity's future."

"Correct. I am relentless. I will not stop until my scenario is completed. You will not change that."

Gendo looked behind to find where Unit-13 was, his hand reaching into his jacket pocket to retrieve its remote controls. He felt a surge of anger as he saw no sign of the massive Evangelion.

Their surroundings were open and cavernous. There was only one way for something that large to be out of his sight. He muttered a silent curse under his breath as he vainly pressed the buttons on the device. Already knowing if it'd gone to the surface, it would be out of range. A consequence of the rushed development of the remote systems.

"Very cute. Looks like your ace fell out of your sleeve. Now, I believe you have something of mine. Hand over Adam and the remote controls for Unit-13 and there may be a spot at my side open for you. Otherwise...You have no use to me."

The next few moments were a blur, elderly gentleman in front of him looked so frail he shouldn't have been able to jog without breaking something. Instead, he leapt forward dozens of meters in seconds. A fist connected with his face with such force he went flying like a rag-doll. He could hear his bones crack as his body crashed into a metallic console.

That was not something he could have planned for. His expected physical advantage was now flipped on its head. Neither of them were in any real danger, unless one of them went as far as incinerating the other. Something he was earnestly considering, if only he had the resources for it.

He heard a loud creaking of the metal floor. The force of the man's steps was enough to alert him of the incoming attack. He forced his body to roll enough to avoid the potentially devastating follow-up.

Before he could move again, a vice clamped down around his right hand. inhumanly strong fingers began digging into the flesh of his palm, causing him to cry out in pain. He gritted his teeth and focused on the weapon still in his other hand. Bringing up the weapon to the man's chin and pressing the trigger until his clip ran dry.

If this affected the man, he didn't notice. He knew what he was after; he was powerless to stop it. Each second he could feel the man rooting around in his skin was a moment closer to his inevitable defeat. Without Adam, he'd lose all control over instrumentality. All hope of his dream would die in that instant.

Despite the intense pain, he tried to pull his hand away, using his other hand to bash the man's head as many times as he could with the butt of his weapon. He channeled all his feelings into each blow, losing all semblance of self control as he fought to survive.

Somehow, something snapped, and his blows no longer felt like bashing against a steel wall. As soon as he was free from the man's grasp, he clenched his badly wounded hand as tightly as he could to slow the bleeding. He tossed his now useless weapon onto the floor, taking the time to flee back to his office.

He didn't make it far. Before he knew it, the man was on top again. He kept his right arm clutched against his chest, shielding it with his body. He could feel the creature inside his hand squirming, growing larger by the second.

What he did next was foolish. There weren't many options, however. The stench of desperation hung over the two of them as they continued to struggle.

A wall of light exploded outward from his palm as he pressed it forward. The constantly shifting hexagonal patterns were all that separated him from the increasingly irate man.

"Good. I was wondering if I was even fighting a real man." His father gave him a grin that made his stomach turn. Stirring up countless memories he'd forcefully buried for years.

"You hate me, don't you? It's nice, isn't it? Having someone you can blame for all of your problems. Blame me all you wish. I didn't make you anything more than what you really were inside. My son."

"I'm nothing like you. You can't fool me. I know you. You haven't ever loved anyone. The only person you care about is yourself. You make me sick."

"And you've never loved yourself, yet you still think you can love others. You're much too old to think that childishly. It is you who sickens me."

---

Asuka definitely wasn't a fan of climbing, even with her Eva's strength making whatever she grasped into a suitable foot or handhold. It was tedious, and taking way too long. Especially when the sounds of battle had gotten too intense for her to ignore, leading her up here in the first place.

NERV's commanders really didn't think to leave anyone to watch her while the battle raged on. It confirmed her suspicions that they really were a bunch of idiots.

She had almost made it to the surface when the roar of explosions overhead shook her as she climbed. When she finally reached the top; it took a massive effort to pull her gigantic Eva fully back onto the surface.

What if Kaworu killed Shinji? Had WILLE killed him? What if they'd already killed each other? She'd been trying to convince herself that she'd moved past the boy, but she was kidding herself. Not knowing whether he was okay had driven her almost mad with worry. He must have had a million thoughts going through his head right now, like she did.

If it wasn't for him, she'd never have known about her mother before she lost her. She had a pretty good idea what the commander wanted out of this whole mess, or who, to be more specific. Maybe Shinji would understand.

The first thing she saw was the Wunder. Its reactor seemed fine. It was, however, rapidly descending as one of its engines was wreathed in flame and smoke.

It wasn't going down without a fight. Even from this distance, she could see the ship slowly pulling up out of its near free fall. Small lights flashed across nearly its entire surface, and she quickly realized what it was.

It wasn't a perfectly aimed barrage, but she could see its intent. Explosive shells flew over her head and crashed into a mass of ugly white evangelions. For the moment, they all seemed distracted, not noticing her presence.

She wasn't sure if they were friend or foe. The sickly grins and zombie-like behavior of the strange Evangelions lead her to pick the former.

Asuka charged straight into the still burning crater where the Evangelions fought. She saw a familiar flash of blue and her heart sank as she finally saw what the white Evas had been fighting.

A badly wounded white Evangelion, its black highlights making it stand apart from the other Eva's around it. Hunched over a badly damaged familiar blue Evangelion. All the Eva's were wielding some strangely oversized red metallic swords.

Asuka wouldn't be on the sidelines for long. She leapt and kicked the closest creature to her. Using her momentum to carry her forward as her feet hit the ground with a wet CRUNCH!

"We have to destroy the cores! It's the only way they stay dead!"

The normally jovial girl's voice radiated authority. Asuka didn't think to question how she'd gotten into an encrypted channel; they had bigger worries.

The bestial titans didn't waste anytime in countering her entrance. She pivoted her foot and leapt into the air, dodging the blades moving to slice her limbs and torso. Nimbly dodging the swinging blades and parrying with her own, taking a meaty chunk out of its sinewy neck.

The pitched battle continued. Every injury they inflicted onto the creatures was temporary, even the creatures cut into pieces were slowly reassembling themselves. They really were indestructible, with only one glowing red weak spot.

"Where the hell were these bastards when the Angels were here!?"

"These things aren't built to kill Angels."

She had to admit the girl was right. If you sicced these things on an Angel, victory would be more of a trial and error than anything else. They weren't even that good at fighting other Eva's. Just why were these things made? Who had made them?

Asuka's thoughts distracted her, at that moment. A pronged spear grazed her side, piercing through her armor like it wasn't there. Still, they had the upper-hand now, there were only four of them still put together enough to fight.

Before they could finish the fight, the automated Evas abandoned the fight, their massive wings sprouted out from their backs and the remaining enemies took off into the air.

The battlefield was quiet. For the moment, it seemed they'd won. Despite the calm falling over them, she couldn't shake a looming sense of dread.

"Mari, what time is it?"

"I don't know exactly. I think sometime after dusk?"

"So that's not the sun, is what you're saying."

Without warning her Eva's controls went dark, leaving her sitting in a chamber of pitch black LCL. Wth a lurch in her stomach the beast began moving of its own volition.

She could already tell where it was headed, it'd instantly done a heel turn to go back and undo her progress in attempting to leave NERV.

Of course, why would she get to do anything she wanted? Hopefully there'd be a chance for her to apologize to Rei. The rookie had better accept her swooping in to save the day as the best apology she was ever gonna get.

Kicking the Eva's controls out of frustration, she curled up for warmth. Hopefully she could wait the rest of this out. Although her creeping suspicions told her that the man she'd agreed to help had other plans.

Twin beams of violet energy scorched the air around it as it arced towards the air towards a small humanoid shape. A curved hexagon of light caught the beam in midair, directing it up towards the sky in a dazzling spectacle of light.

The mass production circled the pair like vultures. Before being interrupted by beams of errant energy from the intense battle. A burst of light flying out and vaporizing the white monstrosities, leaving only the clear night sky and the ominous red rings inside it.

Rei was alive, so was Misato, Mari. He even recognized the signature moves of the mysterious black evangelion that had joined the fight. They were alive and safe. Now it was up to him to keep them that way.

The ceaseless assault of the final Angel did not cease, currently attempting to bury him beneath the wreckage of his fallen city. Bars of steel almost as long as his Eva whipped past him faster than his eyes could perceive. The only reason he had survived this long was due to luck and the fantastic speed of his Evangelion.

He couldn't get close. Every time he tried, his efforts were rewarded with a powerful AT Field smacking directly into his face.

The Wunder swooped down from the clouds above, weapons ablaze once again, with an engine missing. However, they were too slow for Evasive maneuvers. He watched helplessly as flames consumed another of the Wunder's massive engines, sending the entire vessel into a tailspin towards the ground.

They had sacrificed themselves so he could get an opening. Shinji's blood boiled with renewed rage and electricity surged through his body. His brain finally put together the pieces of what was in front of him. His enemy thought that keeping so many things levitating was only to his advantage, meaning he could attack from anywhere. It also created a perfect path for him to reach the airborne angel.

His mechanical feet leapt with such force the earth cracked beneath him and he felt as if he was flying into the air. He didn't even need to climb. All he needed was his momentum to keep carrying him higher.

He watched the boy turn at the last second, but it was too late. His fist crashed through the hastily made barrier in front of him and connected with the Angel's body, sending him plowing into the dirt.

"Enough!"

The pile of rubble he'd seen the Angel crash into exploded into a cloud of dust. All he saw next was a blur that quickly sharped into a now angry looking and wounded boy. The next thing he felt was a rock getting thrown at his head before he was up into the sky again.

Shinji just now figured out what had happened. The Angel had punched him back, literally punched an Evangelion with his own bare hands, and he did it again, and again. If he wasn't sure he had a concussion before, he was now. His limbs flung out wildly around him until he got lucky enough to score a hit on the flying boy.

Blood splattered out and covered his Eva's arms. It was proof he was winning, but the sight made him sick to his stomach.

He knew what Angels bled. It was orangish LCL. It looked like blood, but an experienced eye could see the difference. Shinji was one of the unlucky few who'd seen enough of both to tell. It was human blood, some of it already dried to a darkish brown he'd never seen in LCL.

He was now up above the clouds. Before his enemy could fly away and leave gravity to do the rest, with one last surge, he caught the boy between his outstretched hands. Once he had a firm grip, he cradled the humanoid form against his chest. He tried with all his might to crush his hands together. It was the only humane way he could think of, with a bonus of him not having to see himself commit murder.

That's what it felt like. He couldn't be human. He'd seen him do things no human could ever dream of. Yet he bled the same as he did, probably cried and laughed just like he did too. This wasn't an unthinking animal sent from the stars to destroy his planet. This was a human being, one he had to kill or be killed by.

Still his grip slackened with his resolve, his left hand remained attached to the boy's waist with an iron grip. Shinji held onto the boy with all his might as they were slowly dragged back towards earth.

"A good attempt, but you simply cannot kill a god. Now if you don't excuse me, heaven awaits. I promise, both you and your fellow pilots shall be saved."

The invisible force keeping his hand from crushing the Angel trapped inside it expanded outwards, exploding his entire left hand into a shower of gore. Inside the entry plug, his own hand imitated his Eva exactly, clouding his view with chunks of bone and flesh. Pain blinded all his senses until he realized he was now in a free fall. He looked up to see his enemy floating up towards the sky, once again glowing an ominous red.

Within moments he felt the pain receding, not healing his wounds, new flesh instead blossomed out from his wound. His flesh itched and burned as he felt the Eva reassembling its destroyed hand, and his along with it.

It was happening again; it was happening again, and it was going to be all his fault, again. He had to stop him. He ignored the pain in his hand and everything that went with it as he slammed his healthy hand and his bloody stump back into the controls with all his might.

Unit-01 let out a bestial roar and flapped the wings that sprouted out from its back. Flying into the air and again grasping the boy with both his hands, trying to flatten the Angel. The controls were gone, the entry plug was gone.

The pilot, Shinji Ikari, was gone. All that remained was Unit-01, and its mission to kill all Angels.

The Gates of Guf opened, the unbreakable AT field of the Angel of providence shattered. and Unit-01's maw snapped open and shut, swallowing down a bloody chunk in one massive bite.

The remaining mass production Evas began circling him in the air, two spears flew towards the Eva's now open hands.

There was still a will inside the ascending Evangelion. Its last act of resistance was to clench its fist and strike away the offending objects.

The Fourth Impact had begun.

---

Gendo Ikari sprinted down an empty corridor, his feet kicking, opening a hatch and leaping down a long ladder, riding it down onto the floor below.

Before his feet touched the floor, he heard a terrible sound of metal wrenching before the ladder exploded outwards from the wall, sending him flying.

In the pitch darkness of NERV's underbelly, Gendo knew exactly where he was headed. He landed right where he needed to be. Standing up on uneasy legs, he ran over to the nearby computer terminal, his fingers flew across the keys.

Now victory was his. All he needed to do was survive until Unit-13 arrived. The second command he gave to the Magi was to ensure that was possible.

Electricity coursed to the centerpiece of this room, illuminating a long arm with muscle bulging out between the armor crudely fused to its skin. It moved without purpose, ripping apart the restraints, holding it down as it spasmed across the confined room with thunderous strength.

Entering another hatch, Gendo continued running. It didn't matter how deep into the facility he went, enough of it was damaged that Unit-13 could pull him out of almost anywhere.

As he made his way through another corridor deep in the facility, he sensed a sudden shift in the air pressure. He didn't jump in time, his left foot was sliced cleanly off by a shaft of light.

Gendo Ikari did not cry out in pain, only grunting as he used his arms to catch his fall onto the hard metal floor. He was too close to die now. He pressed his palms against the walls of the narrow hallway and began hopping on his uninjured leg as quickly as he could.

He nearly fell as he traversed the corridor's sharp bend. The hallway was a dead end. Damage from one of the many battles or explosions must've caved it in at some point. A faint rumbling could be heard through the thick metal walls. All he had to do was stall for time.

"A dead end, I should thank you son, for all your hard work will pay off. I will become the god of a new humanity, more powerful than the gods themselves."

"I cannot allow someone like you to achieve human instrumentality. You are not worthy to become god."

This caused the man to snort, pausing his assault momentarily. "You seriously think you can use my own tricks against me? I hear my ticket to instrumentality approaching. You wouldn't be stalling for time, would you, oh son of mine?"

Gendo did not react to the provocation. He most likely couldn't, even if he wanted to. Blood was still dripping profusely from what had once been his left foot. It took all his remaining strength to stay upright.

If he attempted fighting him off, he'd more than likely be ripped limb from limb. Even his near-immortality would make recovering from that alone impossible.

"I'm about to die of blood loss, of course I am. This just further proves my point."

"Your point? We've both left a pile of bodies deep enough to drown in at the side of our chosen paths. Abandoning what made us human in the process long before we ever touched Nebuchadnezzer's key. That girl is an excuse. You seriously expect me to believe you'd shirk a chance at godhood for an opportunity to try and inevitably fail at playing house again? After all you've done to make it this far?"

"What are you trying to say, old man?"

"That you're your father's son, you did this for yourself, so you could become god. I just want you to admit it before your untimely end."

The man in front of him became a blur before a fist drove itself clear through his gut. Gendo desperately gripped the walls beside him as his knees buckled. He didn't make a sound, not willing to give the snickering man in front of him the satisfaction.

"In your utter apathy, you fail to even understand how those around you think. Maybe at one point there was a pained person inside you, maybe that's what mother saw. I am like you, but better. Do you want to know what ultimately sets us apart?"

Speaking was becoming increasingly difficult. It took all he could to resist vomiting blood. Instead, spitting and gritting his teeth, focusing his remaining efforts on standing upright and glaring back at his father.

"Oh please. If you can tell me before you collapse, you seem to have it all figured out. Enlighten me."

"Many many things. I admit I saw strength in your cold obsession with achieving your goal, but I also saw a weakness. I'll tell you what sets us apart."

Gendo kept his expression stern as he listened for the hastening sound of footsteps echoing outside. His fingers clutching at the beacon still pressed against his palm.

"What!?"

"I win."

The Black Evangelion ripped the metal roof off like it wasn't even there. Its massive foot landed atop the man unceremoniously with a dull thud. A splash of blood coated him from his head to

his waist.

He stood there for a moment, a hundred different thoughts churning in his mind at once.

"Rest in Peace Robakungi Senior. May you find the rest in death you never found in life. For all that it's worth."

Gendo wobbled slightly on his foot, couldn't help smirking up at the mechanical giant. Its speakers lit up, the one of the few systems left alone when the autopilot was active. Knowing who was inside, he chastised his past self for putting speakers on the unit in the first place.

"What the hell happened to you!? I can see why you made my Eva go into autopilot. Still, that doesn't make it any less rude. Give me back control! I need to be up there! That idiot Shinji killed Kaworu and Mari and Rei are hurt. the Wunder crashed! Those ugly flesh robot Evas tried to kill me, then just stopped once I was winning!"

The force of the sound nearly knocked over his crippled body. He carefully parsed through the near incoherent rambling. Everything had gone according to plan. It was useful information, even if it was all delivered without a pause for breath.

"It doesn't matter. I'll be taking things over from here. All you have to do is watch."

"Will this bring her back? Is this the only way?"

Gendo Ikari surrendered to the massive fist clasping around him as it gently lifted him up before dropping him into the creature's split open maw.

"Yes. I will bring her back."

—-

"Give me a status report."

"Do you want the bad news, the bad bad news, or the somewhat good news?"

"The last one?"

"One of the engines was only partially damaged. Should hopefully be online shortly. It should hopefully provide us with just enough lift to get back in the air."

"And everything else?"

"We still haven't regained contact with Mari or Rei and look outside."

Misato took a deep breath from her perch atop the command post.

"The fighting stopped."

"It did, and I have a pretty good guess who won."

Misato finally took the dive and pulled up an exterior camera on her own monitor. It was a haunting sight. It felt like she was trapped. No matter how, who or where she fought, it always came back to here. The giant of light.

Her spine tingled despite her warm clothing. In the cramped and overheated command center, she felt chilled to the bone. It was getting difficult for her to breathe. If she closed her eyes, she was back in that blood covered box again. Waiting out the apocalypse while she cried for her father.

She wasn't that little girl anymore; she had kids, people whose lives depended on her.

Misato would not cower from the giant of the light, not this time. Even if she was a colossal failure, she couldn't give up now. She would try to save everyone in front of her and keep trying, even if she failed again.

"Shinji's Eva is out of control again. We need to stop it before there's another impact. We can't fail. The world's at stake."

"You're right, but what can we do? He's our only chance of taking down the big man himself. We can assist, but the weapons on this ship aren't enough to take down a single Eva. let alone two."

"I don't know. Do we have anything that could knock Unit-01 out of the sky?"

"We don't."

"But what if we did?"

"What are you planning, Misato?"

"Are the ship's escape craft still functioning?"

"They are but-"

Misato's thumb pressed over the intercom as a plan rapidly formed itself inside her mind.

"All non-essential staff are to evacuate the ship immediately, save one ship for when we get in the air so everyone still onboard can get out."

"Misato!"

She put up her hand at her angrily worried friend. Her mind was made up. This ship was the only thing she'd seen able to put up with an Evangelion. Most importantly, it had an S2 engine and an incredibly valuable and rare device that had been destroyed and then immediately replaced.

It was almost as if the destruction of the engine was anticipated. She didn't have time to think about what that meant. All that mattered to her now was that it was here and the last tool at her disposal.

"Ritsuko, hypothetically speaking what would happen if this ship rammed into Unit-01 right before it hypothetically went critical and exploded."

"Hypothetically speaking, you just might have barely enough power to knock it out of the sky, but it's a big gamble. You'd need someone to stay behind in the reactor, the ship's autopilot should be able to lock onto the Eva's energy signature. Someone has to ensure the reactor goes off properly, unsurprisingly they're carefully designed so they don't explode."

"Could you show me how?"

"You're not seriously planning a suicide mission Misato, what would Kaji think about this?"

"He'd be a hypocrite to tell me not to. It's our only option, Rits, unless you've been hiding a secret Eva stopping weapon under your lab coat this whole time. We've gotta do something about this mess."

"Good one. If you're set on this, I'll head down to the reactor. It'll be good to have an ace up our sleeve if my plan doesn't work out. Focus on getting everyone else off the ship once we're back in the air. After that, you'll have to take over piloting from there."

Misato wasn't really listening when her friend spoke. She had already rehearsed this conversation many times in her head before. Now her mind was simply elsewhere. On a scruffy-looking bastard who left her with the entire world on her shoulders and how much she wanted to see him again.

"I'm not asking you to stay behind. This is my mess, after all. I'll be the one to clean it up."

"You're wrong. This is our mess, mine, yours, that bastard down there and everyone else who brought us this far."

"It's a suicide mission. You're too valuable to let die like this."

"And do what, exactly!? Pick through the ruins of my vaporized apartment building? I'm tired, Misato, tired of, well, everything. Let this put an end to all of it. It's a gentler end than we deserve."

"I'm staying behind too."

The pair of them both turned suddenly at the unexpected interloper. It was none other than the blonde doctor's most prized student. Her normally fearful expression locked into a steely gaze.

"Don't be absurd Maya, there's no reason for you to stay behind. I can handle things perfectly fine myself."

"I know you can, but I'm still staying. We all are."

Misato looked around to see the bridge's crew, each one of them staring at her with the same look of determination she saw in Maya. There was no way to talk them out of it. She knew that there was still one question she wanted to ask.

"Why?"

"Because you're right. This is our mess. We have the blood of innocents, children on our hands, indirectly or not. This is our chance to right some of the many wrongs we've helped commit."

The consistent beeping of one of the machines ruined the heartwarming atmosphere spreading across the command center.

"The ship's detecting another energy signature somewhere within the geofront!"

"Aoba, calm down. What do you mean by another energy signature? Like Unit-01's?"

"Yes, Ma'am, it appears to be another Awakened Evangelion! It's moving to the surface!"

Their eyes were locked on the glowing ball of light in the sky. Their sensors allowed them to correct for the intense light and see the purple Evangelion descending back towards the ground. Circling it, she counted 5 of the remaining mass production Evas. The weapons they'd been holding had vanished.

She looked around to see her blonde sub-commander had left. She'd no idea when, but Misato knew where the woman was headed.

"Misato, tell the bridge to prepare the launch sequence. We're almost ready down here."

"You're so quick it's almost scary sometimes."

She did just that, just as they were about ready to take off. She saw something that made her smile.

A white Evangelion with black highlights, painted red by LCL, cradling its blue counterpart in its arms. Staggering along the outer edges of the crater the Wunder had created during its crash. Without her even needing to signal, the ship's hangar swung open.

She turned to her monitor to watch with exceeding carefulness the damaged blue Eva was laid onto the ship's hangar. The White Eva didn't stay idle, running out of her camera's sight as with impressive agility despite her wounds.

"Mari, Get back on the ship. We're about to take off."

"Do you know how to drive a manual car, Misato?"

"Mari!? What are you saying? Did one of those Evas hit you in the head or something?."

"Sometimes, you just have to give it a little push to get started."

The girl's comms went silent after that, no matter how many times she said her name. Moments after that she could hear the distant hum of the engines as they roared to life.

Misato was quick to piece together what must've been the girl's plan. There was nothing she could do to stop it. All she could hope for was that she wouldn't overdo it too much. Now she regretted not getting a better look at the damage on the white Eva. Its color made any wound look much worse than it was, but still.

Their efforts weren't in vain. Within moments, their altitude was increasing. The command center was darkened almost completely. With most of the staff gone, she'd ordered all leftover power to be directed to the engines and what weapons they could still use.

As the Wunder floated back up into the air, they were greeted by the source of the newest disturbance. A glowing Evangelion, too bright to look at directly, rose to meet its challenger in the skies. Two long spears were gripped tightly by an extra pair of arms. She could've sworn the last time she'd seen it, there'd only been a single pair.

At first she thought it was Asuka, as she was the only one who she'd seen piloting the monster, but her gut told her otherwise. Something about its aura was screaming at her. That it was him, her former employer and the man who'd made all their lives hell.

Twin violet beams brighter than the sun itself flew out of the purple Evangelion's eyes, down towards its black counterpart. Only its arm moved to block the blow. She didn't see any AT field. It was the black Eva's weapon that absorbed the blow.

Instead of retaliating, it did something entirely more bizarre. Tossing one of the spears at the purple Evangelion. As soon as the metal came into contact with Unit-01, its head warped into an unfamiliar weapon altogether.

"What are those spears?"

"The Lance of Longinus, a weapon representing despair and the spear of Cassius, representing hope. Two contradictory complementary weapons forged from the very fires of creation itself."

"So it all comes to this, father versus son. Is there anything we can do to help Shinji?"

"Are we even sure that's Shinji? It would take a miracle for him to still be sane. Nothing's going to be able to stop him, not this time."

"How did we stop it the first time? Was it by using that spear?"

"No, we did very little. That Angel was the one who stopped Unit-01. He had Shinji's weapon. Problem is, there's two of them now. I don't even think it'd be enough to stop it this time."

"Unit-1 isn't what we should worry about. There's something off about that Four armed Eva. It's not Asuka inside there anymore. You feel it, don't you?"

"I don't. Blind guesses that turn out to be correct is your superpower, not mine. Are you sure you're not letting your personal feelings affect your decision?"

"Of course I am. If anyone can pilot what is basically a god to stop his father, it's Shinji. We need to help him win. What else have we got to lose?"

"On that I agree. You'll want to look at this then."

She was presented with the woman's tablet. On it were schematics for a spear with a long arrowhead design.

"That looks dumb."

"It does. There were only the two different known spears. There's another one not mentioned outside of this ship, the spear of Gaia."

"How have I never heard of this?"

"Do you know why this ship was constructed? It's not just a ship, it's also a vessel, literally. The Wunder is the spear of Gaia."

"Of course I don't. Stop making my head hurt and simplify. How can a ship be a spear?"

"It's both. It's a spear representing the will of humanity. In theory, it could be wielded by an Eva with the other spears to achieve true Neon Genesis. A new beginning for all life."

"A new beginning, huh? Could it undo the damage of the impacts? Bring the dead back to life?"

"Probably not, but it is worth a shot, all things considered. It could be enough to help Shinji defeat Unit-13. As long as that bastard goes first, I'll be happy."

"I always admired how much of an optimist you were, Rits. Everyone's evacuated. There's no way we could just fabricate that out of thin air."

"About that…"

"How!?"

"Well, it's not done yet. I'm not a magician, besides It's a little big to fit under my lab coat. Restarting the engines wasn't the only thing I've been doing. The engineers know what they're signing up for by staying. We already have a template. We just need to build upon it. Something this ship was built for."

"How did you know we would need it?"

"It was a guess. We had to pull that imitation spear out of Rei to get her out. When I got a good look at it, I had a hunch. There's an enormous room on this ship I didn't understand the purpose of, but now I think I do."

"How long is it gonna take? Can the ship stay in the air?"

"Too long. We're gonna be removing the ship's spine. It's going to make the entire structure unstable, but it shouldn't fall apart entirely, hopefully."

"What about the command center? I don't want the roof caving in on us while we're a hundred meters in the air."

"It shouldn't cave in…. Immediately. I'll see what I can do, but once we do this, we won't be able to stay airborne for long."

"We're going to finish this, one way or another. I won't fail again."

"Who's saying you failed before? You're only human, Misato. There are some things that are far beyond either of our control."

"Still, we have to fight, otherwise why bother coming this far?"

"There's one problem. Mari is definitively down for the foreseeable future and we'll need someone to deliver the spear when it's ready."

"I will do it."

A blue-haired girl hobbled out of the shadows on a pair of crutches. Bandages nearly covered her entire body, leaving only a single crimson eye to gaze at her. It did nothing to diminish the intensity of the girl's gaze and presence.

Misato was reminded of the state she was in when Shinji first arrived. That was when it all started, really. What drove a quiet and kindhearted boy to pilot a machine of death and destruction? They'd taken advantage of his kindness.

She'd helped them do it. The first of many wrongs committed in the name of saving humanity, a lie she had been dumb enough to believe.

"Rei!? Why are you here!? How are you even standing? You should've been evacuated with the rest of the wounded."

"I refused. My fight is not over."

---

Unit-01 braced its new weapon against its shoulder. The glowing wings sprouted out from its back crackled with energy as it dove towards its target.

This time the black Eva did nothing to defend itself, allowing the spear to pierce its chest. The two of them flew back down towards earth at incredible speeds. Entering a gaping hole, leading the two of them back into the depths of the ruined Geofront.

"Everything has gone according to my scenario. There is one last obstacle I must overcome for my salvation. Thank you for helping me make it this far."

The pilot inside of Unit-01 heard these words. They reminded the boy of who he was, and what he was here fighting for.

Shinji felt his consciousness reforming itself, drawing back into some form of normal. He was inside the entry plug, sitting on a chair and clenching the butterfly controls with all his might. He was no longer the Eva but he could feel every minute sensation outside his entry plug.

Maybe he'd been asleep before, his memory was spotty to say the least, his motions inside the Eva felt sluggish to boot. There could be another way out of this. Shinji must've defeated the Angel, killed him more than likely. It wasn't the only blood on his hands. There was so much. Did he even save Asuka? Could he save even one person?

Now he had to face his father.

Shinji had failed utterly, not just himself, but the man his father could've been. The one who'd transcended the bounds of time and space itself to help him and he still screwed it up. All that effort wasted on a useless person like him.

Shinji couldn't or rather didn't stop the Third Impact, he couldn't stop what was likely already a fourth. He would stop his father, here and now. Even if it killed him, otherwise everything was pointless.

"It's over, Father, please just stop this." There was a part of him that still wanted to believe they wouldn't have to fight like this. That the man who'd been inside his head could appear instead of the ominous figure he'd been forced to acknowledge as his father.

"Once again, you have failed to see the bigger picture. This is only the beginning. The complementation of human instrumentality is at hand."

He sighed as he flicked off the Eva's speakers. He had no one else to ask, and one question still burned in his consciousness.

"Where's Asuka? I know I saved her. Where is she!?"

The black Eva patted itself on the chest.

"She's here. You don't need to worry. She is safer than almost anyone."

"You took her!? Give her back!"

"She's not an object. I offered to grant her deepest desire in exchange for assisting me with my plan. Asuka agreed, it's that simple."

"You're lying! Asuka would never help you!"

"Even to save the life of her mother? It would appear the girl you idolized wasn't the hero you imagined."

"You lied to her too, didn't you!?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

For a second the Eva froze, its eyes darkening before something about it changed. For some reason, he was completely terrified of speaking to the girl. Moments before, it was something he'd been strongly wishing for.

"Asuka?"

The Eva flinched at his words. Words failed him completely as he felt the thumping of his heart in chest reach a crescendo.

"Shinji…I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"Why?" It didn't feel like Shinji was speaking. He felt his legs monotonously drive him forward of their own volition.

"My mother, she meant everything to me. She died because of me. I never got to say goodbye or thank her after she looked out for me for so long."

"Asuka…."

"If there's a way to bring her back, I have to try. What about your mother? Don't you want her back too?"

"It's not that simple. There are some things you can't change."

"Why!? Why do we just have to lie down and take it when life spits in our face!?"

"Asuka, I'm so sorry, but our mothers are dead, and they're not coming back."

"Shut up! You don't know that! Your mother's alive. She's just trapped inside that metal monster. I have nothing!"

"My mother isn't coming back, even inside the Eva, she's just out of grasp. I can feel her, but I will never see her smile or hear her laugh again. After all the lies he's told, all the people he's hurt. How can you trust him, let alone work for him?"

"You don't understand. I could never trust him, but I'd make a deal with the devil himself to see my mother again. This world's already broken, anyway. Why do you even care?"

"Please Asuka, don't do this. You know it isn't right. I know it hurts. I know better than anyone. You're so much stronger than that."

"Maybe you do, but I'm not the invincible Shinji."

Shinji barely dodged in time as the Black Evangelion delivered a powerful overhead strike. When he moved to dodge, he saw too late that it was a feint. The spear changed its direction in the middle of its swing, easily predicting his attempts to save himself and grazing him with a painful slash on his abdomen.

"I'll save you, even if you hate me."

"Shinji I don't-, And what if I'm tired of being saved!? What then, huh!? You never asked me when you yanked me out of that Angel. You should've left me there with her. Don't be stupid, Shinji, I have to do this. Just get out of my way."

"Asuka, do you really think your mother would want this? She protected you because she wanted you to live. I do too."

"What about what I want!? I want my mother back! You two should meet each other! I've wanted this for so long I can't miss this chance."

"I don't want to hurt you, Asuka."

"Don't worry then, you won't get the chance!"

Shinji felt paralyzed, knowing now that he had to face both Asuka and his father if he wanted to end his plans. He'd have to fight carefully, with more precision than he'd ever used against the Angels. He owed her that much.

Asuka attacked relentlessly. It took all he could to backpedal away from her attacks and block the ones too quick for him to dodge. Not only did she have the advantage in size. Her movements were so fast it seemed as if she wielded the long spear in all 4 of her Eva's arms at once.

They had fought before, but that was training. He'd only gotten lucky that time. This was different. The attacks were only coming at his extremities. She wasn't trying to kill him. If she'd gone for purely lethal blows from the start, he wouldn't still be standing.

"You don't want to do this. My father is lying to you. He's going to force everyone together, destroy the bonds that make one person separate from another. None of it will be real."

"How do you know that!? This could be the only way I could save everyone! Rebuild the world that you destroyed!"

"I deserve that. If it really were possible, I'd do it. You're right, I knew what happens when you push the Eva too far, I didn't care. This is all my fault. Please let me stop it from getting worse."

"You knew!? How could you know!? That's impossible, you didn't even know what an Eva was a year ago!"

"He told me himself, he tried to help me stop him, even gave his life so that I could live and stop this."

"You're not making any sense!"

"My father came from the future to warn me about what he was planning. I thought that would be enough to stop him. I was wrong."

"Seriously? That's too weird for you to have come up with on the spot. It doesn't matter, time travelers, Minus space, AT fields. I don't care about that crap. All I care about is seeing my mother again. As long as Eva can do that, I don't care. Whatever the consequences are, it can't be worse than this!"

Their weapons clashed again. He pushed forward with all his strength. Pushing his larger opponent off-balance with his lower and more powerful center of gravity. His footwork was slightly better, and he pressed the advantage, swinging his weapon to disarm her.

Shinji never got the chance. A roundhouse kick he'd failed to predict collided with his skull like a brick. His spear flew out of his hands as he was sent tumbling backwards.

Not missing a beat, his attacker grabbed the weapon before it touched the ground.

Shinji had been outmatched before, when they each had weapons. Now that it was only his bare hands against a doubly skilled and armed enemy. He had a plan. He had to use his head for this one.

"I'm sorry Shinji, I really am."

"I think I can see why you don't like apologies much."

Unit-01 didn't move from its spot, instead entering a defensive stance. As he expected, Asuka didn't let the lull in combat last. Instead of blocking the strikes, he moved to grab the spearhead with his own hand.

Pain shot through both his hands as the spears went clean through them before his grip held onto the weapons' tips like a vise. He kicked upwards with his feet and slammed his head forward with all his might, cracking both of their Eva's frontal horns.

The larger Eva fell with a thundering crash. The burning fire he felt surging from the tips of his fingers all the way down his body drove him forward. Not ignoring the pain, Shinji felt fine. He was frustrated that Asuka wouldn't listen to him. He wasn't mad at her, or even his father, who'd created this entire situation.

Like a battering ram, Unit-01 drove its head forward again, head-butting the now pinned Eva beneath him, hard. Shards of armor flew off both of them as Shinji's head spun. He didn't stop his attack. A third crash of his head had him spitting up blood and what looked to be one of his teeth.

After a fourth time, the Eva below him was entirely still. His hands were still stuck on the two spears, though the pain had dulled. As he forced his legs into motion and slowly stood atop the fallen Eva's chest.

Now that he was steady and focused on his breathing, he could take in his surroundings. They were in what was left of the Geofront. The blackened remains of the giant that had been caged were slumped against the cross it had been restrained to. Its long arms bolted to the sides of the metal.

Bits and pieces of rubble were continuing to shower on their heads. It was clear to Shinji that this cavern had nearly reached its limit.

The Black Evangelion beneath his feet roared back to life, tossing him off with ease. From its movements and silence, he knew who was in control now.

Asuka had to be unconscious. He was hurt pretty badly, but she was much tougher than he was. All that was left for him was to hope his remaining strength was enough to finish this. He was so tired; it felt like he'd been fighting forever without a moment to even catch his breath.

He didn't think it was possible, but the soul inside the Eva itself was his father. It wasn't like he was piloting the Evangelion, more like he had possessed it. Now that they'd ceased fighting for the moment, his father was ignoring him completely. Casually strolling towards the Angel's corpse.

Shinji kept his weapon braced and charged towards his opponent's exposed back. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he felt certain he had to keep his father from the corpse of the fallen Angel.

For probably the first time in his life, Shinji felt defiant. As was almost a daily occurrence at this point, he thought about a particular redhead. He knew what she'd do in this situation. If his father hadn't tricked her by using her past against her.

Asuka would fight, fight until every bone in her body was shattered, then try to shank her enemy with the fragments. That was the Asuka he knew, the one he admired from afar, the one he lo-, liked very much. The one he needed to be like if he had any hope of winning.

His father had to turn around to prevent being cut in half, narrowly blocking his strike. That wasn't his goal with the attack. He succeeded in his goal of placing himself in his father's path.

"Your resolve outweighed hers. Do not expect me to be so easily defeated. An Evangelion possesses an infinite amount of energy. The human body, sadly, does not. You will fall and I will be able to retrieve Yui from Unit-01's core."

"I can't speak to Mom, but I know she doesn't want this. Why else would she help me get this far? Does your scenario account for that?"

"It does. Even if your mother despises me, I would give all that I have to be scolded by her once again."

His plan involved the deceased Angel somehow. He had to stop him from getting to it, no matter what.

This was Shinji's chance. He wouldn't get another. He pushed forward on the controls with all his might, preparing to end the fight with a single. massive blow with the large arrowhead spear.

"I'm sorry Father."

"I'm sorry too, truly. That I had to trick you one last time."

It was too late for him to stop his forward momentum. To his utter shock, his father walked into the strike instead of dodging it.

His attack was a success, spearing the black Eva right through its chest. Missing the entry plug by a meter at most as his weapon pierced through to embed itself within the Angel's corpse behind it. Alarm bells went off within his head as soon as the spear's tip contacted with the blackened flesh.

The ground beneath their feet trembled. Unphased, four powerful arms punched his smaller Eva simultaneously, catching him off guard and knocking him onto his back. Looking up at the cavern's ceiling, he could swear it was getting closer, as if the ground itself was moving upwards.

Now wielding both spears at once, it was clear to Shinji he was outmatched. They circled each other like vultures. Reach was his biggest weakness. He'd stay back and wait for his father to move first. All the hours spent sparring with Asuka and training on the simulators were about to come in handy. It had to.

Before that happened, Shinji realized two things. One, that his previous suspicions were right, he could feel the ground lifting beneath his feet with increasing speed. Two, the Angel inside the Geofront, wasn't dead. It had woken up.

"What have you done?"

"Fear and Despair become each other's trigger and sacrifice. Reality and fiction blend themselves together, all becoming homogenized information. Evangelion 13 has surpassed the limits set on the gods themselves in creation. Fate itself bends to my will."

"You don't have to do this."

"Correct. I choose to do this to achieve my goal. Becoming god for its own sake is the peak of human arrogance. "

"You don't have to be like your father, even if you say it's all for mother. You know what you're doing is wrong. I don't want to fight you. Just hand over Asuka and stop this mess."

"Do not speak of things you know nothing about. You want me to hand her over? Will you kill me if I refuse? If so, then maybe you'll begin understanding a fraction of my perspective."

"Don't make me do this. I know you have the capacity to do good, to be more than a monster. I'll save you too, even if you don't want it."

"No one is making you do anything Shinji, hand over the spear and get out of my way. Do that and this'll all be over soon. Focus on saving yourself first before getting grandiose ideas of heroism."

"No."

"Then please, I expect your best."

Shinji braced his feet and prepared to fight, determined to not let his father pass.

"All the people you hurt to get here. Do you even think about them?"

"When I have to, it is simply in my nature to hurt others. I can change it as much as the tide or the endless march of time's arrow."

"That's just not true. I know about your past, about who your father was. You don't have to be like him."

"Then you should know why I will stop at nothing to bring her back."

Shinji held up his weapon to block a powerful slashing strike from his father. He strained with all his might as he was slowly forced backwards by the strength of Unit-13's four powerful arms.

The deafening boom of a massive explosion forced Mari back into consciousness inside the entry plug. She was now floating in the rapidly cooling and murky LCL. With a burst of her remaining strength, she kicked herself up towards the entry plug's manual exit and pulled.

Her efforts were rewarded with the hatch beginning to slide open as she felt the entire entry plug move. She climbed out into the night, skin dripping with LCL and forcefully coughing the liquid out of her lungs.

After today's events, she didn't like the smell anymore. All she could taste was metal, and its similarities to blood were even more apparent when it wasn't electrified.

She had to have been unconscious for only a few minutes. There was no rest for her exhausted mind or brain, just enough to drain her body of adrenaline.

That explained why she was still so tired. The pain in her wounds was unbearable, even though they'd stopped bleeding. Every muscle in her body ached as she stood back up on unsteady legs. She marched towards the direction of the explosion that had awoken her.

Instead of seeing the Geofront as she expected, there was simply a crater. Parts of the lower levels looked to be untouched, and the entire upper levels had been vaporized, leaving only open air in its place. The damage had exposed a massive black orb beneath the entire complex. One that was now lifting itself up from the gash in the earth.

The Wunder was untouched by the explosion. She could see the ship circling the glowing spectacle in the sky. Two Evangelions, one unarmed, the other now glowing white and wielding two long spears.

Mari began running as fast as she could towards the edge of the crater. It took her some time. There was so much destruction, she had to climb over piles of rubble just to get to a better vantage point.

It took a lot longer to make it than she'd like to admit. At multiple times, she nearly collapsed or lost her footing, but she made it.

The last thing she expected to see was a person, an older man dressed in a tattered military uniform. Looking forlornly up at the sky as the two Evas continued their clash. Her steps were loud and obvious. She was too injured to sneak, even if she wanted to.

"Ah, Ms Makinami, come to watch it as well?"

"It?"

"The end of the world, the beginning of a new one, hopefully."

"Hopefully? You've supported him all this time and even you don't know what's gonna happen?"

"I'm afraid so. Gendo and I shared a common goal. We were friends, I hope. That was just what bound and brought us together."

"All of this for one person. It would almost be sweet if I didn't know what it led to."

"It would, wouldn't it? You can kill me if you wish, although you won't need to bother soon enough."

"Are they gonna kill each other up there?"

"Perhaps, normally, it should be impossible for one to overcome the other. Gendo has built Unit-13 and prepared for this moment."

Looking up at the red rings in the sky, she realized something as her eyes found its center. There was a face peeking out of the hole in the sky, a familiar one. She felt a chill creep down her spine as her eyes adjusted and made out a pair of red eyes.

"What the hell is that?"

"A theoretical Evangelion only capable of existing inside Minus space, with powers able to rewrite the fabric of reality itself."

"If it's theoretical, how the hell do you know so much about it? Was this his endgame? Traveling to the shadow realm with a super Evangelion able to make him god?"

"To put it so bluntly, yes, the impacts were an inevitability. It was only a matter of who would be the one controlling the final impact."

"You're a bastard, you know that, right? There's no way this had to happen. That was only the delusions of a bunch of old men who're long dead."

The old man seemed taken aback by these words, glancing over at her with a raised eyebrow. "You know more than you let on. Nothing you said was incorrect. Cowardice was my biggest vice."

"That's one way of putting it. Is there anything we can do from here to help? Don't you have some sort of remote input into that black Eva?"

The man just shook his head solemnly at her before pointing up at the damaged ship still bravely flying in the red sky.

"We have already played our parts. That fight will be determined by which one of them desires their victory the most. I can only hope he can find his courage and hold on to it."

"Wait, who are you talking about? Don't tell me you're trying to save yourself now by pretending to switch sides. I'll push you into that hole myself if you're lying."

"I expect nothing of the sort. Seeing Shinji stand up for himself sparked something in me. Something that I had assumed died long ago. He's the only one who can break the cycle started by his grandfather. I can see that now."

"What the hell are you talking about now? His grandfather?"

"You might better know him as the supreme commander of WILLE, the now deceased last of the Robakungi's."

"Wait, Robakungi….. the bigshot Yakuza boss from Kyushu? So he was the one in charge of WILLE, that…. does actually explain some things."

"All of us were deceived in some way, by foolish men lying to themselves just as much."

Mari wanted to chastise the older man more, but it was clear the man had already sobered up to his actions and role in the apocalypse. Now she pitied him, even if she could never fully understand his motives.

Her eyes turned skywards, watching as a black moon hoisted itself up in the sky. It'd be invisible in the darkness if not for the light-show atop it, giving off a radiant glow that illuminated the night sky. The instant she tried to get a good look, the lights vanished. The red rings in the sky glowing brighter as they cast an ominous red tinge over everything.

"Do you know what's going to happen now?"

"We'll soon find out, won't we?"

---

Unit-00 stood inside the hangar of the battleship Wunder, in its hands, the spear of Gaia. Appearing as two red and blue twisting pieces of metal wrapped around a long beam of light.

Rei thought calling the weapon a spear was a bit of a stretch, but did not voice it. She was still suffering from fatigue. The quick naps she'd been getting were not nearly enough, but it would suffice for completion of her task.

That was without mentioning the terrible pain in her stomach. Akagi had been too busy to notice an entire supply of painkillers going missing, but without them she couldn't walk properly.

She would deliver this to Shinji in Minus space, past the dark Lilith before the Wunder put an end to the mockery of humanity's mother.

It looked like her, one of the soulless clones sitting listlessly in a tank of LCL. Its expression was one she couldn't imitate if she tried. An unnaturally wide smile and eyes that seemed to look back at her whenever she observed them.

Gendo had overcome his last trial. She could only sense the three of them. It concerned her that the entry plug had stayed as the Eva ascended. She knew who was inside Unit-13 and of her importance. Not just to him, but to her as well.

Rei would save the former pilot of Unit-02, because it was her friend, Asuka. It would be her decision alone to do that. If anything happened to her in doing so. So be it.

"Are you ready to do this, Rei?"

"Affirmative. Your plan is to use the ship's core as an explosive to detonate and destroy the false Lilith. My mission is simple: to deliver the spear to Shinji before retreating."

"Huh, Misato, you should have Rei articulate your plans more often. She makes it almost sound sane."

"Did you have to leave the comms on for that? How are you still making fun of the plan at this point? You don't have a choice now."

Rei chuckled at the playful banter between the two friends. It reminded her of some of the most precious memories she held. The ones that would give her the strength to keep moving forward.

"Destroying the false Lilith will ensure human instrumentality cannot be maintained. All we have to do is ensure Gendo does not reverse the effects of your sacrifice to achieve his goal."

"And the only way to stop that is by getting the spear to Shinji and hoping for the best." Misato's voice was full of forced hopefulness. She wondered if it was meant for her.

"One thing before you go out there, Rei." She couldn't discern what was so different about the doctor's voice, only it was one she'd never heard before. "The mind can't perceive a place like minus space, instead you'll see projection from your own memories. Try not to let it disorient you."

"Roger."

"And Rei… I'm sorry, I know that doesn't make up for how I treated you, but you deserved better. You're more than what he made you, much more."

"So are you, Doctor. I hold no grudges, but I will accept your apology."

"It's time. Rei, get ready to jump when you get the signal."

The ship shook as it moved at incredible speeds, slipping them past the Gates of Guf. This was perhaps the only vessel even capable of such a feat. Through the ship's hangar, she could see the hexagonal AT field straining, as it kept them safe from the immense energy surrounding them.

Running to pick up speed, she crossed the small hangar in moments, tucking the long weapon under her arms as she leapt into the open air.

She was falling or flying. It was hard to tell. Akagi hadn't been lying before. Her vision was filled with a kaleidoscope of the places she visited regularly. The school, her small apartment, the bowels of the Geofront and the apartment of her commanding officer and fellow pilots.

Rei had intended to land her Evangelion next to Shinji but hadn't counted on the Angle of her entry shifting as she moved closer to the dueling pair. The laws of physics meant nothing here. She was lucky to catch a glance of the Wunder after it dropped her off. Accelerating right towards the Black Lilith's oversized crimson eyes.

Luck was on her side for once as the purple Evangelion caught her slightly smaller unit. It was quite a feat, considering she had been flying at him sideways, essentially functioning as a large projectile herself.

"Rei? Is that you? Are you alright?"

"Yes, please release me."

The weapon she'd brought along with her had been fortunately kept away from impaling the boy as he tried to catch her.

"How did you get here?"

"The Wunder, it is the only vessel capable of entering such a place. Misato will destroy the false Lillith, his plan will fail."

Rei saw motion from the Evangelion that had been observing her up to now. She didn't sense a second person inside the entry plug. However, that was him. She hadn't the faintest idea what he was capable of after fusing with an Evangelion like that. The piercing gaze that filled her mind with uncomfortable thoughts wasn't an illusion of her mind.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Ayanami, your betrayal was already expected and accounted for. I could've killed you, but I felt it was a waste. As a parting gift, I suggest you leave now. The weapon you brought will be mine as well."

"Release the entry plug and I will. I cannot fight you. Asuka cannot fight either. You no longer need two souls."

"Wait Rei! Why didn't you tell me Asuka was inside there!? We have to get her out!"

"Give me the weapon and I will release Asuka to you."

"Rei, I should do it. I don't trust him not to pull something."

"But do you trust me, Shinji? No matter what might happen?"

"Yes? I guess just don't do something crazy that I wouldn't do."

It was a gamble. For her plan to work, she had to hope to catch him unaware. She could not fight him alone, but even if she failed, Shinji was behind her.

As she approached, the entry plug slid out. Her bluff that the man didn't need her anymore had been proven correct. Being all powerful did not make him all knowing. He could not see her plan of attack. That was her advantage.

"Throw her to me first, then you'll get your weapon."

"As you wish."

She had to make many rapid movements within a moment. First she leapt into the air, spinning around to expose her back to the man so she could throw the spear at Shinji. With her now free hand, she flicked the entry plug up and in the same direction. Much less accurate than her first attempt, since she focused on the purpose of the whole ruse.

"I'll repeat this once. Your betrayal was expected and accounted for. I've already given up hope on you ever understanding."

"Yet I have not."

Unabated, Unit-00 pulled out the progressive knife from its holster atop its shoulder in one fluid motion, aiming to bring it down with one swift strike. In the middle of her attack, she saw a spear tip coming towards her head. Shortly after, darkness overtook her vision.

"I do not need you or that jerry rigged abomination for the scenario. All that is required now is the removal of all obstacles. You have simply helped me remove two at once."

---

"Rei!"

Minus space was a tough place for a human mind to process. To him it appeared as the sunny streets of Tokyo-3, in front of a familiar train station.

Shinji could do nothing but watch helplessly as the limp Evangelion impaled on the end of the spear was tossed aside like a rag-doll, vanishing into the constantly shifting landscape.

He and his father were alone once again. The entry plug containing Asuka spun up in his general direction. He'd have to focus on catching her. Making himself vulnerable while he did. His father must've sensed this as he preempted it entirely, tossing one of his weapons with force at the falling cylinder.

Everything had happened so quickly since he awoke, it felt more like a dream than reality. Rei is gone now, Misato too. Along with pretty much every other human. It was his fault. He wasn't a hero, never pretended to be one for that reason.

If he could just save one person, then maybe there'd be some reason for all this pain, all the struggling he had to do to get here. A reason he could keep fighting.

It wasn't a thought, more of an instinct. Shinji leapt, and his Eva cruised through the strange space to intercept the spear. He could already tell he wouldn't be able to reach it safely in time.

Shinji put his body into the projectile's path. It slipped past his attempts to grab it as he wrapped his hands around the long metal handle. A tip of searing pain burned as sharp metal jabbed through his right eye's socket.

Instinctually his hand flew off the control to press against his real eye. Now pouring out a fountain of blood into the surrounding LCL. Seeing anything was impossible in the cloudy liquid and with only one of his eyes straining to make up the difference.

The sound he heard when removing the spear the rest of the way from his head would be a difficult one to forget. He frantically discarded the weapon as he tried to control his breathing and ignore the pain.

He had to remove his hand from his eye to bat away the darker liquid so he could see where Asuka was. It was close, very close.

Another spear, thrown faster than his eyes could track. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Once again, he had to catch the spear with his body. His luck finally ran out. As the force of the thrown weapon knocked him to the ground, the cold metal of the entry plug slipped just beyond his grasp.

Just as had happened with Rei once it broke through the edges of the terrain, it entered a straight free fall.

Twice now he had to watch helplessly as the life of someone precious to him drifted down into the abyss. All he could hope was that maybe it'd fall back to Earth.

Shinji had once again failed. The pain of the wound in his stomach felt like a dull ache compared to the burning in his chest. His pulse thrummed in his ears and his blood felt like it was about to boil in his skin.

Unit-01 got up, using its free hand to rip out the spear in his gut. With all the force he could muster with his free arm, he threw the weapon back with all his might.

None of it mattered anymore. It felt like Shinji was watching himself stagger forward. The other spear that had taken his eye remained on the ground where he'd left it, somehow being the only thing not to disappear.

Again, he picked up the weapon and threw it so hard he thought he might have dislocated his shoulder.

His father didn't seem impressed by his attack, dodging the first weapon and catching it with two hands as it went past. The second spear was much faster, aimed right at the Eva's oversized head. No matter how hard or smart he attacked. His father effortlessly dodged his attacks, using the somehow imaginary yet very real buildings lining the street to block his attack and grab the spear from out of the rubble.

"You have no chance at winning this. Try throwing your last weapon. Unit-01 is only the prototype. Unit-13 is the true Evangelion, made a god to break the chains of fate. All of this was according to my plan. With three of the six spears, Evangelion 13 will become more powerful than Adam itself."

Instead of a moon or the sun in the sky, to Shinji's horror, he saw a familiar face. Its red eyes were hollow and the darkness of the fake Rei sent a chill down his spine. In the sky also was a trail of smoke leading to a large ship.

Parts of it were still burning as it bulldozed towards the giant head in the sky. A pit formed in his stomach as he thought about what Rei had told him.

Moments later, he had to avert his eyes as both of them were lost inside a massive cross shaped explosion that rumbled their surroundings.

He was the only one left, Asuka, Rei, Misato and what was left of NERV. Was there any point to him fighting further? Rei had given him this spear, Misato was killing the false Angel his father revived. If he gave up, then there was never a point to anything any one of them had done.

"It's not about winning, or losing. It's about me taking you on, right here, right now."

"Then by all means, this is a trial I must overcome as well. We will see whose resolve is superior."

The weapon Rei had given him was strange. The closest thing it resembled was a spear. Its shaft glowed with energy that made the metal warm to the touch as he swung it.

His father deflected his blows with ease, blocking with one weapon and parrying with the other, forcing him to keep his distance. There was a constant clang as their weapons clashed, each blow and counterblow was meters away from being deadly, yet they stayed locked in stalemate.

The environment responded to their ceaseless battling. The streets of Tokyo-3 they'd been fighting on transformed into Misato's apartment to the darkened office his father had lived in.

Shinji's whole body felt feverish, all the anger and frustration that he'd attempted to force down and suppress for so long, now exploded to the surface. It erased the tiredness from his limbs and turned him into a whirlwind. Swinging the large spear with reckless abandon as he closed in on his Father.

"Why do you persist? Is it from sheer spite? This world is already destroyed. There is nothing left for you to save."

"Toji, Kaji, Mari, Misato, Asuka and Rei. Even you helped me make it, not you exactly, but still. I would have never made it this far without them, and I can't forget about how much you tried to help me."

"Knowledge of the future matters little if you do not have the strength to act on it. If I truly warned you about my plan, why is it then, that I still draw breath? You had plenty of opportunities to 'save the world' then."

"I'm not like you. I don't kill people."

"I feel that the Angel of providence would disagree, but I guess that doesn't count. You had a goal, something you wanted to protect, and because of that, you piloted the Evangelion and destroyed the Angels. They were obstacles to your ideal world, so you removed them. What I do is no different."

"You may be correct, but that doesn't mean you're right. People aren't the same. There are billions of others, all with lives, good or bad. indiscriminately wiped out because of your ambition. I can't let that happen. Even you, deep down, know what you're doing is wrong. You've only convinced yourself otherwise."

"Those who have been lost cannot be brought back. But you do not understand instrumentality. It is a process beyond death. Humanity will be more connected than ever. Without the petty distractions of a cruel society bearing down on them. All that will be left is its essence, a more true humanity than what existed before."

"The world is cruel and unfair, but there's so much more you refuse to see. I found a girl that I like, a sister I never knew I had. A sort of mother who, despite her flaws, truly cared for me, and more friends than I can count with a single hand. Destroying that means that goes too. As much as I've lost, I've gained so much more."

The pair continued fighting with incredible ferocity, each move of their massive weapons containing the force to end the fight with one solid blow.

No matter what he did, they were perfectly matched against the other. His strength was fading fast. One of his eyes was still blinded and his palms and sides constantly ached, luckily his eyes had adjusted to see through the cloudy LCL surrounding him.

Shinji still felt the ground moving beneath his feet. It was one of many strange sensations of wherever his father had taken them. A black obelisk hung ominously above them where the fake Rei's head had been before.

"All this struggling!? And for what!? What do you hope to achieve!? You don't even know what you're doing. A child cannot be trusted with the powers of a god."

"And you can!?" Shinji deflected his father's strike into the ground, countering with a powerful roundhouse kick that slipped past his guard, sending the larger Eva tumbling. He silently thanked Asuka for teaching him the move, even if this was his first time not being on the receiving end.

"I desire no power, only to return what was taken from me. Anyone who desires such power has already been corrupted by it."

"If you're not corrupt, I never want to meet someone who is. Your father is gone. Don't let him hold any power over you."

"You think I'm doing this for that decrepit fool? It would appear you know nothing after all. How disappointing."

"I know he made you a criminal and a killer. I know you knew it was wrong, but did it anyway because you wanted to make everyone happy. Also, that you killed your father to protect my mother."

This made his father cease in his assault, appearing to be appraising him with his harsh gaze he felt through the Eva's eyes.

"That is most of the truth. I will add one correction. He did not make me into anything. I was an intelligent kid and self-sufficient from a young age. There was no requirement for me to stay and continue assisting with my father's work, yet I did so out of cowardice."

"You were a child. What were you supposed to do? The past doesn't matter now. This is your chance, to do better, to be better. Please don't let him win."

"If I abandon my goal, I accept loneliness as an inevitability for the rest of my days. I do not. Holding on to what is most precious to me is how I win. He has nothing to do with it. My father's absence would not be enough to transform me into a dazzling socialite. Your mother was the only one who saw through me and not only understood, but accepted it. It is a gift I will repay."

"If you shut yourself off from the world entirely, you'll always be miserable. Mother wanted you to live, to find the joy that exists in the world even if she isn't in it. You failed her."

As if to affirm his words, he felt his mother's presence within the Eva surge, the warm LCL giving him the strength to keep going.

Shinji had to break this stalemate before it forced him to collapse from exhaustion. His father was right, their Eva's were a perfect match, but he was running on empty, trying to keep pace.

There was only one solution he saw, the only one that would achieve his goal. It was a big gamble, one the Gendo Ikari that had existed within him would chastise relentlessly. stopping his father without killing him. As angry as he was, part of him still knew that was a line he couldn't go back from after he crossed.

"I won't fight you, not anymore."

"Good, that'll make this easier for both of us."

As the black Eva approached Shinji went all in, he didn't know if a human could survive here. The absence of an Eva would soon become apparent to him. With his back angled against the ground, he quickly activated the manual ejection process.

After a few intense moments of flying into the ground that shook him around in his seat like a rag-doll, he had made it, dizzily climbing up and forcing open the hatch at the top of the pod.

Pulling himself up, somehow, he was still breathing, despite the frigid environment reaching into his very bones. The stinging chilly feeling was like the vacuum of space to his exposed skin.

When the giant looming overtop of him reached down to scoop him up, a wall of light appeared between them. He wondered why it was only using it now, which was answered by a pair of massive black fists smashing against it.

The words of a certain blonde doctor floated to his mind, specifically when she'd explained to him in layman's terms how an AT field worked. It wasn't generated by the Evas; they were only amplifiers for the pilot's own inherent field. That meant the phenomenon was his father's doing.

"Impossible!" Shinji stood in silent awe as the titan tried with all its might to force its way through the hexagon of light before it.

"Can we talk?"

"We have spoken plenty. This has gone on long enough. Instrumentality awaits, move or be destroyed."

He closed his eyes as the sound of shattering glass exploded overtop him. A shuddering boom echoed through the yawning void around them as something collided hard against the cool metallic floor.

The Evangelion had collapsed, appearing to him out of thin air. Atop the creature's head, stood his father.

He tried to approach the man, making some progress before the wall of light again appeared in front of the man. It felt electric to the touch, stinging his hands when his wounded hands grazed its surface. His father flinched visibly when he reached out toward him. The visor atop his head obscuring his face but failing to hide his emotions.

"Are you afraid of me?"

The man seemed frozen in place. His legs trembled as their surroundings vanished beneath their very feet. It was now just the two of them in an endless void.

"I stayed away from you. Didn't even try to get in touch with you before you sent for me. I was so lonely, without mom, without you. Your brother didn't want me either. I overheard him once saying that I was a living reminder of the worst part of his life."

"It's not that I didn't want you. I'll admit I was never eager to be a parent, but when the time came, I felt different. Vainly, I thought with the help of your mother I could raise a child. Without her, I knew I could only hurt you."

"Why?"

"My father molded me into someone like him. My mother could only watch and weakly protest before she passed. I thought if you had as little contact with me as possible, you'd not make my same mistakes."

"You were wrong. The past is the past, never forget that. It shouldn't decide the future. I know a lot about your past. It didn't change my opinion of you at all, your actions in the present did that. Still, despite it all, you're my father. I want to understand you."

"What more is there to understand? You know more than I would ever tell. I am a broken man, incapable of normal humanity. Discarding it was ultimately inconsequential."

"You're not broken. You're just like me, but older. I don't know what happened after you left your father, but a lot of time passed. I can imagine it was lonely, that you felt like nobody would listen or care for you except for one person. You were too stuck in your own head to realize you were wrong. There were people, you just never reached out to them."

"I am alone, as is my penance for a wealthy childhood funded by crime of my own doing."

"Do you really think Fuyutsuki and Akagi stayed as long as they did at NERV for their own sake? I could've left too or never showed up at NERV when you summoned me. I stayed for you, for the hope that I could save you."

This gave the man pause, glaring up at him through his red visors before deflating like a balloon. His father's eyes averted themselves to the ground as he slumped himself down and sat on the black floor beneath them.

The world transformed again, the pitch blackness around them forming into the familiar inside of a train he'd ridden many times before. At the end of the car, his father hugged his knees and stared at the ground.

Shinji strode towards the man, pressing his palms against the hexagon of light before him. The pain was nothing compared to what he'd already been through. As he gritted his teeth and forced his hands forward, he saw the wall of light distort and bend before shattering like a pane of glass.

Astonishment and fear flashed across the man's features as he jumped to his feet and staggered backwards before being stopped by the wall behind him.

His arms opened, and he grabbed the man, hugging him forcefully with his remaining strength.

---

The title of this chapter isn't a lie, the story actually ends in the epilogue currently in the works. Hope you enjoyed this story, if you didn't its a bit weird to have read this much of it but I respect it nonetheless. Sometimes a person's life isn't about what they themselves do, but what they can inspire from others.

See ya on the next one.

Also, Please tell me where I fucked up in the reviews and if I did something right don't forget to throw that in too. Also follow and favorite the story so number go up.