AN: Well, here's chapter 12. This one's a big deal for me in its own way. You could say it's one of Shinji's most defining moments in the fic and I hope it captures his growth as a person from where he began at the start of the actual Evangelion series. Well, without further adieu…

Let's get on with the show!

XXX

A Man Defined ~ Discovery

Shinji sat in the plug, flexing his fingers absently upon the controls of Unit 01 as he watched his Evangelion be restrained with Bakelite. His father and a squad of section two agents waited below him, guns at the ready. They were watching, waiting for him to make some sort of attempt to flee or aggress upon them. Behind them were Kyoko and Ritsuko. Further behind the two scientists were Kaji, Misato, and his fellow pilots. They all looked rather grim, their faces pulled into frowns and scowls. Toji was glaring, something that didn't surprise Shinji in the least. Rei seemed rather impassive, but Shinji knew better. She was confused and trying to determine if he could still be trusted. He was sure she must be wondering if everything he'd told her was a lie. If their time shared together as brother and sister was just a ploy to get at Nerv.

Asuka wasn't wearing the necklace he'd given her. He couldn't bring himself to look at her face.

Does your father actually think the Bakelite would stop me from protecting you if he tried anything? Shinji smiled as he listened to his mother speak. He knew she was trying to comfort him, even if only in a small way.

I don't think Unit 01 has ever gone berserk without me inside the cockpit in this dimension. At least, not since I've been here. He probably doesn't think he has anything to worry about.

Your father is more cautious than that.

Then he assumes I will play nice because my friends are here. If I step out of line he can hurt me far easier through them than actually doing me any physical harm. There was a an uncomfortable pause in their conversation at that. Shinji's fingers continued to flex even as he moved his hands off the controls and ran one shakily through his hair.

I wouldn't put it past him, unfortunately, his mother responds.

Shinji sighed.

Yeah. That's what bothers me. Leliel appeared within the plug then. She looked a little tired, but that wasn't a surprise. The battle against their kin had been tough on its own and then she had to use more of her energy to get rid of the Swarm Seraph's many bodies.

Tired? He asked. She nodded.

Weary. She didn't need to say more. Shinji understood.

You two should go, Yui cut in, there's no use postponing this any further. The two of them looked at one another before Leliel gave a small nod. It was time.

=X=

Asuka clutched the necklace in her fingers tightly. She contemplated throwing it away as soon as she'd gotten out of her Eva. She was no longer sure of its meaning, nor was she sure of what she wanted if the meaning behind the gift hadn't been a lie in the first place. Shinji wasn't human. He was an Angel. What was the right thing to do here? She didn't know. It's presence burned in her hands, yet she couldn't let it go.

The sound of guns cocking brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up. A pitch black rift appeared before them all. Asuka felt herself tense as her heart rate sped up. She wasn't sure if she actually wanted to be here for this. This moment would change everything, she knew. Shinji stepped through the rift, a dark skinned girl floating at his side. Red eyes, long white hair.

An Angel, she thought. Asuka knew it must have been the one that had fought alongside them, yet she had to resist the urge to lunge and attack nonetheless. New thoughts struck her then. Would Shinji and I even be able to be together like this? Two different species? Her face flushed at the unintentional mental images. What am I thinking? We're not even together! What's up with me?

She paused in her thoughts as she looked to Shinji. His hair was brown, as it had always been. But his eyes? His eyes were still that dangerous shade of red. Why is it that I don't find the very thought of being with him like that disgusting? Despite the vibrancy of the color, Asuka doesn't think she's ever seen his eyes look so cold before. He hadn't said anything yet. Merely glared at his father, but seeing his eyes made her think. She didn't know who this person was.

Who are you? The anger finally flooded her system after that. Her hand began to hurt from gripping the necklace too tightly and Mari grabbed her shoulder. Only then did Asuka realize she had begun to step forward. She looked back at her cousin who merely shook her head. Asuka held eye contact with her for only a few seconds before glaring at Shinji once more.

Who the fuck are you!?

Asuka still didn't stop clutching the necklace.

=X=

Misato watched Mari restrain Asuka, happy that she wouldn't have to do it herself. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to anyway. All this time she'd been cautious of Shinji, tried to give the boy the benefit of the doubt, yet here they were. Shinji had lied to them all. She'd had an angel eating at her table, making her food. He slept in her home, not even two doors away from her. She suddenly felt violated in a way she'd never had before.

Misato took a deep breath and tightened her grip on Kaji's hand, drawing comfort from his warmth and closeness as the commander spoke, echoing the thought that had been on everyone's mind since the battle ended.

"Who are you? Do not lie to me."

"I am Ikari Shinji. Your son." Misato saw the commander raise his hand as if in slow motion. Then there was a bang. She heard a bullet clatter and clink uselessly across the floor. There, between Shinji and the rest of them was the barrier they'd all become so familiar with.

"You have an A.T. Field yet you say you are my son? I told you not to lie to me." Misato couldn't believe the commander had been so quick to pull the trigger. Then again, she thought, he has talked of being rid of him before. Misato found herself wondering just what kind of relationship Shinji has had with his father up until now even as the boy responds. She wouldn't realize until later than Shinji hadn't even been surprised about what the man had done in the slightest.

"And I have not. This field isn't always something I've had."

"Yes… the Angel said you have only been kin to them since you came to this city." Misato watched as Shinji sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose at his father's response.

"Well, they're not wrong. I guess."

"Elaborate."

"No."

"You will elaborate or I shall-"

"What?" Shinji cut in, his voice like steel. Misato had never heard the boy speak like that before. He'd always sounded sure of himself, except for the few times where he was well and truly caught off guard. This though? This was new. "What are you going to do, father? What can you do? You can't hurt me. And I promise you that if you even think of turning your guns on my friends for a second you'll only live just long enough to regret it."

Did he just threaten to kill his father? Belatedly, Misato realized why. Shinji was attempting to protect the other pilots. Up until now such a thought would not have been out of place to her. But he's an Angel. Her brow furrowed. An Angel who's been fighting alongside us when he could have easily accomplished third impact by now.

Who is this boy?

=X=

Rei struggled to decide how she should react. It was a feeling she was still getting used to as she hadn't bothered to consider anything else in her life aside from what Gendo told her to do. Not until recently. Meeting Shinji had changed that and though she was not sure if the boy who had called himself her brother could be trusted any longer, the friends she'd gained and the things she'd learned remained. Shinji was who she had to thank for that.

Which is why she didn't know how to respond. He had just threatened the commander's life. He should be her enemy now. All those who had opposed the commander in the past were. All Angels were. Yet, Shinji had threatened him in defense of their safety. Rei looked to the commander's face. There was no affront there. Not even the most minute change in expression. Rei knew him well, better than almost anyone in the world, she was sure. He is not agitated at the accusation because he would have done it and does no care if anyone knows.

That thought bothered her. Never before had she felt that the commander could be in the wrong, yet here they were. He would hurt them if it meant control over Shinji. Rei knew that he would. She did not want to see her new friends injured.

Maybe Shinji is not a liar after all. Rei watched as the commander and Shinji stared each other down. No words were spoken from anyone in the span of the next ten seconds. Rei was typically unbothered by silence, she even liked it on occasion. Now was not one of those times. Now, it felt more suffocating than anything.

When someone finally did speak, it was not whom anyone expected. Yet everyone listened. Her voice was too pure, it was too serene. The words danced across her lips and into the ears of all who could hear them. Even to someone like Rei, who was far from normal, the woman's voice sounded ethereal in its beauty.

"Brother Seraphiel," Leliel began, the guns turning on her, "yee do not need to share with them everything. There are some things they do not yet deserve to know, but yee cannot hide it all. They know too much and too little to deny them further knowledge of what has occurred for you to come here."

=X=

Shinji looked to Leliel, sporting a lightly incredulous look. Leliel stared back. He couldn't believe she was being serious. She wanted him to tell them where he was from? Truly? There was no way his father wouldn't push and dig for more information until Shinji was forced to either kill the man or flee. How could she think this is a good idea? He wondered.

Seraphiel, this is for the best. Worry not. No matter what happens next, we have too many contingencies in place for them to impede our cause, Leliel thought at him.

"But…"

"It is unavoidable, Seraphiel. Besides, all will be well. As great as the help of the Lilin would be, they are not necessary for us to defeat the others. Should the need arise, we may simply leave and mount our own assault upon our kin when they appear." Shinji shut his mouth at the response. No one spoke as thoughts, emotions, and worries played clearly across his face. The young man was conflicted, unsure of how Leliel could possibly want this.

Have faith, Seraphiel. If not in the Lilin, then in me. That last pleading thought from Leliel was enough for him to make up his mind. With a heavy sigh, Shinji looked across the faces of those he cared about before giving in.

"Fine. You may ask your questions, father. Just be aware of this one fact. You are not in control here. If there is something I do not wish to answer, you will not receive one." Gendo bristled at Shinji's tone, at his words, at the look in his eyes. Everything about the boy he was looking at now set him on edge and angered him. He's not someone I can control, Gendo thought. Composing himself, though no one could outwardly tell he was any more angry than he usually seemed aside from Rei, Gendo nodded.

"That will do… for now at least. Let us start from the beginning. When did you become an Angel?" Gendo watched the Third Child smirk ever so slightly and narrowed his eyes behind his shades.

"After I killed Zeruel and was absorbed by Unit 01 for passing four hundred percent sync ratio in the process." For a moment, no one spoke. They took the time to absorb the answer for what it was, but could only find it nothing more than fanciful.

"That has not happened. You've never been absorbed by your Evangelion before," Kyoko responded.

"Not in this dimension, no." There was silence again. This one for far less time though. Ritsuko was the first to put it all together.

"That Angel next to you collected you from an alternate dimension."

"Yes. When Unit 01 ejected me a month or so after defeating Zeruel, that's when I became an Angel. I didn't know at the time. Nothing about me had changed at all. That was the start though."

"Where is the Shinji of this dimension!?" Misato questioned, no, demanded. Shinji glanced her way and understood her worry instantly. She had been responsible for that Shinji's safety, maybe even more so than for his own. Now that she knew that he was not the same child, she couldn't help but worry. The thought of the other Shinji brought a deep scowl to his face though. He hadn't wanted to think about the reason he had to be brought here ever again.

"Where is he, damn it!?" Misato's voice, more angered and frantic than it had been only moments ago pulled Shinji from his thoughts. As his scowl lessened and he looked at the woman he'd known to be like a fiercely protective mother, it occurred to him that she thought he'd done something to the other version of himself. Before he could clear things up, Leliel took the reins. Honestly? Shinji was thankful. It isn't something he wanted to talk about.

"The Shinji of this dimension is dead," Leliel informed, "he did not survive Sachiel's assault upon him within the cousin. It is why I called upon Seraphiel," she continued before any of them could get the wrong idea. Shinji watched Misato and saw the moment when a woman he'd always known to be strong visibly broke. A strangled, body shaking sob tore out of her throat as Kaji tried to steady her. Misato fell to her knees regardless, albeit it slower than she would have without him.

Shinji understood thanks to how well he knew the woman. She always took their safety seriously. She never wanted them hurt. Of all of the adults at Nerv, she had been the only trustworthy one from his dimension. She would die for the pilots if it meant keeping them safe, Misato just cared that much. For her to find out that she really had sent one of them to their death? It would devastate her, he thought.

The third child looked away, not wanting to see her in such a state. Leliel gazed at Misato and wished she could offer some form of help, but she didn't think anything she could say would help, let alone be accepted.

"I don't believe it. Why would an Angel help humanity?" Gendo queried, ignoring the sobbing woman behind him.

"Across the Dirac, there are other Angels granted free will by our father aside from Tabris. In this dimension, I happen to be one of them. I've seen countless potential outcomes of this war between our species… and I would prefer a lilin victory." Gendo narrowed his eyes at the reply and Shinji already knew what question was coming next. Him being here alone had probably sparked the suspicion, but Leliel's words undoubtedly stoked those flames further. After all, Seele and Gendo's plans were no different from what the Angels wanted in the end, the only change being one involved the Angels being alive… the other didn't.

"Did you defeat the Angels where you are from, Shinji?"

"I can't answer that. To be frank father, you've proven yourself untrustworthy the entire time I've been here. You don't deserve to know. Besides, things are different here anyway. There were no Seraphs where I'd come from and some of the people in this room weren't even alive there. Anything could change." Shinji could see that his posture was bordering on agression. His jaw was tight and he saw Gendo's fists clenching as he moved them out of view and folded his arms behind his back. Gendo was silent for a moment before asking another question, steel in his tone.

"What do you know, boy?" Leliel looked to Shinji and wondered what he would say. She didn't think he would give away anything overly significant as to his origins, but the look in his eyes as he glared at his father was telling. Her brother was angry and wanted to strike a blow against this man.

"I know that mother has never been more disappointed in anyone in her entire life as she is with you right now."

A low blow indeed, Leliel thought.

=X=

Rei watched as the commander actually grit his teeth in anger. She'd never seen such an outward show of rage (or any emotion really) from the man before. As long as she'd known him, the commander had been cool and collected. Each action he took was methodical. All his plans and words had a purpose. He'd never strayed from them, was never distracted. But Rei also realized the commander had never mentioned her mother before. Rei, as disconnected from human emotion as she had been for so long was beginning to truly understand them. Why has the commander never mentioned her? Was her death so tragic that he simply cannot?

Rei had talked with Shinji of their mother before. The conversations were always brief and if she was correct, painful for her brother. Shinji never turned her away when she had questions about Ikari Yui, though. No matter how much it looked as though it hurt him, he would just tell her that she deserved to know how great their mother was. How important of an existence was Ikari Yui to them? Rei felt like she was only just beginning to find out.

=X=

Asuka didn't know what to think. So much information had been unloaded in the last few minutes that it sent her reeling. Shinji is from another dimension? The one from this dimension died? He knows something about how the war with the Angels ends, but doesn't trust his father to know? Why wouldn't he trust the commander, his own father? Abruptly, the memory of Gendo attempting to shoot Shinji only minutes earlier invaded her thoughts. She quickly found herself thinking his lack of trust in the man was unsurprising, if that was something Gendo was willing to do to his own son. Regardless of Shinji being an Angel, she found the attempted murder sickening. To fire at your own child? What kind of man does that?

Asuka took a deep breath to try and calm herself, the adrenaline from her anger earlier still pumped in her veins, but she wanted to try and think clearly. She looked down at her necklace and then back up to Shinji. If he's telling the truth right now then… he really does have feelings for me. The thought of that didn't bother her. But why? Was there an Asuka where he came from? Did he care for her the same as he claims to care for me? Did she die? Am I just a replacement? That perturbed her. She didn't want to be anyone's replacement.

Asuka closed her eyes and started tightening her grip on the necklace once more. She didn't have enough information and she knew it. I have to talk to him. That thought scared her. She wasn't sure she wanted the answers she needed.

=X=

"Seize the boy and restrain him in solitary," bit out Gendo, using a great deal of effort to keep his voice level. It didn't work for even a moment. Everyone knew he was furious. In that moment, his men were far more afraid of him than the two Angels before them. While some of them hung back, keeping their guns aimed on Shinji and Leliel, four of the agents began to approach the Third Child.

"Would yes like to leave now, Seraphiel?" asked Leliel, entirely unconcerned.

"No. It's okay, Leliel. I don't mind staying in solitary for the night." Gendo didn't like the way his "son" was talking, as if he could leave at any time and they could do nothing to stop it. It infuriated the commander to know that was in fact the case.

=X=

Shinji sat upon a bed within a dark room. Solitary wasn't so solitary either, not with Leliel to keep him company.

This could have gone better.

It could have, Shinji replied, but this is fine. There's nothing my father can do anyway. He heard Leliel him next to him before she descended to the bed to sit.

I think our kin will make a move tomorrow. They think it would be a good opportunity for them.

Good, Shinji smirks, they won't be ready.

XXX

And that's the chapter!

I know this is a bit short, but this is where I needed to stop it. This is another mega chapter, though probably only a two part one. I hope this chapter was enjoyable as the majority of it was fun to write for me. Leave reviews to let me know what you think and see you in the next chapter: A Man Defined ~ Understanding.