Shinji's sobs were coming through the comms. So was, periodically, the Second Child's raving and rambling. Gendo just sat at his desk in the command centre, head hidden behind his hands, and observed the situation.

The fight was turning out badly, but that in itself presented a chance to him. He had not expected the Angel of the Air to stay above the air. Maybe Fuyutsuki had a point about their over-reliance on the scrolls… he dismissed that thought. The Fruit of Knowledge allowed them to adapt. He had planned this manoeuvre for later – maybe against the Angel of the Womb. But it would serve nicely here.

But for now, first, he had to cut his losses.

"Lieutenant Ibuki, cut the synchronization between the Third Child and EVA-01," he ordered.

"But sir!" Katsuragi immediately protested. "That will make it impossible for Shinji to retreat."

Gendo looked down at the lower tier of the command centre. Katsuragi was looking up, her hands balled into fists. She was worried for Shinji… the worry and concern that he himself had never been able to show. But that was for the better now. Shinji was a pilot now. The Third Child. He would have to treat him accordingly.

"He doesn't seem able to retreat anyway," Gendo countered. "All we can do now is cut our losses. Prevent additional damage to EVA-01." He should have given the order earlier. All his plans, all his schemes, his entire scenario would be worthless without EVA-01. I let concern for Shinji cloud my judgement. That was dangerous. That could not happen again. And now he would have to act decisively. "Lieutenant Ibuki, proceed."

Ritsuko's assistant nearly cowered down in her seat as she executed the order.

"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Loudspeakers carried the angry voice of the Second Child through the command centre. "SHINJI NEEDS ME! GET ME UP THERE!"

"Sir," Katsuragi spoke up, again looking up to Gendo's and Fuyutsuki's tier of the command centre. "I do recommend launching EVA-02."

"Request denied," Gendo answered coldly from his desk. "We already have three units up there who can do nothing against the angel. EVA-02 would simply be an additional target."

"In concert, they might be able to push EVA-01 out of the light cone," Katsuragi argued.

"Unlikely," Fuyutsuki spoke up now. "And that low chance doesn't justify exposing EVA-02 to danger. Rest assured, we're working on a solution."

"Ihr verfickten Wichser, lasst mich endlich auf die Oberfläche! Shinji! Shinji braucht mich! Ich muss ihm helfen! Ihr verdammten Arschlöcher!"

"Shut down EVA-02's communication system," Gendo ordered.

"We could just mute it here," Katsuragi suggested. "Shinji may depend on support from..."

"The Third Child will survive," Gendo cut her off. "And NERV can't allow itself to be held hostage by the moody whims of a teenager. She has to come to realize that. Shut down EVA-02's comm system."

Gendo noticed how Lieutenant Hyuga still looked at Katsuragi first. Only when she gave a tiny nod in his direction did he enact Gendo's order. The Commander didn't care as long as he did, but it was a trend to keep a watch on.

"Ich werd euch alle zerquetschen! Ich werd euch den nächsten Engel zum Fraß vorwerfen. Ich werde…" The ranting stopped.

Fuyutsuki used the quiet to whisper into Gendo's ear. "This is bad, Ikari. You think the JSSDF's positron cannon might have enough reach?"

"Operation Yashima required hours to be put in place," Gendo reminded him. "We would again have to draw on the energy output of all of Japan. This isn't feasible. No. We'll use the Spear."

Fuyutsuki backed away in surprise. "The Spear? But the old men..."

"We have the perfect justification to use it now, don't we?" Gendo argued. "If we wait for a better, later opportunity, it may never come."

"Very well," Fuyutsuki conceded. "But who can use it? Rei isn't available. We could use Asuka..."

"The Second Child is disposable," Gendo agreed. "But that doesn't mean we should waste her. We still have a use for EVA-02. And since Rei has been barred from synching with an Evangelion ever since we brought the Spear back, it isn't at its intended place. It isn't held at a secret location. Any pilot could fetch it."

"So who do you have in mind?" Fuyutsuki asked.

"The Fifth Child," Gendo told him.

Gendo didn't need to look over his shoulder to know Fuyutsuki's face was darkening now. "You know what Dr Akagi told us about him. Her suspicions."

"They are irrelevant," Gendo told him. "There is nothing he can do with just the Spear on its own."

He pushed some buttons on his console. An image of the Fifth Child inside his EVA appeared.

"Kaworu Nagisa, you are to enter the nearest EVA elevator back to base," Gendo ordered him. "I'm transmitting a path through the NERV HQ to you. You are to fetch a certain weapon and return with it to the surface."

"A weapon?" the grey-haired boy asked.

"A weapon that will destroy the angel," Gendo explained. "And you will use it."

"I… Understood," Kaworu answered. He sounded hesitant. But as long as he carried out the order, Gendo didn't care.

As soon as the comm connection was closed, Fuyutsuki was whispering into Gendo's ear again. "Even if the opportunity is perfect, the old men will not keep quiet about this. We need to..."

Suddenly, a shout from the lower tier. Lieutenant Ibuki. "EVA-02 is activating!"

"What?" That was Ritsuko.

"It… oh my god," Maya's voice almost fell to a whisper. "Sempai, take a look at this data."

Ritsuko ran over to her console, and then groaned. "Can we have just one goddamn battle without one of the EVAs going berserk? And maybe just one battle where Asuka isn't out of line? Is that too much to ask for?"

"Doctor Akagi," Gendo called from above. "Is this confirmed? Is EVA-02 going berserk?"

Ritsuko glared up at him. "Yes, sir. It is." She sounded acid and cold.

"Flood EVA-02's cage with bakelite," Gendo ordered.

The lights in the EVA cages had been dimmed. With all active units out to fight, there was no need to waste energy. It wasn't entirely dark, but it was sort of grey.

Four green lights flared up in that grey.

Asuka felt energy and power all around her. Her Evangelion was responding to her. The one thing in her life upon which she had always been able to depend. And once again it wasn't failing her. She didn't consider that this should be impossible. Didn't consider how stable the Production Model was, that it shouldn't be able to go berserk. Right now, she didn't even consider that this was EVA-02 going berserk.

All she knew was that she could count on her Evangelion – and that Shinji would be able to count on her.

A purple mass of sticky stuff was now raining down from above, right onto her EVA. Bakelite. Asuka had read the NERV manuals. She knew what the stuff was. A sort of fast hardening plastic that, once solid, had an incredible strength. Conceivably, it could even restrain Evangelions.

But not this one. Not EVA-02. Not the first standard production model. Not the German model. Not MY unit!

For a while, the red Evangelion wrestled with that sticky, purple goo that seemed to ensnare it everywhere. It managed to rip its strings apart, shove it away, free itself from it, only for ever more to come raining down. Asuka had the strange feeling that she was controlling only part of the Evangelion. Many of its actions seemed to happen on their own. But that was alright. It was her trusty unit. It still did what she wanted it to do.

And as soon as the Bakelite had in fact hardened, EVA-02 simply broke out of it. Inside the entry-plug, Asuka laughed manically. And outside, at the same time, the Evangelion roared, that mighty sound echoing off the walls of the cage. And then it ran, right to the EVA launchers.

It only stopped for a short while once it had stepped onto the launcher. Asuka hesitated for a bit, wanting the launcher to activate, but she still had her comm system cut. But EVA-02 didn't hesitate. It knew exactly what to do. And Asuka simply went along with it.

The unit jumped. Leaping towards a wall of the launch tunnel, it clawed its fingers into it. Asuka groaned in pain, but also grinned. That was it. That was the way up. EVA-02 would literally claw its way upwards. It now hung onto the walls like a spider. Like a beast. Asuka's grin became… deranged. Vicious. She leaned forwards in her cockpit.

EVA-02 jumped again, and once again rammed its hands into the walls to hang onto them. At this point, the unit felt only nominally like a humanoid battle unit. Instead, Asuka now felt something much more basic, more archaic, more primal. More animal like. In her cockpit, she was leaning so far forwards now, her face sporting a predator's grin, that she was nearly on all fours.

Whatever had made EVA-02 go berserk, it seemed to also have transformed it.

It was still an arduous task, but it didn't feel that way to Asuka. She was single-mindedly driven right now, acting on animal instinct rather than human reason. And while she was climbing and leaping she heard something. Voices that seemed to come from inside the Evangelion.

"Grasp your life Asuka. Help him. Help him."
"I will support you. I will help you. I will protect you. Always."
"One final battle. Let us die together!"
"Live! Live and love and laugh!"

But in her current state, Asuka paid those voices no heed. The Evangelion was speaking? Who cared, she had a person she loved to save! In fact, in her current state spoken language seemed barely accessible to her at all!

Finally, EVA-02 reached the surface. It hung right below the surface hatch… and pushed. It roared once again as the hatch broke into a dozen parts, and the Evangelion emerged. Somewhere in the distance, thunder could be heard. EVA-02 climbed onto the surface amidst heavy rain, flanked on both sides by grey skyscrapers. As if it hadn't realized the climb had ended, even now it didn't stand completely upright. Asuka still de facto was on all fours in her entry-plug, and so was the unit. It moved on the ground not dissimilarly to a four-legged spider, its head spinning all around looking for threats.

Asuka saw EVA-01, barely visible behind several buildings, as it cowered on the ground, its head sunk beneath its arms. A ray of light surrounded it on all sides.

EVA-02 twitched. Something was approaching it, a quick movement, coming right at it through the streets. Already, EVA-02 wanted to jump at it, fight, defend itself ferociously… but Asuka could stop it. It was an Evangelion, the white-silvery EVA-04. Kaworu's unit. It carried something in its right hand, holding it high over its head: A giant red spear, which seemed to be woven out of two strands. At the end of the shaft, they were bound tightly together, but they loosened up over the length of the artifact, showing a clear double helix structure, and finally ending in two distinct spear points.

EVA-04 ended its run only a few dekametres away from EVA-02, which it seemed to completely ignore… and threw the spear, at nearly a right angle to the ground. It darted upwards through the clouds.

Impossible. In school, Asuka had been top of her class in physics. She intuitively knew no thrown object should fly like that. But apparently, the Spear didn't. And as it reached the clouds, they were torn apart by it, scattering to all sides. The rains stopped. And only seconds later, the ray of light that had engulfed EVA-01 vanished.

Slowly, EVA-02 came to its feet. As the sky cleared up and sunshine began to fall on Tokyo-3 again, Asuka, amazed and astounded by what she was seeing, seemed to come to her senses again. The raw power she had felt only moments ago seemed to recede.

"He is safe. He is safe. He is safe."
"Die with him. Die with me."
"Live! Live with him!"

The voices… those voices again… what does this all mean...

Suddenly, the comm system worked again. She heard Shinji, a never ending series of quiet, desperate sobs. And she heard Commander Ikari's cold voice. "Until further notice, we have to assume that EVA-01 and its pilot have been mentally contaminated. All units are to stay away from the Unit until it has been cleared."

The fire inside Asuka was there again – her anger, her defiance, her general rage at the world. And with it came that feeling that she could draw from a limitless pool of power inside EVA-02. Shinji was suffering right there in front of her eyes… audible to her. She knew what that was like, to cry and have nobody to hear. In fact, that was why she hadn't cried in over ten years, not even at the funeral of her mother. It was senseless, anyway. Nobody would come for her if she were to cry.

But by all gods and powers out there, she was going to come for Shinji.

Again, the four green eyes flared up. EVA-02 destroyed the entire upper level of a building as it swung its legs over it and then ran over to EVA-01. The purple unit didn't move a single metre, didn't even twitch. It's de-activated, Asuka realized. Which meant that Shinji couldn't even get out of his entry-plug… and he was still crying. To hell with that.

Asuka felt the power around her, the power in her Evangelion, waning. She had her unit grab EVA-01's neck, and opened the entry-plug hatch by brute force. Then she pulled out the plug and carefully laid it above a nearby building. With the last bit of power she felt inside EVA-02, she had the unit turn its back to that building and kneel down. Then she released her own entry plug, just as she perceived the last reserves of EVA-02's strength dwindling.

It was still an act of acrobatic mastery to leave the plug, which was now half sticking out of of EVA-02's neck, four metres or so above the rooftop. Asuka's landing on that rooftop was not quite as elegant and graceful as she had hoped. But she had no attention to spend on her aching knee and ankles. Shinji was more important.

It took nearly a minute until she had opened the plug door from without. A wave of LCL splashed over her. She fought her way through it, not willing to wait a single second longer. Already she could hear Shinji crying again, and that was an unbearable sound. She had to help him. She just had to; it was a physical need. The boy was a ball of misery, his head between his legs and his arms around them. His sobs were heartbreaking. The LCL had not even sunk below his shoulders when she grabbed him and pulled him up. He fell into her embrace.

Quietness. The entity had left Shinji's mind. The only experience remaining was the sound of his sobs. He couldn't stop crying. Not after what he had just been through. There was a wound in his mind that just wouldn't close.

The angel was gone, but the damage was done. His mind… that place was soiled now, dirty, damaged. It would never be the same again. He was soiled and used. There was an essential feeling of uncleanness that he was quite sure would never go away again. How could it? The body was a mere a shell. You could have entire limbs hacked off and still go on living. So surely, a hand or a foot weren't essential, weren't what made a person that person. But the mind was. And it was Shinji's very mind which had been invaded, which had been altered, which had been defiled. His very self was unclean now.

There was no safe refuge for him anymore. No privacy of thought. No space to retreat to. Even his mind and his very self had been invaded. He felt utter revulsion at that thought. He would never be safe again.

But then, it was his own damn fault, wasn't it? It had been his decision to pilot, and his decision to stay and continue piloting, even when Misato had offered him a way out, several times. He had gotten his head head smashed in, his chest pierced, his body whipped all over, his chestplate torn open and himself boiled in LCL and strangled… and yet he had always come back for more. This violation was just one more item on the list.

But it wasn't like he was a hero, oh no. He hadn't started to pilot out of conviction or idealism. He had followed that weird idea that maybe he could get his father's praise that way. That was why he had fought. He had been disappointed that his father hadn't been there for the Shamshel fight, had even questioned why he then fought at all. And then he had simply been surprised that there was a person who had cared about him at all, at least in some fashion – Misato. But of course, she only cared because he piloted, so he had to pilot. Despite all the pain that brought. That was why he hadn't taken the train, why he had let himself be brought back by Misato.

And when Misato had offered he could stay with her even without piloting… by then it had been too late. He already had been too involved. Had been involved because piloting EVA had been the only way for him at all to get some praise, some concern, some attention.

But as the angel had shown him, it was his own damn fault he had been so lonely before. He was lonely because he fucked up any attempts at relationships, he had started piloting because he was lonely, and now he had his mind gotten violated and defiled because he had piloted. So, ultimately, it was his own fault. He had nobody to blame for this, not even the angel. It was probably just doing what was in its nature. Meanwhile he, he had had a choice, several of them. He had had chances. He just had blown them all.

And after ten years of blowing those chances, why would this change now?

Shinji's crying escalated to an anguished scream. For over ten years, people had tried to approach him, had tried to build up friendships or other relationships with him, and he had just shunned everyone and remained lonely. People were still trying, but he would inevitably end up shunning them as well. He would remain like this forever – lonely, pathetic and ultimately a failure. And now dirty, despoiled and worthless as well.

He snapped for air. The LCL… the LCL was draining out of the entry-plug. He was breathing normal air again. He just shook his head and kept it between his arms and his legs. It didn't matter. He didn't want to go anywhere. It would be the same everywhere. He would fuck up and end up lonely no matter the place. And he couldn't see people, not now. Not after what had happened. He was a filthy, worthless pathetic person and…

He was pulled up forcefully. In his dazed state, he only vaguely recognized a red plugsuit, but that was enough. That signalled… home. Safety. He fell against the plugsuit and felt arms closing around him. For surely several minutes he just cried against Asuka's chest, his mind empty of any coherent thoughts.

But then, even as his body shook from the sobs, doubts were beginning to creep in again. He had Asuka now, yes. He could rely on her. But how long would this last? Eventually, he would fuck up and lose her as well. Rei, too. Relationships never lasted. Only loneliness did.

"You'll leave… you'll leave… you'll leave..."

Even as he was incoherently blubbering this he was still crying into Asuka's chest.

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him upright, away from her so that he could look into her face. She looked… angry?

"Why would you say that?" she demanded to know.

It all came pouring out of Shinji. "Because everyone does… everyone leaves… it's my fault… I drive them all away. That's… that's the reason why I've always been lonely, I've driven everyone away, I'll drive you away, and Rei, why would I change now, I'll just stay lonely forever and maybe it's for the best who would want to..."

He stopped when Asuka shook him. It was just once and rather gently, but still, she looked very displeased. That's it. It's happening now. I've fucked up.

"Shinji, stop," she just told him. The boy looked down, tears still running over his cheeks. "Shinji!" That made him look up. Asuka's face was stern. "I'm telling you, I will not abandon you. You have shown no sign whatsoever of driving me away. As long as you want me around, I will be around."

Shini shook his head. "You… you say that now and you believe it, but… it has always happeed. I always fuck up. Why should this be different?"

Asuka withdrew her hands from his shoulders. Her body seemed to go rigid. Then she breathed out loudly and softly laid a gloved hand on Shinji's cheek. The boy jumped back in surprise, but only a centimetre or so. Asuka's face was enigmatic.

"Because..." Her voice got softer. "Because I love you, you idiot. Everything you've done… when I came here I did think you where a whiny brat who only got his job due to nepotism and who shouldn't complain so much." Shinji winced. "But I was wrong. Everything you did… it didn't drive me away. It convinced me I was wrong. That you're caring and serious and helpful and always just want the best for people."

"That's… that's not me," Shinji protested hoarsely.

"Yes it is, Dummkopf!" Asuka insisted and grabbed his shoulder again to look him square in the face. "It is you and I love you!" Shinji looked at her in wide-eyed shock. Asuka hesitated, but then stated decisively: "And so does Rei. And that's good. You're loved, Shinji, and nobody is going to abandon you. Not ever again. Do you hear me?"

For several moments, nobody said a word. Then Shinji replied quietly, "She loves you as well. And… so do I." Asuka's mouth opened, as if she were to say something in reply, but no words came out. Again Shinji shook his head. "But you're amazing and fiery and so full of life… always striving for perfection, standing up for what's right, fighting… whereas I..."

"Whereas you – without your support I wouldn't be able to fight," Asuka said firmly.

And now, Shinji just didn't know how to respond. He was a failure as a human being, had always been alone, and now he was dirty and stained… nobody should love him. But Asuka sounded as determined and fiery as ever. She left no doubt as to what she was saying.

Shinji couldn't cry anymore. All his tears had already been spent. But he had a feeling inside him… as if he had fallen down an abyss and now had been picked up by a guardian angel. It moved him. So much that he didn't know what to say.

"Come," Asuka merely said. "Let's go home."

She laid an arm around his waist… and Shinji clung on to her. He had to feel that it was true. That Asuka was still here, that she hadn't left him, that she'd be at his side. That fear was still inside him. Even now, he did expect her to vanish any minute. So he clung on to her… like a shipwrecked man clinging on to a beam of wood. He would drown without her.

For all of her life, Rei had been powerless. But now, for the first time, she actually felt that.

Out there in the city, fighting the fight she should have been, was the boy who had first shown care and tenderness to her. The boy who had first treated her as more than just a tool with which to reach Instrumentality. The boy who had mediated between her and Asuka, had allowed the relationship between them to grow. And now the boy was crying in desperation over the comm channels and there was absolutely nothing Rei could do.

Her heart went out to him. She felt almost sick that she now couldn't repay all the kindness he had shown her. All her softly spoken reassurances and attempts at comfort over the comm system didn't even seem to reach him. Not that this would make her stop. If there was even the slightest chance that he would, if only for a second, break out of his near-catatonia, even the slightest chance that he would hear her, then she would speak and speak for hours on end if need be.

Asuka was of course reacting in her own way, all fire and flame, and Rei wouldn't want her to be any other way. She could maybe reach through the walls and misery Shinji had built around himself in order to support and comfort him, but Asuka was a fighter – given the slightest opportunity, she would go out there and help Shinji.

And then, Asuka's comm system was shut down. Rei shot a quick glance up to the Commander's desk. It was a justifiable decision, but… but… Rei was torn between the part that had been in her second body and the part that had been in the EVA. It was justifiable, but the Commander had cut off Asuka. And he had deprived Shinji of whatever comfort her voice may hold for him.

In truth, she didn't know anymore what to think about the Commander. She still believed in the Scenario, but that was a holdover: It had been ingrained into her during her second body, and it just had never changed. She had never really questioned it. She didn't know where she now truly stood in regards to it and the Commander. She was in some ways living a completely new life, and some things in it were still confusing.

Others were clear, though. Like her love for Shinji and Asuka. So when EVA-02 started going berserk, Rei's heart leaped, even though she simply continued to speak softly to Shinji. And when the destruction of the angel was announced, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, somewhat to her surprise, Major Katsuragi didn't show any sign of relief or joy. The Operations Director simply turned around and walked up to Rei, her face still cast on stone.

"Let's go, Rei," Katsuragi told her. She crossed her arms, grabbing her left elbow with her right hand. "We need to get to the scene."

"Why?" Rei just asked.

"For Shinji's sake," Katsuragi promised her. "And Asuka's."

That convinced Rei. People were staring after them as they left, apparently quite surprised the Operations Director would do so. Only Lieutenant Hyuga wasn't; he simply took over for Katsuragi in the command centre.

Apparently, Katsuragi was planning to take a helicopter, but in stark contrast to her former haste, it took quite a while until one was ready. She seemed to want a specific pilot even though several were available. That pilot was a small woman not much older than the Major herself, and similar to Asuka obviously not fully Japanese, sporting more 'European' eyes and a slighter darker skin. She seemed to be on first name basis with Katsuragi.

Rei was still musing over the Major's perplexing actions when the pilot finally started a small copter from an entrance port to the Geofront, more than five minutes after the angel attack had ended. It almost seemed like Katsuragi had a plan, but if so, Rei couldn't decipher it.

It took another five minutes for the copter to reach its destination. Rei could see EVA-01 and EVA-02, two motionless giants, the latter propped up against a building side, its entry-plug hanging out from its neck. On that roof, another entry-plug, its hatch open. There was LCL everywhere on the ground. And in front of the entry-plug… Rei's heart leapt again. Shinji. Asuka.

The copter landed on the roof. Rei saw Asuka watching the process with furrowed brows. Shinji… Shinji was clinging to her. He was in an almost hunchbacked pose, his left arm slung around Asuka's back, his right hand grabbing her right arm. Without Asuka present, he would literally fall down.

Both Katsuragi and Rei left the copter before it had even properly touched the ground, splashing orange goo as they did so. Rei didn't know what to do. She wanted to run over to Shinji, comfort him, tell him she was there… but she had never done such things. Such things just weren't in her nature. She wanted to do this but couldn't.

"What are you doing here?" Asuka snarled at Katsuragi. "Shouldn't you be at Headquarters? Together with the Commander and the Vice Commander?"

Rei's heart beat faster. Asuka was misdirecting her anger, but… it was because she was in a 'ready for combat' mode. She would defend Shinji – against any possible threat. It was for this passion that Rei loved her.

"I needed to be here, on the field," Katsuragi answered her. Her voice was measured and emotionless.

"Why? To 'see him'?" Asuka asked aggressively. "What good will that do?"

Katsuragi shook her head. "No. To make justifiable field decisions." Now Asuka just blinked at her. "Given Shinji's current state, it is justifiable that I just send you all home, for his sake." Now Asuka seemed to understand. She looked surprised. "This is a temporary measure, of course. There will be consequences for what you have done here, Asuka."

"I understand," Asuka replied quietly. "But as long as I can take Shinji home now..."

Rei understood as well. Katsuragi was creating a fait accompli, using her authority as Operations Director. And indeed, her decision was justifiable even to NERV. But she still had had to act quickly in order to enact it.

Misato nodded. "Akiko will take you two and Rei home. I… well, I came here in order to lead the recovery and clean-up efforts, discovered you two on the way, and made my field decision. Do you understand?"

"I do," Asuka answered firmly. She passed the Operations Director, half-carrying Shinji with her. When she had, she stopped for a moment. "Thank you, Misato." Without looking back to see whether Misato had acknowledged this, she walked on.

The two reached Rei… and Shinji basically fell against her, his knees bent, his face against her chest, his hands holding on to her shoulders. Rei was surprised for a moment. What if the Commander… Then she saw Katsuragi faintly nod towards her. We're among friends. She laid her arms around Shinji, pushed him up, and held him in a tight embrace. She was surprised how… physically needy he seemed to be. Just as he had with Asuka before, now he clung to her, tightly and almost motionlessly.

Soon afterwards, Asuka, put her arms around them both. Eventually, she said: "Come. We need to be gone before someone else from NERV arrives who can countermand Misato's order. Let's go home."

Shinji didn't seem to fully understand. Asuka and Rei had to coax him into the copter. And one of them had to leave his side; there was no room for three people in a row on the copter. On her own, Asuka took the spot at the copter's front, next to the pilot. Shinji held his arm out as she left his side, but then just let it sink down again, as if defeated. He always maintained physical contact with Rei. So she tried to stay as close as possible to him, to make him feel that he wouldn't be abandoned.

The copter started, with Rei and Shinji on the backbench. "We're going home, Shinji", she whispered to him. "It's over. We'll take care of you."

She had an arm around his neck, and the other hand holding his. She continued to whisper soothingly to him as the copter made its way to their apartment bloc.