"Word of advice, always aim a bit off-center. You'll actually score better hits that way."

Shinji remembered Asuka's words as he lowered Misato's gun. In her weakened state, she wouldn't be able to land a hit on his father. Therefore, Shinji adjusted her aim so she could hit his back. Misato realized what he was trying to do as he nodded at her, implicitly instructing her on what to do.

She nodded back, relieved that he came to his senses. She unhesitatingly pressed the trigger to fire at Gendo.

The bullet blasted a hole into his jacket, splattering blood on the floor. He dropped Mary's hand in shock as it happened. He swiftly turned to the couple behind him, alarmed by what they had done. His voice cracked ever so slightly as his legs began to give out.

"W-What…?"

The look of betrayal on his father's face was too much for Shinji, who turned away in shame. Misato, however, was not so easily moved. She fired the gun again, and again, and again at Gendo, repeatedly causing his chest to explode violent bursts of blood. In the end, his body tumbled forward to the floor. His glasses shattered upon impact, leaving his eyes in excruciating pain as he perished.

Misato pointed her finger at Mary's hand. Shinji obeyed and moved to get it for her. With another nod, Shinji laid it next to Misato, who shot it point blank. There was only a tiny barely audible hiss at the death blow. Gendo Ikari and the First Angel had been slain by her hands.

She wanted to laugh even knowing she couldn't. Finally, after all these years she got her revenge. The Angels were dead, Adam was dead, and Third Impact was averted. Her worst nightmares were gone because of her. Because her Shinji helped her at every step of the way.

Her gratitude couldn't be more clear as she smiled at him. Misato ignored the blood dripping from her mouth as she motioned him to come closer, and hugged him with her little bit of strength left.

"Misato, don't die…" He said to her. "We can still get help! Someone has to be alive, they have to be! I can't let you die, I'm sorry!"

It was a lie and they both knew it. Misato didn't listen as she held his cheek one more time, rubbing it softly. She placed her forehead over his causing him to go quiet. His eyes brimmed with tears, Shinji leaned into her touch as he usually did. Misato never failed to unthaw his heart even now.

She hummed as he cried all the while. Shinji was going to be by himself after today, wasn't he? Maybe Misato didn't want his last memory of her to be tainted by sadness. Maybe she just wanted to feel fine about dying. To either end, she grabbed his neck and leaned in for a kiss on the lips. It didn't matter if it left a trail of blood pouring down his mouth, or if he panicked as she did so. Her eyes closed so she wouldn't have to see his face.

'I'm sorry for being selfish. I just take what I want, don't I? Heh. I wish I could have seen you grow up to become a man. You did the right thing, an admirable thing. Please just hang in there for me. Did I do the right thing Kaji? Anyone?'

Would she see him again? Ritsuko? Misato thought it'd be nice if she did, if they welcomed her back, but she knew it wouldn't be the case. No, after what she had done she'd be going to see her father. At the very least she'd finally get to tell him all the things she wanted to, how happy Shinji made her feel before she died.

So long as he was alive, nothing else mattered. He'll be happy without her some day. More importantly, he'll never forget her for as long as he lived.

With those passing thoughts, Misato finally died in Shinji's arms. It took a long time for soldiers to find Shinji, who stayed beside her cold dead body long after the invasion ended.

Rei Ayanami opened and closed her hand. She could feel the rush of blood pouring into it as she did. The sensation was new to her, as was many things.

"Rei?"

She blinked.

"Rei," the doctor repeated. "You've been staring at your hand for the last few minutes. Is something wrong?"

Nothing. Rei turned her head to the window.

"I see. Well, you're going to get a visitor soon. Don't be mean to him on my account."

The doctor left, taking his papers with her. Rei kept staring as she asked herself the same question she had since recovery.

'Why am I still here? What am I doing?'

It had been a month since the JSSDF invaded NERV. She was in a hospital room having finally escaped death from the Sixteenth Angel. A struggle came between Major Katsuragi and the Commander, ending in the latter's death and Third Impact averted. Everyone celebrated it as a joyous occasion, an end to the great evil that plagued the world.

She didn't feel that way. Her purpose in life was to bring forth Instrumentality, to serve his wish. Without that, without the Commander, Rei felt painfully useless. The first she heard the news, Rei cried into her pillows. Her days slowed into a numbing crawl to the next sunrise, contemplating and considering her circumstances. She felt the same emptiness she always yet so different all the same. Burdened with freedom even as she was trapped in the same mental cage she always had been. What was Rei to do now? The Commander had the answers. He made things simple to understand. Him or the world. She would have handed it to him on a silver platter if that was his order.

She thought she missed his presence terribly. Thought.

And yet, even saying so felt off. Rei felt confused over the Commander. Even saying his name was wrong, as if it were an incantation to summon a monster. But Gen- the Commander was no monster. There was way he would be, he was tender, warm and caring. He made her and protected her. He risked his hands for her, he had to be good if he went out of his way for a replaceable doll. She was supposed to have been reborn in a new body without memories, but the Commander chose to save her life instead.

Rei should feel honored, grateful. However, her time in the hospital proved to be one of pain. Pain from the injuries forced upon her by the Angel. Even sedated her mind was torn apart from the strain of old memories returning unwanted and a new presence whispering lies.

'The only lie is that he loves you. You have more power than you even realize, with a world beyond the walls he placed around you.'

Sometimes she recalled the doppelganger conjured by the Angel. Other times she was the being on the cross. On occasions, she was a little girl being strangled by an old woman. At all points she was the Commander's favorite. His weapon against SEELE, loyal when others weren't. He could depend on her as she depended on him.

Why did she feel so terrible then? Her memories of the Commander were once happy reprieves from her miserable existence. The days he watched her in the tube, helped her cook, sat with her to talk about the weather. Rei always found those were enough to get through the day, even aware of her true purpose. No one made her feel that way, least of all Shinji Ikari. He was the Commander's son but clearly didn't inherit his loving nature. He wronged her, unlike the Commander. She adored the Commander.

She kissed and touched the Commander, played the role of wife and gave her first and only times to him. Things were how they were supposed to be. A brilliant, beautiful thing only shared between them.

With the full merging of her soul however, Rei looked back on those memories differently. No longer happy, they felt… wrong. She became aware of how it hurt when he penetrated her and said precious little to ease her. She felt a frustration over how she did the chores around her room while he eventually gave up doing anything. The discomfort over he watched her naked during working hours. Her interest in knowing the outside world that he denied her. Rei looked down at her body, rubbing the area between her legs.

"Hmmmm…"

She moved her fingers away. Her experiences with sex felt disembodied, actions she took to please the Commander. But the recognition of her womanhood gave pause. Why did it feel so different now? Why did she feel… used?

Someone entered the room. Rei moved her hands up to her chest, making sure to adjust her shirt.

"Identify yourself."

Honestly, Rei didn't know anyone who would visit her. As far as the report said, the Commander, the Sub-Commander and Dr. Akagi were all dead. Major Katsuragi usually handled interrogations and she died too.

The visitor was an old man. He was thin, the years shown with the lines around his cheekbones and forehead. He brushed gray hairs from his eyes as he approached.

"Hello Rei. It's good to see you."

"Who are you?" Rei asked. "We have never met,"

The old man sighed. His eyes flared in recognition. He clearly knew her, even if she didn't know him. Perhaps he met the first Rei?

"Kozo Fuyutsuki." He said. "I was a… former friend of Commander Ikari."

Rei blinked. "He did not speak of you."

Fuyutsuki laughed for a good moment.

"I'm not surprised. We never really got along. Actually, he threatened me into complying with NERV during its founding. Thankfully Iscariot helped me get away from him."

Why would she do such a thing? Rei needed to know.

"Why?"

"I think she had her own agenda. I didn't like what I saw, and figured… well, normally I might have been able to ease my conscience. But the sheer scale and what she said about conviction. I had to do something. Even if it went against her and Yui."

"No." Rei shook her head. "I mean, why have you come here? You oppose the Commander."

"It's not rub it in your face that he's dead if that's what you're thinking." At her flinch, Fuyutsuki relaxed his gaze. "I'm sure you're feeling a terrible loss, given how long he took care of you."

"Your sympathy is unneeded."

"Fair enough. But in my experience, it's better to talk to someone, even an enemy, than to be alone. I'm just here, you can tell me anything you want. No hurry."

Rei sagged her shoulders. She didn't really want to speak. In fact, she would rather tell this man to die. Why should he live over the Commander? The scenario was destroyed because of him, because Katsuragi, because of Shinji, she was alone and miserable and she hated them! She hated him!

However, the inescapable truth was that she really had no one. Gendo was gone, she determined, so no one would care. She decided to tell him then.

"I was made with a purpose. Now I don't know what will happen to me."

"Nothing. The JSSDF'll give you a chance to live a normal life. No one will come after you, and no one is going to take advantage of you. We can't anyway. Lilith, Adam and Unit 01 have all been destroyed."

She knew about those from the report. There was a curious absence though.

"What about Unit 02?"

"It was destroyed in the last Angel battle. The Third Child stabbed it per the Second's request, as the Angel was controlling Unit 02 through his powers. The Angel War is truly over. I know some folks aren't please about that and a lack of proper Evas. NERV is being decommissioned, lots of futures in the balance. Including Ikari."

The Third Child. Rei narrowed her eyes.

"Where is he?"

"He's being relocated. His former teacher signed the paperwork over to Katsuragi. With her dead, we're setting Ikari up with a new set of guardians and will be receiving proper health benefits for his service. You can see him if you want."

"I don't. He allowed the Commander to die." Rei said in a low tone, the closest she ever had to snarl. It startled even her. "I hate how he makes me feel. He hurt me."

"Yeah, I understand perfectly. Shinji helped save the world but he robbed you of your father didn't he?"

A flash of anger came over her. Tears formed in her eyes.

"No. He was not my father. He loved me more than that. He was the only one who did. He made me feel… something…"

Her voice trailed off, unconvinced by her words. Fuyutsuki's face hardened at that.

"Is that so? How did he make you feel?"

"I don't know… I remember being his, and having intercourse with him. But I… I also feel… disgusted, dirtied… but I'm supposed to feel this way… is that not…?"

Rei thought she heard the old man mutter Ikari under his breath. Fuyutsuki suddenly looked older than he was as he spoke.

"Rei, that wasn't love. Maybe he though it was, but it wasn't. He wanted his wife so much that he defied fate to bring her back. If he turned his attention toward you, it was because you reminded him of her. He couldn't have her, so he had you instead. Nothing more."

"But that isn't…" Rei tried to form the words. "He told me… I was there when she wasn't… she denied him…"

"That's the problem. She said no. You, on the other hand, couldn't say no. You couldn't leave him like Yui did so he took advantage of that. What he did to you was… You are a child. You weren't ready for that and he made sure you wouldn't be."

"But… I… I don't understand. Why did he make me do it then?"

She felt good before, but it hurt to think about now. She couldn't recognize herself. Fuyutsuki understood what she was going through.

"He raised you, so you feel attached. You love him despite what he did. That's normal. I'd even say human. But while you can't help but love him, he didn't love you back not really. He wanted a replacement for Yui. People like that find it difficult to love themselves let alone others. I tried to tell Shinji much the same thing."

"Why?" Who could love- or even pretend to love- someone like him? Fuyutsuki scratched his hair.

"He slipped up and told an agent about Katsuragi. She had been grooming him since at least the Eighth Angel. It was decided in addition to surveillance he'd be assigned a proper psychologist once we sorted his arrangements. He's not fine, not any more than you are. He's attached to Katsuragi due to being his only guide, much like you are to Gendo."

Rei wanted to argue against the comparison, but held her tongue. She had much to think about, too much information to process.

"I… see…"

"You don't have to worry about a thing. Without the tools, SEELE has no need of you. You'll have all the time in the world to heal."

Fuyutsuki said his piece. He turned around and began leaving.

"I need to go. Thanks you for having me."

"Wait."

Rei raised her hand up. He caught it in time to crane his neck back a bit.

"… if he didn't love me… will anyone?"

A simple question, one weighing on her mind. She thought she was going to die. She wasn't prepared to live a life of her own. Without the Commander, she needed reassurance that she could be of use to people. That she could be valued if she were to continue existing without Eva.

Fuyutsuki smiled. "I'm sure you will. Anywhere can be heaven as long as you have the will to live."

He left her alone after that. It was about as much as he could give her while letting her decide for herself. As Rei pondered what to do, Fuyutsuki turned up in the next hallway, finding Agent Pilate waiting for him.

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. What do you have?"

"We managed to capture SEELE's leadership, Keel Lorenz included. Such a vast network, god it'll be years before we can fully dismantled them. To think the end of the world nearly happened under our nose…"

"Indeed. But we're alive. We all have a chance to move on."

"Especially with the testimonies from NERV employees, and Ikari." Agent Pilate lowered her head. "I just wish the Second Child was able to make it."

"They all should have survived. Even Katsuragi didn't deserve to die to the Commander."

"Yeah, if only so I could shoot her myself. You really don't think the Committee will target the Third Child?"

"Doubt it. They were opposed to him being a pilot for Unit 01 and that's already been destroyed. At most, assassins may try to claim revenge."

He frowned, tempted to drink at the job. Pilate offered him a sympathetic glance.

"You don't have to blame yourself, Professor. You couldn't have known what would happen."

"But I did." He admitted. "I leaked his information to spite his father. It had the advantage of putting all the pilots in one place, but that was a side benefit. I should have known better, especially since it allowed Katsuragi free rein over him. I failed Yui's son in a way I can never forgive myself for."

Fuyutsuki leaned back against the wall. Even the reassuring hand on his shoulder did little to make him feel better.

"He's going to be okay." Pilate said. "Him and the First Child. Like you said, we're alive. We can move on from this and so will he."

He gave her a look.

"I suppose you're right. He'll have to. Especially as we took all the tools from him."

The limo felt cramped even with his backpack between his legs.

Shinji was being escorted to the train station by Section-2 agents. They each gave him nods of sympathy over his situation. He had been told how he would be relocated to a new place away from Tokyo-3. Under a new identity, he would resume a normal life without interference from NERV or the JSSDF. No more public harassment over being a pilot. He was just going to be a normal person.

He asked what happened to Pen-Pen. They told him the penguin would also be taken to a research facility, where scientists would take care of him. His plea to keep Pen-Pen was rejected, on the grounds of it being a bad idea to keep a reminder of Misato around after what she did to him.

What she did to him. As if they understood what she truly did, Shinji thought with contempt. He stared at the floor, hating his situation.

"I know you had it tough, kid." An agent tried to assure him. "Things are going to be okay for now. No more piloting. You're free. In fact, you could use a souvenir."

He handed a chocolate bar to Shinji. The boy stared at it, before placing it in his pocket.

"Thanks."

It was all he could say. Numb, Shinji stayed quiet as the limo took him to his destination. Once he arrived, he didn't say a word of thanks as he took his backpack and walked the stairs up to the platform. He gave the city one last look as he waited for the train. It would be arriving at any moment yet all he could think about was Misato.

She had been there since day one, saving him from an Angel, later from humans, took care of him when his father wouldn't, protected him when no one else did. She was stubborn, she acted weird those past few days- as did he- but he'd take that over nothing. Now he couldn't even hear her voice or see her face ever again. Misato was gone. She died while he was hardly any help.

A part of him wanted to stay in HQ. A different, larger part wanted to be away from the city that took everything from him. He knew no one besides Misato, anyone else was gone or dead. He was alone again. His father wasn't even around so he couldn't rage against him for killing Misato.

Revenge felt empty. Life felt hollow. He was clad in his school uniform, untouched since he was brought into NERV HQ from the Jet Alone.

"I mustn't run away. You told me that, but it's so hard Misato."

He said to himself, unconvinced. After a while, the train slowed to a stop next to him. The doors opened. Shinji was about to step in to the first day of the rest of his life.

However from the corner of his eye he spotted something. A blue alpine? A woman outside? She was wearing… red?

"Misato."

Shinji whispered as he ran to another set of stairs that led to the other side of the platform. The train left as he slammed his hands on the metal gate in anticipation.

His eyes deceived him. It wasn't an alpine. Or even the right shade of blue. It was some random car. There was a woman, but she had short hair and a bandana. The red was because of the long dress she wore that extended to her knees. She was having conversation with a small boy younger than him. Shinji assumed it was her son.

"The next train away is in thirty minutes…"

The voice on the loudspeaker said. Shinji continued to grasp the gate, his hands shaking violently. He already ran out of tears to shed. He just needed a moment to himself.

"I miss you Misato."

He took his time walking back to the other side, waiting to take the next train home. It was all he could do really.

To think he and Misato didn't even have years together. Just half of one, yet he couldn't forget her even if he tried. Shinji honestly wasn't sure if he could live without her. Maybe he shouldn't have let her kill father…

No. What's done was done. He had to be sure of his choice if he was going to find any way to live with himself. He looked forward to a life of anonymity soon, away from people and monsters. Shinji pulled out the chocolate bar from his pocket. He also pulled out a keepsake, the one thing they hadn't found or taken away from him. The picture Misato sent to him those months ago.

"So much for meeting here..." He said quietly. He rubbed his index finger over the lipstick mark on the photo. "If only. If only."

He wished he could have returned Misato's kiss back at the hospital. She deserved that much after all. They both deserved better than the cruelty thrust upon them. He wished they could have seen the sunset over that hill one more time. He'd trade anything for another moment.

Nothing was right with the world without her.

Author's Notes:

Misato is dead, having achieved her revenge. The world is fine, but Shinji isn't. He probably won't be for a long, long time. Even so, he can go home having not dragged the world with him in his grief. That's more than he has by EoE.

I wrote this as much as an apology to Rei as to provide answers. Given how pivotal she is to the story, I felt bad over how how little we had of Rei's perspective. It's not much but at least she'll be okay after everything that happened. We still got one more ending though! It might come out this week so stay tuned!

Reviews:

artifactBC: I tried to warn you all 😭 I'm sorry!

feliperodriguezgatica: En realidad son tres. Viste el primero y ahora verás los demás. ¡Gracias por leer!

Voltter: Well, if you think about it why would this Shinji accept reality? He's been ostracized for being a pilot, killed people he cared about, and his future prospects appeared bleak. By the end, Misato was all he had left. It's wrong but it makes sense he'd try to keep her alive by any means. In my head, the nature of Instrumentality involves everyone's souls being blended together so even when they're not a part of Gendo's world they can peer into each other's minds in a non-linear fashion. The group aren't literally seeing a show about Shinji and Misato so much as their souls are "feeling" that relationship but blocked from interfering if that makes any sense. That group, especially Yui and Mary, are also being forced to feel Gendo and Rei's relationship in the same way. You're welcome! :D