You Must (Not) Run Away (NGE)

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Strypgia said:
Gendo, you really are the Bastard King...
Wait, there's another one? The AAA Wunder is a salvaged FAR vessel. Did they find another one, or build it using the Wunder as a model? How the heck are they powering it? They needed Unit-01 to energize the Wunder, so... ?
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There is, it's about half the size of the Wunder and not quite as powerful. They salvaged it and built it up using the Wunder as a base. As regards power they're using similar tech to their terraforming device.

(It was admittedly not something I thought too much about :p )
 
Ranma-sensei said:
Hey, sorry I haven't commented in so long, but RL is kinda keeping me too busy for longer reads. :confused:

I'll try to get to your last two chapters as soon as possible, though.
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I did forget to reply to this but don't worry about it! Real Life™ always takes priority I say so take your time. I just hope you enjoy them when you do get around to reading them.


So just a note with this particular chapter. There was originally more of it but it ended up being so long I had to split it into two. The next chapter is nearly complete, I just need to edit the final scenes and just to finish off the reference in the chapter title it's going to be called "...Divided We Fall"
 
YMNRA Chapter. 31
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    • You Must (Not) Run Away - Chapter 31 - The Tower Suite - 03: ...Divided We Fall

    [24 hours earlier]

    Shinji found himself alone in Misato's office once again. She had already spoken to the others and now it was his turn to speak with her. He had already made up his mind, it had already been made up yesterday when Pirani had told them all that his father was at the tower.

    Misato was already standing in front of her desk when he entered. He knew what she was going to say, the same thing she had said to Asuka, Rei and Mari. That they did not need to do this and that they could leave and go to safety if they desired it. Others on the ship had been given this choice too. Shinji didn't know how many, if anyone had taken her up on it.

    He looked Misato in the eye and before she even got a chance to speak he stated plainly, "I'll do it. I'll pilot Unit 02 along with Asuka."

    Misato just looked back at him, he mouth slightly open in shock at his sudden declaration. She simply shook her head, "Shinji… Are you sure? You don't need to do this, I… I wasn't even going to ask you at first but…"

    "Yes." He said firmly, "I'm sure Misato. I know it hurts and I know the risk. It hurt the very first time I piloted and it has hurt each and every time since but I have to help. I… Can't stand by and do nothing, I've done that before and…"

    "Shinji… I'm so sorry that any of this ever happened. You should never have been made to pilot that thing in the first place. I… I always knew you never wanted to! When Rei was capable again or when Asuka arrived then I should have…"

    Misato let out a sigh, "It doesn't matter now does it? I can't exactly turn back the clock. When I used to want you to pilot you didn't want to and now I don't want you to you want to. It's a bitter irony."

    Shinji chuckled, "I… I don't want to pilot it Misato. I'm scared of piloting it, I'm scared of being hurt. I'm scared of what might happen to me or Asuka. I'm scared of what I'm capable of in there. I know what those things can do now but I just feel like I have to do this."

    He looked down at the ground, "I don't know what my father is doing but… I can't let him get away with it. I want to be a part of stopping him. So please… let me pilot."

    "I will Shinji." Misato stepped forward and put her arms around him, "I'll have them prepare your data for the Entry Plug and have a fresh plugsuit for you. The briefing on the mission will commence in a couple of hours after I've spoken to a few more people… And Shinji…"

    "Yes?"

    "If you change your mind… please let me know."

    [Present Day]

    All Asuka could do was grit her teeth and feel the pain shoot through her body as Unit 02 was caught by a blast whilst in midair. She tried to bring the Eva down gracefully but all that happened was it came thundering down onto its side. She heard Shinji yell out as the impact rocked the cockpit.

    So far the Nemesis Series had been both unrelenting and unending. As she looked around she could see Unit 08 off in the distance fighting with a group of the tripod machines and simultaneously having to fend off a swarm of the disc-based entities. There was a bright flash and the familiar cross shaped explosions as it swung its large double-ended blade around and sliced through one of the tripods whilst also catching a number of the discs.

    Between the two Eva's high up in the air was the AAA Wunder. It was currently contending with numerous swarms attacking it in waves. They were fast and deadly, their attacks bouncing off of the mighty vessels A.T. Field. There was the loud firing of its cannons as it took aim at the swarms trying to diminish their numbers.

    Every now and then it'd send out small blasts of energy to the ground in an attempt to thin the tripod population. Also dealing with this was the smaller craft that Espèrer had donated to the cause, the AAA Thunderchild. It was about half the size of the Wunder but seemed to be able to match it in terms fo strength.

    Half of the Wunders TARKUS Units had also been deployed into the battle. Twelve Units in total, each split up into groups of three. Two groups were supposed to be covering Unit 02 and two groups covering Unit 08 as they all battled their way to the entrance of the tower.

    "Asuka!" Shinji suddenly called out, "I'm picking up three of them coming from behind us."

    Asuka let out a growl of anger and slowly got Unit 02 back up onto its feet. She had the Eva grip its own blade tightly and swung it around her clipping through the legs of one of the tripods. She watched as the machine staggered over, it's main body falling to the ground. Asuka raised the blade and stabbed it through the body of the machine ending it.

    She brought the blade around taking aim at another of the figures and sliced the body of it clean in half. From here she could see the entrance to the tower. It was only a few hundred metres but right now that may as well have been a world away. There was no discernable way of reaching it through the swarms of machines defending it. It seemed that no matter how many they took out more would take their place almost immediately.

    'Nothing is ever easy is it?...' She thought to herself as she continued to fight.

    As Shinji watched a third of the machines fall he looked back down at the array of screens around him to look for any other threats. Almost immediately he spotted a swarm bearing down on Unit 02 and he sprang into action. He brought up the defensive cannon targeting screen and aimed the cannon towards the centre of the swarm and watched as a number of them were engulfed in the blast and reduced to nothing. Those that remained flew off to join one of the remaining swarms.

    Shinji took no time to think about this minor victory, instead he continued to scan his screens for signs of other enemies approaching. If they were on the ground he would relay it to Asuka, if they were up in the air he'd do his best to handle it. Either way he knew that more would come, that had been all that he had experienced for the last half hour or so.

    He glanced at the recharge meter for the cannon and then back at the screens. Just as he had suspected more were approaching. The TARKUS Units were doing a good job of stopping some of the numbers get through but they could not stop everything.

    He took time to glance up towards the tower. He wondered how his father had been able to get there so easily. It had taken the combine forces of Unit 02, Unit 08 and the Wunder just to punch through the A.T. Field and then they had to contend with all of this.

    His body jerked forward as he felt Asuka jump Unit 02 up into the air again. Asuka let out another growl as Unit 02 dived forward and sliced clean through another of the figures. She swung around and cut through a second and a third in quick succession. Almost immediately two more began their approach and he heard her let out a road of anger and frustration.

    There was a bright flash of light as both of them fired simultaneously at Unit 02. Asuka managed to dodge the two of them somehow by jumping into the air again but was caught off guard as a third machine entered the area and aimed a blast at the Evangelions shoulder. Both Shinji and Asuka felt an intense burning pain in their shoulder as the hit connected and Unit 02 was sent crashing to the ground for a second time.

    Shinji looked down at his screen again to see more were approaching from the front, "A-Asuka... there are more of them."

    "Yes! I'm well aware of that fact Shinji!" Asuka bit back as Unit 02 got back onto its feet.

    As she started to move Unit 02 forward Shinji saw two swarms approaching. He looked to the cannon controls only to see that it still hadn't finished recharging. He looked up again just as Asuka started to bring the blade around.

    "A-Asuka! The cannon, I can't fire it! It's still recharging."

    "Scheisse!" Asuka muttered under her breath. She had seen the swarms approaching and was hoping that at least one of them could have been taken out as she made her move. She finished driving the blade into the tripod she had targeted and tried to scramble Unit 02 away.

    It was too late, the swarms had descended and were now raining fire across the back of Unit 02. Both Shinji and Asuka yelled out as the pain was mirrored onto their bodies. Asuka had no choice but to release her controls. The brief loss of control sent the Eva staggering around. Dust and rubble was kicked up around them as the machine went down for a third time, crashing through a nearby building.

    Exhausted and in pain Asuka glared up through the cockpit. Sweat was dripping down her face as she muttered to herself and Unit 02, "T-There's too many of them... Mama... If you're really in here then please... I need your help."

    She leaned back in the seat and gripped her controls, her hands trembling and barely able to grab them properly.

    "Shinji... Are the cannons recharged?"

    Shinji was still recovering from the recent fall. He fought off a wave of dizziness and tried to focus on the status of the weapon. After a moment he nodded in confirmation, "Y-Yeah... It's charged."

    "Good." Asuka sighed, "We go again."

    "Y-Yeah." Shinji responded as Asuka slowly started to bring Unit 02 back onto its feet. The machine staggered around a bit as she struggled to focus and control it properly but she was finally able to get it upright again. As she picked up the blade she saw another of the machines approaching.

    "BASTARD!" She cried out as she brought the blade down. It sliced the figure in half and she watched as another approached. She swung the blade around to fight it but a sudden blast from another machine knocked the blade from the Eva's hands.

    Shinji immediately sent a blast towards the machine but it was too late. Two more figures had approached from the front and had already hit Unit 02 twice in the chest. Both of them felt a terrible burning in their chest as control of the Eva was lost again.

    Shinji snatched at his own controls as he desperately tried to regain the machines balance. It was much too late. A third and fourth blast was sent towards them. One missing but the other connecting with Unit 02s right shoulder.

    Shinji cried out as the machine fall to the ground for a fourth time. Neither of them were able to move, there was too much pain. All they could do was watch as a number of figures now loomed over them.

    "No... This isn't..." Asuka snarled as her eyes widened and she felt rage building up inside of her. The gripped at the Unit's controls and tried to get it to do something, anything. She was trying to tap into that power she had used last week, trying to pull something more from the Eva but it just wasn't working.

    'Why... Why can't I do it! If I could now I can control it, I know what it is! Why aren't you doing anything!'

    A large shadow had now been cast over the cockpit of Unit 02 as the two of them tried desperately to move it. Asuka could taste blood in her mouth as she found herself in too much pain to even wrap her hands around the controls.

    'I-I can't... do this... we... can't... but we have to. I can't... I won't let them down...'

    There were at least six figures surrounding the fallen form of Unit 02 now, each one had their weapons aimed at her. It was like a swarm of vultures about to pick apart their prey. She looked at them slowly approaching as if they were celebrating a victory against the one who had destroyed so many of them.

    "Bastards..." She muttered as her hands finally gripped the controls. She wasn't going to go down like this, if she was going to go down she was going to go down fighting.

    Asuka glanced behind her, "Shinji... Shinji can you hear me?"

    Shinji nodded weakly, "Y-Yeah..."

    "I'm... I'm going to get you to that tower Shinji. We aren't dying!"

    Shinji smiled weakly at her, "I know."

    She turned and was about to try to move Unit 02 again but before she could even do anything there were several bright flashes of light. Asuka looked around in shock to see all six of the tripod figures suddenly explode before her very eyes. She blinked and looked across to see the imposing form of the AAA Thunderchild hovering near to them.

    "Captain Shikinami! Pilot Ikari, are you both alright?"

    Asuka didn't recognize the person who was speaking, she had not yet had the opportunity to meet the captain of the vessel but she made a note to thank them later.

    "Alive but hurt, thank you."

    "Good to hear, we've been given new orders. We are going to commence a bombing run from this location to the entrance of the tower to try to clear a path. The Wunder will do the same, in between ourselves and the Wunder you are to extend your A.T. Field to maximum and try to make your way through. Do you think you're able to do that?"

    "Heh, of course we are." Asuka smiled through the pain, "Just give the word."

    XXX

    Mari wore a serious expression as she focused on the fight. They had been going for nearly an hour and it had been a constant stream of action. Whilst her opponents hadn't been especially strong they outnumbered the WILLE and Espèrer forces greatly.

    'Seems like for every one we destroy another three take their place!'

    Despite the ease at which Mari and Rei could take down their opponents Unit 08 had suffered a number of hits. Both were tired and incredibly sore from the battle. Both had stopped counting just how many of the Nemesis Series had been destroyed.

    Mari brought Unit 08 back slicing clean through another of the machines. She started trying to figure out what she could do next. Misato's new orders had been broadcast to them all. The Thunderchild and the Wunder would commence a bombing run in an attempt to clear a path for Unit 02 to the tower.

    "Looks like the Puppy and the Princess get to have all the fun right Blue?" Mari exclaimed as she dodged past another of the tripod figures and stabbed her blade into it.

    She rolled Unit 08 to the right and watched as the cannons from her shoulder compartment fired forward swiftly taking down one of the swarms. To this she turned around and shot Rei a wide grin, "Nice shooting Rei!"

    Mari's grin very quickly faded on seeing Rei's condition. It was not good, the girl appeared to be concentrating hard on what she was doing but she was struggling. She was hunched over and breathing heavily. Mari could see Rei was grimacing in pain and the girl had blood trickling from both of her nostrils.

    "R-Rei… What's happening?" Mari asked.

    Rei shook her head, "I… I will be fine. I am… able to function, please focus on the mission… focus…"

    Rei suddenly let out an ear piercing scream as a white hot pain shot through her skull. Her hands reached up to her head as she doubled over in her seat.

    Mari scrambled out of her seat towards Rei only to have the girl shove her back, "NO! I… the mission, we must… we must…"

    Rei screamed out again as the pain shot through her skull once more and then through the rest of her body. She writhed in agony as Mari once again scrambled out of her seat, it was only a voice through her comm system that stopped her, "Unit 08, You're stopped moving, is everything alright down there?"

    "You… Answer it, you can't… please!" Rei gritted her teeth trying to fight through this sudden pain her body was in.

    Mari shot Rei a look of concern before moving back into her seat, "Misato! I-It's Rei… She… Something has happened to her! She's…"

    It was not Misato who replied but a clearly shaken Ritsuko, "Rei! What is wrong? What has happened to her?"

    Mari's hands were shaking as she gripped her controls, she was able to get Unit 08 out of the way just before another attack from one of the tripods hit her. She was able to slice through it with the blade whilst replying to Ritsuko, "I-I don't know! She just started…"

    Ritsuko's voice came back through, "What are her symptoms?"

    Mari looked behind her, "Um… She's bleeding from both nostrils and her head is hurting. She…"

    Rei let out another scream of pain as Mari moved forward and took out another of the tripods. She dodged back behind one of the buildings, "Ritsuko, what is wrong with her? I thought… I thought she was fine now?"

    Mari looked behind her towards Rei and reached out with a hand. She was able to place her hand on Rei's shoulder when an intense pain shot through her shoulder. She felt Unit 08 stumble back and she quickly turned to try and stop it from falling. She looked up to see one of the swarms flying overhead. As she tried to move away she heard Ritsuko again, "We're pulling you both back. You are to bring Rei back to the Wunder immediately."

    "No!" Rei cried out, "I can't… The mission is… Shinji…"

    "Mari, bring her back." Misato's voice was now heard.

    "What's wrong with her?" Mari asked.

    "Ritsuko thinks she might know but you need to bring Rei back immediately, is that understood?"

    "Yeah, I'm bringing her back!" Mari gripped the controls tightly and started to move towards the Wunder. There was still some time before it would commence its bombing run and it was just low enough for them to get into the hanger. All she'd need is one good jump and a bit of help from her A.T. Field.

    "Hang on Blue! I'm gonna get you help!"

    As Mari spoke she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Rei was looking at her with pleading eyes and tears streaming down her face, "P-Please… Don't… I need to… I want to help you…"

    Rei scream out again as the pain rushed through her, "No NO NO NO NO NO NO! It's… They're in my head! He is… They will…"

    "REI! I'm going to get you help, just hold on a mome-"

    Mari felt the burning pain in her shoulders again as one of the blasts from the tripod caught her off guard and smashed directly into the back of Unit 08. She tried to keep her balance and keep moving forward. She leapt up towards the edge of a building but was caught by another blast. There was only pain for her as the cockpit rocked violently sending her body forward.

    She could only watch as Unit 08 was sent crashing into the ground kicking up a large amount of dust and debris. There was a loud smash from the back of the cockpit and Mari looked up in horror to see Rei's body connect with the back wall and fall unconscious to the floor of the cockpit.

    "Rei? REI!"

    XXX

    The appearance of the Thunderchild over their position had given them a bit of a reprieve from the battle. They had both been given the opportunity to catch their breath before the next wave of attackers were on them.

    They were still counting down to the commencement of their plan. The Thunderchild would go first releasing as much as it good in a straight line to the towers entrance. Hopefully this would clear enough of a path to allow Unit 02 to dash forward and make it to the entrance. She looked around the battlefield to prepare herself to run when suddenly Misato's voice was heard over the comm systems.

    "Asuka, Shinji, We're going to have to pull Unit 08 from the battle. It's nothing serious so don't worry about them. We'll be deploying the rest of our TARKUS Units alongside you. Nothing about the plan has changed!"

    Despite Misato's reassurances Asuka couldn't help but feel troubled by the announcement of them pulling Unit 08. The last she had seen of the Eva it was upright and fighting as fiercely as she was. There had been no chatter from Mari either so things must have been going well.

    She turned around briefly to look at Shinji. He looked troubled too, most likely concerned about the condition of Rei and Mari. She didn't know quite what to say to him, if she should say anything at all. She had no knowledge of what was happening but she needed him to focus.

    "Hey Shinji!" She suddenly said.

    His head snapped up, "Y-Yeah?"

    "I need you to focus okay?"

    "Sorry, I was just worried about... They'll be alright won't they?" He asked.

    Asuka nodded, "They'll be fine Shinji but if we don't focus and get through this then the risk to them is greater. We need to push on and fight so that they can return to the Wunder as they have been ordered to. So focus on your screens and keep those bastards off of both me and Unit 08."

    She sort him a warm smile, "We're not getting beat Shinji... Neither are they."

    "Yeah..."

    Asuka felt her hands come around her controls again. Most of her body ached now and as she watched Shinji move and reach for his own controls she could tell he was in a similar amount of pain. They were both bruised and battered, small wounds had opened on them. Asuka had a cut above her right eye, Shinji was bleeding from his lip and she was sure her shoulder had been burnt. It was the cost of the high sync ratio they shared within Unit 02.

    'We're hurt but we're alive... We need to keep going. Come on Asuka, you can do this!'

    Shinji looked at his displays, his mind focused on Mari and Rei. He was certain that something was up. He couldn't imagine either of them agreeing to being recalled like that unless it was serious. The two of them would fight until the end, until every bit of ammunition was depleted, until they completely ran out of energy. He could only think of one reason they'd turn back and that was for each other.

    'Asuka is right though... If I don't focus then I put them at greater risk. I have to keep going.'

    Shinji gritted his teeth and scanned his screens for any stray swarms. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination but things did seem to have slowed down. Maybe it was because of the more concentrated attacks from their forces but it seemed like there were less of the Nemesis Series around. Still he saw a stray swarm flying towards the retreating form of Unit 08 and fired immediately dissolving the creatures into dust.

    He then felt Unit 02 begin to move. The shadow of the Thunderchild was moving slowly away from them as the vessel started its journey towards the tower. It accelerated and then Shinji saw all the fire raining down from it. Ahead of Unit 02 were mighty explosions sending dust, rubble and machine up into the air as the Thunderchild moved forward mercilessly.

    When it had reached half way towards the tower Asuka started to move Unit 02 forward. It was easy to see where everything had landed, the red earth below now scorched, parts of the Nemesis Series left scattered.

    Yet Shinji could see more of the Tripod figures looming in the distance. He could see more of the swarms coming towards them and he knew their time was limited. He watched as the cannons recharged and took aim at another swarm.

    It was then that something on his screen caught his eye. It was a marked indicating an enemy was nearby but it was larger than the others.

    "Asuka... I'm picking something up."

    "I'm kinda trying to move forward here Shinji. Ignore it."

    Shinji nodded as Asuka had Unit 02 jerk to the side and slice through another incoming Tripod. The Thunderchild had done a good job of scattered them and leaving enough room for Unit 02 to move forward. More of the Nemesis Series were approaching but with the addition of the twelve TARKUS Units to the battle only a few were trickling through to Unit 02.

    Asuka sliced through another machine and then stopped. The earth started to shake around them and she gripped her handled tightly trying to keep Unit 02 on its feet. Suddenly the rumbling of the ground intensified. Unit 02 was knocked backwards and the two of them could only watch as the ground opened up before them.

    At the centre of the creator a large snake like creature resembling the ones they had fought back with Espèrer rose and flew up into the air. It let out an ear splitting screech and Asuka looked on in horror as behind it large rows and blood red ribbon like blades also snaked out of the ground.

    'No... Not... Not again, why?'

    XXX

    "Unit 08 has managed to get back in the hangar bay, Sakura is with them now." Kitakami reported from her station.

    Misato looked towards Ritsuko, "Go to them, find out what's wrong with Rei I've got things here."

    Ritsuko nodded, "Of course."

    Ritsuko turned and quickly left the bridge as Misato moved towards the railing overlooking the stations below. Her attention was turned to the nightmarish sight that had appeared ahead of them. She had seen these blades sprout up from the ground numerous times and seen the damage they could do. Sharp enough to slice through an Eva with no regard for the bio-mechanical weapons A.T. Field.

    Further adding to this was the appearance of the snake like creature. The memories of their encounter with this sort of creature were still fresh. Ritsuko had dealt with them last time, now it was Misato's chance. She had seen the reports of just how strong they could be and was not going to take any chances.

    She smirked as she grabbed the railing confidently, "Deploy NAUTILUS, we're not going to give them a chance to stop us."

    "Beginning NAUTILUS deployment." Aoba called over from his console. Almost immediately the lighting on the bridge dropped to a deep red. Misato looked down at her own console asking for confirmation on the deployment. Others around the bridge also did the same.

    She keyed in her passcode and there was a rumbling within the ship as the system slowly started to come to life. It would take some time to deploy.

    "Nagara, play evasive for now but keep us within range of that creature."

    "Aye Captain." Nagara called back.

    Misato now turned towards Takao and Tama, "The two of you, ensure our A.T. Field is kept at maximum and keep our speed up until the system is online. Prepare yourself for the sudden change, Ritsuko has made a few modifications that should allow you a bit more control this time."

    "Captain!" Kitakami suddenly spoke up, "Something… strange is happening. The other members of the series are… backing off."

    Misato frowned in confusion as she looked towards the screen to confirm Kitakami's words. It seemed that the number of swarms in the area had indeed retreated and the tripod machines were also backing away.

    "What the hell are they doing?" She asked no one in particular, "Do they feel that they only need what they have left or something?"

    She made a note to exercise some caution going forward. The nature of these things was still mostly unknown to them, their actions obviously meant something. So for now she merely watched as the ship started to swing around and circle the large snake like creature. Whilst it had not attacked just yet Misato felt that it was only a matter of time.

    Kitakami called out again, "Thunderchild has reported their bombing run is complete, they're turning to engage the new creature."

    Misato nodded, "Tell them to exercise caution, we know just how tough these things can be."

    Kitakami relayed the order as the final stages of the NAUTILUS deployment were put into place. Misato could feel the ship speed up as the deep red on the bridge intensified. She was about to give her next order when suddenly, as if responding to the declaration from the Thunderchild the snake like creature moved.

    Its movement were rapid with each of the legs along of its body snapping violently. Misato tried to order the Wunder to move but before she would get a word out each of the segments along the body of the creature lit up. An array of light was sent out both towards the Thunderchild and the Wunder.

    "EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Misato cried out as Nagara's hands frantically moved over her controls. The Wunder started to turn but it was too late. There was a bright flash as the blasts collided with the Wunders A.T. Field. Misato stumbled forward from the impact before turning to her staff and snarling, "Return fire, show them what we're capable of."

    XXX

    Asuka pushed Unit 02 forward swinging her blade around to deflect one of the ribbon blades moving towards her. It moved quickly, much faster than any of the others she had encountered. She felt a sharp pain in her right arm as another one swung around managing to catch Unit 02 on the shoulder.

    Behind her Shinji fired a shot off from the position cannon at the base of a group that had sprung up from the ground. The ground erupted as the force of the blast hit one of the blades and unearthed several more.

    Off in the distance he could see the form of the Wunder, something about it seemed different. There was a dark red glow along its base and it seemed faster somehow. He ignored it for the moment and looked forward as Asuka continued moving Unit 02 forward deflecting that which she could. He felt a sharp pain as another of the blades seemed to catch Unit 02s ankle.

    The appearance of that large creature had been terrifying. He remember just how hard the one he and Asuka had been to fight but this one was a lot larger and formidable than those. There were loud explosions overhead as the Thunderchild moved into view sending out a barrage of fire. The sky lit up as each shot connected with the creatures A.T. Field.

    "Just a little bit further!" Asuka called out, "I'm going to… I'm going to get you there Shinji!"

    As she pushed forward again another of the blades leapt up towards Unit 02. Asuka jumped the Eva up into the air trying to leap over it. Shinji cried out in pain as the blade suddenly shot up and pierced its way through the leg of Unit 02. Asuka immediately brought her own weapon down slicing through the attacker.

    She shot a look back at Shinji, "Shinji… Are you alright?"

    Shinji nodded, "It… hurts but…"

    She looked back towards front of her Eva for a moment and seemed to be considering something. A second later she looked back at Shinji, "You're going to make it Shinji… just hold on okay."

    Shinji looked back in confusion, "What do you mean, you're going to make it too Asuka."

    "Just… hold on." She replied as suddenly the cockpit around Shinji went dark. He glanced down and see his own controls power down. A moment later a large dividing screen appeared between himself and Asuka and he realized just what was happening.

    "I'm going to get you there Shinji I promise you that but it's no use if both of us are hurt. You need to get there, you can… you can stop it."

    "Wait ASUKA!" Shinji yelled out as she took the controls and started pushing forward. The Eva's movements were quicker now and more focused, moving towards the tower at rapid pace. She seemed to be spending less time dodging the blades and instead focusing on getting to the entrance.

    "ASUKA!" Shinji cried out again as he hammered his hands against the screen, "ASUKA LET ME HELP! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!"

    It was no use, she couldn't hear him no matter how much he yelled. He felt the sting of tears as he watched another of the blades rise up and move towards Unit 02. Asuka's body seemed to recoil with pain but she kept pushing onwards.

    Suddenly Unit 02 leapt high up into the air, he could see the doorway of the tower ahead of them as the Evangelion moved forward. The blade snapped at the Eva trying to chip away at whatever was within reach and then finally the machine came down hard on the ground.

    He felt the Entry Plug eject from the Eva and the screen came down. Without thinking for his own safety Shinji moved forward and tried to get to Asuka. She was clearly in a lot of pain and struggling to get out of the seat. She glared at him, "Go… Get inside. We haven't got much time."

    Shinji shook his head, "A-Asuka, you're hurt… I can't."

    She forced a smile, "It's nothing… I've been hurt much worse than this before. Besides… If I go too then who is going to… protect you? I have to protect you right?"

    She limped towards the doorway of the plug pressing the button that opened it. Shinji could hear the explosions from outside as he looked at Asuka. There was blood trickling down her cheeks, her plugsuit was torn and with every shambling step she grimaced in pain.

    "Go! Get out!" She ordered.

    "N-No! I… I can't Asuka! I don't know… I need… you…"

    She let out a laugh, "You'll… figure it out Shinji, that's what you do right? I know how this goes… this is… you have to do this. Your father… you can stop him and I… I'll protect you."

    "But Asuka I…"

    "SHUT UP!" Asuka yelled as she suddenly pressed herself up against him. He backed up against the wall and stared intently into her eyes, "Idiot Shinji I..."

    Her lips were pressed up firmly against his a moments later in a deep and passionate kiss. His arms came around hers and held her body close to his own. A moment later she pulled away, her own eyes filled with tears, "I'm going to protect you Shinji. I love you, Goodbye."

    "Wai-"

    Asuka shoved him out of the door quickly and he felt himself land on the ground of the tower entrance firmly. Before he even had the opportunity to get back to his feet Asuka had sealed the door of the Entry Plug and it had went back into Unit 02.

    "ASUKA!" Shinji yelled out powerlessly as the Evangelion stumbled to its feet. It turned one last time to look at him as he called out. As he looked on he saw the large swarm of blade rising up in front of it.

    "ASUKA!"

    Shinji could only watch as the blades suddenly darted forward, he tried to run forward but at that moment the ground shook violently throwing him to his feet. He watched as several of the blades pierced Unit 02 at various points along the Eva's body. The machine tried to move forward thrashing violently and cutting away at its attackers.

    "ASUKA!" Shinji yelled a final time as there was a bright flash of light and then only darkness. He looked ahead of him, Unit 02 was gone and for that moment there was only silence. This was followed by the sound of him slowly sinking to his knees, he felt the tears trickle slowly down his cheeks as he whispered her name, "Asuka…"


    (I'm sorry)
     
  • Threadmarks
    • YMNRA Chapter. 32
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    • You Must (Not) Run Away - Chapter 32 - The Tower Suite - 04: Hope Leaves

    "Just a moment Rei! I'm going to get you out of here!" Mari called out as she felt the entry plug eject itself from Unit 08s neck. She wasted absolutely no time in getting up out of her seat and making her way around to the back of the plug where Rei was.

    Mari tried to not panic at the sight of her girlfriend. She tried desperately to not let the tears fall down her cheeks. She had to stay strong for the moment, she had to help Rei and get her out of here and treated. That was all that mattered, she could deal with the emotions later when she knew Rei was safe.

    Rei was slumped forward in her seat. Mari's first action was to lean Rei back. Fortunately, the girl seemed to be sitting, she was glassy eyed but conscious. The blood trickling from her nose seemed to have stopped as well for the moment. Mari leaned forward and took Rei's arm putting it around her.

    She lifted Rei up and slowly and very carefully started to take her towards the exit of the entry plug. Using her free hand, she opened the door and again very carefully got Rei out onto the steel platform below. She laid Rei out onto her side and turned around just in time to see the hangar bay door opening.

    A team of medics led by Sakura and Ritsuko ran into the room with a stretcher behind them. Mari turned and gave Rei a weak smile, "Hold on Rei... Help is coming."

    Now a little bit more conscious Rei looked back at Mari with eyes filled with sorrow. She weakly lifted her arm and came to rest her hand clumsily on Mari's cheek, "I... am sorry."

    Mari fought back the tears as she shook her head, her voice cracked as she spoke, "Just... shut up Rei. You have nothing to be sorry about."

    "I... could not help them."

    "Stop it!" Mari felt her heart pounding in her chest, a tear finally broke free, "You were amazing Rei, we... we got them to the tower."

    "I am... glad they ar- nnngh"

    Rei's body suddenly jerked as she felt a rush of pain spread through it. Mari grabbed hold of Rei's hand, "Rei... Rei what's wrong?"

    Rei didn't answer, only letting out a scream of pain and holding onto Mari's hand tightly. As she did Mari saw Ritsuko and the others finally arrive at their position. She reluctantly released Rei's hand and let the others begin to work on her. She weakly staggered over to the railing feeling her stomach churn with fear and nerves.

    Behind her Rei screamed out in pain again as she was loaded onto the stretcher. She could hear Sakura issuing orders to the others of what to do with Rei, what to place on her.

    'She is going to be alright... It's just a temporary thing, she'll be fine. She'll be fine. She... We're always fine, right? We always...'

    As Mari tried to keep herself calm she felt a hand come to rest on her shoulder. She looked up to see Ritsuko looking down at her, the doctor's eyes filled with concern.

    "Mari... I need to know, what happened?"

    Mari shook her head, "I... I don't know, we were piloting and then... I turned around and saw that she was in pain. Suddenly she just screamed out and... What's wrong with her?"

    Ritsuko sighed, "I... I don't know Mari..."

    "How can you not know?" Mari raised her voice in anger, "It's Rei... You... You're the expert on Rei! You always... You always know!"

    Ritsuko didn't move from the spot as Mari yelled at her, instead she calmly placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and knelt down to be level with her.

    "Mari I'm not going to lie to you, I don't know what is wrong with her but I promise you I will find out."

    "You... Before when this happened, you said you had cured her! You said she would be alright!" Mari shouted back, no longer caring that people could see her cry.

    "I know..." Ritsuko said regretfully, "I know what I said and I thought... Rei's biology is... she is..."

    Ritsuko was cut off by another sudden scream from Rei. She released her hold on Mari's shoulders and the two of them dashed over to Rei's side. Mari immediately took hold of Rei's hand again and felt the girls grip tighten as she fought through the pain.

    "It... It's started..." Rei suddenly said though gritted teeth, "I can... I need to... he's calling me... Shinji... needs me..."

    "It's fine Rei... He has Asuka, Shinji will be fine." Mari tightened her own grip on Rei, "What does she mean it's started?"

    Ritsuko looked back at her, "I... I don't know. We need to get Rei treated immediately. Sakura, take her to the medical bay. I need to go to my office and pick something up and Makinami... stay with her... She needs you more than anything else right now."

    XXX

    Misato glared at the screen and watched as the Wunder passed by the snake-like creature. It had already managed to attack once but she was not going to give it another opportunity. She peered down over the stations below.

    "Return fire, show them what we're capable of."

    She felt a rumbling from within the Wunder as the weapon systems were charged up and the vessel was turned into position. A moment later there was a loud noise as an array of cannons fired one after the other aimed at the giant hull of the strange creature. Bolts of energy smashed into the A.T. Field of the creature accompanied by a loud roar from the awakened ship.

    Terrified glances were exchanged between the crew of the Wunder but they continued the attack on the creature. As the last of the fire hit the creatures A.T. Field it emitted a deafening screech of its own. On the opposite side to the Wunder the AAA Thunderchild released a barrage of fire of its own.

    Already weakened from the previous attacks the barrage of fire smashed through what was remaining of the creatures A.T. Field. Each shot hit their mark, tearing into the creature's hull. It let out another screech and orange liquid sprayed from the wounds and fragments of its bizarre bio-mechanical body were sent crashing to the ground below.

    "Do not give it a chance to recover!" Misato ordered, "Open fire again!"

    The Wunder swung about as another volley of fire was readied. The rumbling of the weapons systems would be heard but before the Wunder was able to release anything the creature suddenly started to move. A third screech was heard as the head of the creature turned and started to glow a bright white.

    Moments later a number of large ribbon like blades emerged from the creature and it moved towards the Thunderchild with frightening speed.

    "AOBA OPEN FIRE NOW!" Misato order as she watched in order as the blades of the creature sunk themselves into the hull of the Thunderchild.

    The Wunder finally released the contents of its cannons towards the creature but it was too late. The creatures had already latched itself onto the Thunderchild and was making quick work of its hull. Cross shaped explosions sprouted up all over the body of the creature as more and more of its body was destroyed.

    It held on though with more of the blades sprouting and tearing into the hull of the Thunderchild. For each attack landed on the creature it hacked away with terrifying viciousness taking out as much of the vessel as it could.

    Finally, the fire from the Wunder stopped and both the creature and the Thunderchild were sent crashing to the ground below. A deathly silence fell over the crew before Misato finally spoke, "K-Kitakami... status?"

    There was a brief pause before she finally reported back to Misato, her voice was hushed, "Both the creature and the Thunderchild… are silent."

    XXX

    Shinji had remained completely still ever since he had found himself in this cold darkness. He was still kneeling in the same position he was in when he had lost sight of Asuka. His legs were starting to hurt but he did not want to move from this spot. Instead he just silently stared straight ahead. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks and his eyes were wide open peering into the still blackness.

    Those final moments kept on replaying in his head. Asuka had sacrificed herself for him, she had delivered him to the tower just as she had said she was going to do and she had made a promise to defend him. She had pushed him out of the entry plug and got back into the Eva. All Shinji had been able to do was watch as Unit 02 had stumbled back to its feet and been pierced by those blades.

    Shinji had wished he could have done something but he was powerless, all he was able to do was watch silently as they had taken the one he loved and he was taken to this strange place.

    'There... is nothing I could have done. I... didn't... I couldn't even try to do something. I shouldn't try to do anything anymore. What's the point? All that happens is I end up losing people... My mother... Ayanami... Kaworu and now her... I've lost... Asuka...'

    He felt his stomach start to churn as he continued to stare straight ahead of him. The tears continued to flow freely down his cheeks as his mind tried to piece it all together. He kept on asking himself the same question, what was the point? What was the point of him doing anything if he kept on losing people?

    'It would have been better if I had never woken up from Unit 01 on that day. If I hadn't then... all of this... would never have happened. This is my fault.'

    Suddenly the tears stopped and the anger and sadness halted alongside it. It was replaced by a feeling of numbness and he started to see a faint light trickle into the room. He remained still not caring to turn around to see who was there. He didn't care whether it was friend or foe, he was done, he just wanted things to end.

    There was the slow sound of footsteps from behind as this person slowly approached. They remained still behind Shinji for a few moments before speaking, "The pain of loss... is a terrible thing."

    That numbness within Shinji was briefly breached by a feeling of fear at the sound of the man's voice. It was a familiar and cold voice and Shinji started to tremble upon realizing who it belonged to. He dared to not move, a moment ago he had not cared who had entered the room but he had not imagined it could have been this man of all people.

    "It is a curse on humanity that we may live and grow, we will fall in love with others and we will end up losing that which we love. It is a cruel world which humanity inhabits." He spoke, "You and I are the same, we have both lost something precious that we would like to regain."

    As he finished speaking Shinji slowly started to turn himself around to confirm that it was indeed him. His eyes widened with fear as he saw him, standing just a few feet away was his father. He was staring down at Shinji, one hand in his pocket and his eyes hidden behind that visor.

    "F-Father?" Shinji exclaimed as his body froze up once again.

    "Would you like to see her again?" Gendo Ikari asked him.

    There was a small voice in the back of Shinji's head that told him to stand up and run as fast as he could from this place. It was telling him to shove his father away, flee and not look back. It was pleading with him to ignore anything Gendo Ikari was about to say. It tried to warn him of what he had already been through and what his father had done.

    Yet that voice was quickly suppressed by all the feelings of grief and numbness within Shinji. It was suppressed by his own doubt and his fear that if he did turn and run it would be the end and he never would see Asuka again. It was suppressed by the fear of his father and his father's hold over him. Even now with all that Shinji knew of his father he was still terrified of him, unable to say or do anything in his presence.

    Shinji looked up at his father, he swallowed and weakly nodded, "Y-Yes... I would..."

    "Then stand up." Gendo ordered coldly, "And come with me."

    XXX

    Misato looked up at the screen in a stunned silence as she watched the torn up pieces of the Thunderchild fall to the ground, the remains of the mammoth creature still wrapped around it. The two gargantuan machines slammed into the ground kicking up a large amount of smoke and dust.

    The bridge fell completely silent, no one daring to move or say anything at all, all not quite believing what they had just seen. The Thunderchild had only just been put into commission by Espèrer, much like the AAA Wunder it had been recovered at one of the many sites around the world which contained technology related to the Angels.

    It had taken Espèrer some time to unravel its secrets and get it into a usable state. Unlike WILLE they did not have the power of Evangelion Unit 01 to draw from but they did have their own sources of power. Yet in just a few brief moments all that work had been undone, the Thunderchild was no more.

    Misato swallowed and stepped forward, she was about to speak when all of a sudden a deafening howl was heard all around them. She picked up speed and peered over the railing down at her crew. Each one of them were looking at one another in shock and confusion.

    "What the hell was that?" Misato asked, "Kitakami?"

    Kitakami looked back up at her, "U-Unknown Captain… I'm not detecting anything out there that'd be capable of doing tha-."

    Kitakami was suddenly cut off when the howling happened again, this time accompanied by the bridge starting to shake. Misato called out, "Deactivate NAUTILUS! NOW!"

    Nagara was the first to call back to Misato, "I-I can't! I'm locked out of my console Captain! There… There is nothing I can do!"

    Misato's face turned to panic as her eyes darted from person to person, "Kitakami?"

    The girls face had turned white as she looked up at Misato, "I'm locked out too!"

    "Tama?" She turned to him.

    She looked to Tame, his face was twisted into sheer fear as he merely nodded. Misato turned around to Aoba, the man seemed calmer compared to the others but was clearly still startled by what was happening.

    "Aoba? What's happening?"

    Aoba shook his head, "I… I don't know Captain! We've lost everything! Weapons, Navigation, Engines and even our communications are down!"

    "Shit!" Misato stepped back from the railing to where he was standing, "Get me something… anything back online. Make deactivating NAUTILUS a priority."

    "Yes."

    Aoba started to turn towards his console again where there was a third deafening roar, this one far louder than the first two. Members of the crew raised their hand to their ears to try to block out the noise. This one was, as if Misato needed it already confirmation that it was coming from within the Wunder.

    Again the bridge shook, much more violently this time. Misato stumbled forward trying to hold onto a railing to keep her balance. Her hands slipped and she landed with a thud on the floor. Below her she heard a scream from Kitakami, she peered through the gap in the railing and saw the girl had been thrown out of her seat.

    She tried to call out only to have her voice drowned out by the sounds of small explosions around the bridge as the consoles set alight. Slowly Misato managed to pull herself to her feet managing to keep her balance despite the shaking of the bridge. She yelled out again, "Is everyone alright?"

    Takao's booming voice replied, "Kitakami is hurt Captain! We've got some things on fire down here as well!"

    "Takao, you and Tama take care of the fires!" Misato ordered, "Nagara get Kitakami to the medical bay!"

    "Yes Captain!" Nagara called back as she started to slowly help her fallen comrade back to her feet.

    Misato carefully made her way back over to Aoba, "Status Aoba? Have we got anything back? Are we able to shut down NAUTILUS?"

    Aoba shook his head, "Not yet Captain, I've managed to get some of the diagnostic and communications back online but… I don't know how, they just suddenly came back online without me having to do anything. I…"

    Misato held on tightly to the railing as she looked up at the viewscreen. She could see that the Wunder was rotating slowly, she was about to reply to Aoba when a fourth loud roar was heard from within the ship. This time it was accompanied by a loud cracking sound, he eyes opened wider in fear.

    "Aoba… What the hell was that?"

    Aoba turned with a panicked look on his face, "It's… It's Unit 01! It's… awakened! It's breaking free of its restraints!"

    "No! That's… That's impossible!" Misato exclaimed, "There… is no pilot! Those things are impossible to break! How is it doing it? How much time do we have?"

    Aoba shook his head, "I don't know… not long and if it does then we…"

    Misato nodded, "I know… If it does we lose the ship. Is there anything we can do?"

    "Without access to any systems nothing, even if we did… we've never been able to stop Unit 01 before."

    Misato turned away from him for a moment going over the options in her head. There only seemed to be one clear option at this time. If Unit 01 escaped then it meant the loss of the AAA Wunder and that meant she had little choice.

    "How long does the Wunder have Aoba? Best guess?"

    Aoba shrugged, "At its current rate it should have broken free of the restraints in thirty minutes."

    "You said we have communications back online?"

    He nodded, "Yes…"

    Misato took a deep breath before moving towards the console, she brought up the communications and started to speak, "This is… This is a ship wide communication to everyone on board the Wunder… I am ordering you all to evacuate immediately. We will all rendezvous at the base camp on the northern perimeter of the wasteland."

    She paused for a moment, "I repeat, I am ordering all personell to evacuate immediately. Make your way to the nearest escape craft and leave the Wunder."

    Her hand came off of the console and she looked at Aoba, "Well… I guess that's that then."

    Aoba shook his head, "There was nothing we could do."

    She nodded, "I know… Relying on this technology… We should have seen it coming but… I at least expected us to get more than a year out of her at full strength."

    "Captain… what about Asuka and Shinji? They're… still out there."

    "I know." Misato sighed, "What is Unit 02's last known location?"

    "The entrance of the tower… We lost contact with them shortly afterwards." He reported, "You're not thi-"

    She cut him off and smirked, "Congratulations Aoba, you're in charge of the evacuation. Co-ordinate with Maya and get things organized at the base camp."

    "Wait what?" He looked back at her in shock, "You're not going to them are you?"

    "Yes." She confirmed, "That's exactly what I'm doing. I'm not abandoning Shinji or Asuka… not again. Before you ask I am going to go alone and no one is to accompany me. That is a direct order. I'm going to take a VTOL to the tower entrance. You… You tell Ritsuko that I… Just tell the crew that I'm sorry… for everything alright."

    Aoba looked at her in disbelief for a moment, "But Captain I…"

    "No." She looked up at him, "The crew… You all need to stick together. I can do this… It's only one man I'm going after."

    "Fine but… You can apologize to the crew when you return."

    Misato smiled confidently, "Fine… I will."

    XXX

    She heard a loud explosion and felt the Earth shake, as she slowly opened her eyes Asuka Shikinami knew that she should be dead right now and yet somehow she was alive. She was in an immense amount of pain, doubled over in her seat with her hands cross over her body clutching tightly at her arms but she was alive. She shook her head and tried to will the pain away, it was unlike anything she had felt before in her Eva.

    She knew fine well that she should not be alive right now. She knew that it was impossible for her to be alive and yet here she was. In pain, sat in a darkened cockpit looking out across a wasteland of death and destruction but alive.

    Some of the pain started to subside and she hissed as she leaned back in her seat trying to recall what had led to this moment. The last thing she could remember before this was shoving Shinji out of the entry plug and making sure he had gotten into the tower. It was the only thing she could have done at the time. Asuka had to protect him and make sure he got inside that tower even if that meant sacrificing herself.

    Of course she was not going to go down without a fight. Asuka had returned to the entranceway of the tower and faced her opponents head on. It had not been up much of a fight, she was already exhausted by that point and barely able to function. They had flown directly at her, sliced and hacked away at her Eva until they each decided to pierce their way through the machine. She could even remember seeing a final flash of light followed by her falling into unconsciousness.

    'That's… how it happens right? So… how the hell am I still here?'

    There was silence around her as she scanned the battlefield for any signs of movement. Everything was eerily still and calm almost as if the world had completely stopped and she was the only living soul left. All that was out there was the trail of destruction left in the wake of the battle. She thought for a moment that maybe she had died and that this was perhaps some sort of purgatory.

    'There is nothing out there… No TARKUS Units, No Unit 08, no AAA Thunderchild… no Wunder. What happened to it all?'

    Whatever had happened she needed to find out and she was unable to do that sat in her Eva. She needed to find out something. What had happened to the Wunder? To Shinji? To her? With a loud grunt she started to push herself up out of the seat. She was just able to prop herself up and lean over the edge. She was just about to get to her feet when they gave out and she collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.

    Asuka lay still for a few moments before trying to move once again. She propped herself up on her elbows and once more tried to get to her feet. She managed to get half way to her feet before screaming out in frustration as her legs once again gave way and she collapsed to the ground of the entry plug.

    'Damnit come on Shikinami! You've lived through much worse than this! At least something hasn't tried to eat your entry plug this time! It's just a scratch… a lot of scratches… a bandage or ten will fix them up. Don't give up now!'

    She gritted her teeth and tried to prop herself up again. It took a lot of effort but she was finally able to get herself into a crawling positon and slowly make her way over to the doorway of the entry plug. She leaned herself up against the wall to catch her breath. She glanced over her body trying to see the extent of her injuries, the dim light of the entry plug revealing very little.

    Asuka was sure she was bleeding, from a number of places it seemed but she kept on reminding herself that at least she was alive. She kept on trying to think of how it was possible, she was completely synchronized with the Eva when the Nemesis Series had launched its final attack. She should have suffered a lot more damage than this.

    'Mama… You protected me didn't you?' She thought to herself. 'That's why I'm alive now… that's why I…'

    She shook her head and smiled softly at the thought, 'You were looking out for me…'

    She turned her body around carefully and tried to reach up for the door release. She was able to make it halfway up the wall towards the release before her body gave out again. She landed back on the ground of the entry plug and lay there for a moment glaring up angrily at it.

    She was about to try a second time when she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps from behind the door, 'Footsteps? So someone is out there, is it Shinji? Has he come back? Someone from the Wunder?'

    She heard a loud noise echo through the entry plug as the person of the other side of the door started to open the emergency entrance to the plug. Asuka slowly rolled herself onto her back and leaned herself up against the opposite wall awaiting her rescuer.

    Finally the door opened letting some light trickle into the entry plug. She watched and her eyes widened with shock at the identity of the person on the other side, "You!"

    Her first thought was to scramble for something in the entry plug that could be used as a weapon but there was nothing within reach. Even if there was she was most likely too weak to brandish it. The man for a moment kept his distance, he peered into the plug and shone a flashlight in her direction.

    "What the hell are you doing here?" Asuka snarled, "Come to finish the job they started?"

    The man looked at her with a mixture of shock on his face before shaking his head, "I… I am attempting to right a wrong."

    "Go to hell!" She bit back.

    "Please…" Kozo Fuyutsuki said calmly, "I would… Please let me help you… I want to stop him as much as you all do."

    XXX

    Shinji didn't know how much time had passed since he had started following his father through this long corridor. He was vaguely aware that they seemed to be heading upwards, he wondered what their final destination would be. He dared to not ask his father anything, be it where they were going or what had happened.

    Their journey so far had been completely silent with his father not once seeming to acknowledge Shinji was there. He did not look behind him to see if Shinji was indeed following or say anything to him. All this had done was give Shinji time to get lost in his own thoughts once more.

    Shinji was unable to shake that image of what had happened to Asuka from his head. There was absolutely no way that she could be alive after all of that. His father's words to him earlier seemed to confirm that.

    Shinji still felt that strange numbness within himself and along with it a fogginess had set in before him. He felt like his body was floating as he followed his father. It was not dissimilar to how he had felt after the loss of Kaworu. A feeling almost like a dark cloud had descended around him.

    Shinji could not remember if this was how he had felt when he had lost his mother. There was so little of that time he could remember, a giant gap in his memory and although some of it had returned there were still many missing pieces.

    When he thought he had lost Rei he had felt differently. Back then he had felt rage and a burning desire to get her back. Of course her death had not been confirmed then, he knew that she was still alive and that they could get her back. With Kaworu it had not just been the numbness he had felt but overwhelming guilt. Kaworu's death had in part been Shinji's fault. He could not run away from that fact.

    Shinji looked ahead of him and realized that he was not the only one to have experienced terrible loss. His father had experienced that same pain when Shinji's mother had been taken. Had he felt this numbness as well when it had happened to him? Was that why his father acted the way he did now? Was it still affecting him so much?

    "F-Father…" Shinji stopped walking as he nervously called out, "Y-You… You lost someone you loved as well… a long time ago, didn't you?"

    Gendo had stopped walking at this point and Shinji watched as his father's head lowered slightly, "Yes, I did. Tell me Shinji, do you remember anything of your mother?"

    Shinji nodded, "I remember… that she was a kind woman and she loved us both. I… I can remember how she died now as well. It was the experiment with Unit 01. Why… Why did no one tell me?"

    "I see…" Gendo looked up, "So you remember how it happened now. Interesting."

    Gendo turned around to look at Shinji, "Your mother sacrificed herself for the future of humanity Shinji. She… wished that you would be there to see it but the event was very traumatizing for you. You… forgot it."

    "I see…" Shinji muttered.

    "It was your mothers wish that humanity would overcome the trails it faced because of the sacrifice she made on that day. She was… a kind woman, the kindest I ever knew."

    "So you did care for her then?" Shinji asked.

    Gendo nodded, "Yes, much like I cared for you at one point but with Yui gone… I was no longer able to do so. On that day I saw the truth of what it was to be human. I saw the truth of this endless cycle of death and rebirth we face in this world. Death creates nothing Shinji but pain for others. There is nothing but pain in this world but… there is a way to correct that. There is a path we can take…"

    "Y-You…" Shinji trailed off as he felt his stomach start to churn on hearing his father's words.

    "You understand that it was never my intention to involve you at this stage Shinji." He spoke, "You were to be spared this fate but perhaps it is for the best. After all you understand it more than anyone else don't you, you know that pain more than anyone else in this world."

    "I… I…" Shinji stuttered, unable to get any words out.

    "The world as it stands is nothing but pain and sorrow. We can try to be happy but there is nothing at the end of it but sorrow and abandonment. In the end we are alone with our pain. I… want to end that, I want to be reunited with Yui once more… without her I am nothing Shinji, just like you are nothing without Asuka but we can be something again. We can put an end to this curse upon humanity."

    "I… I don't understand father."

    "You will… Keep following me."

    XXX

    Asuka hated herself for not having the strength to fight or resist the help she was receiving at this very moment. It was bad enough that she had been beaten again by the Nemesis Series, her pride could only take so much of that. She always hated receiving medical treatment after a battle as it was, she preferred to deal with it herself. The fact that it was Kozo Fuyutsuki of all people administering the treatment right now made matters so much worse.

    She was doing her best to try to see this in a positive light. Asuka was alive and she had managed to complete her objective. She had gotten Shinji inside the tower. So that was a victory for her. She couldn't see it as anything else after all she was alive and the Nemesis Series weren't.

    She glared silently at Fuyutsuki and looked him up and down as he treated her wounds. He was also silent and seemed to be making an effort to focus solely on her wounds. She looked at his face as he worked, the man had of course aged significantly since the last time she had seen him.

    Her interactions with the man had only been brief before the Third Impact. He had seemed kind enough, especially in compared to Gendo. He was always seen to be by Gendo's side and the general impression was that Fuyutsuki handled most things to do with actually speaking to people within NERV.

    "I suppose you expect me to be grateful to you for this." Asuka said coldly.

    Fuyutsuki looked up at her for a moment and shook his head, "I expect nothing from you Shikinami. I need to clean this wound on your wrist, this might sting a little."

    True to his word Asuka felt a sharp stinging pain in her wrist as he administered a small amount of disinfectant to her wound. She felt her leg twitch and focused all her effort on remaining as still as she could and not showing any trace of pain. She wasn't going to let him know anything was hurting.

    If anything the treatment had confirmed a few things to her. The first was that nothing had been broken from the fight. Secondly most of the damage to her body was just small cuts that had been patched up easily. That meant that when patched up she'd be able to follow Shinji into the tower and help him stop his father. She just needed to get a little bit more rest and all would be fine.

    "I have done what I can." Fuyutsuki announced, "Your injuries weren't severe which is surprising considering the damage done to your Eva but… it would be best to get them looked at properly. I… I can take you to your people if you like."

    "You will not be taking her anywhere!" Came the sound of a voice from the entrance of the tower, "Stand up and move away from her."

    "Of course." Fuyutsuki stood up immediately and put his hands up over his head. He took several steps back and Asuka turned to see Misato standing with her gun aimed directly at Fuyutsuki. Misato carefully entered the area and made her way towards Asuka.

    "Asuka… Are you alright?" Misato asked.

    Asuka nodded her head, "I'm alive at least."

    "What about Shinji?" Misato asked. She looked around for a moment and frowned as she looked at Fuyutsuki, "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

    "I am afraid I don't know where Shinji is. On my arrival I was only able to find Shikinami here."

    Misato turned towards Asuka with a worried expression on her face. Asuka shook her head slowly, "He's… inside the tower. I… I got him here and told him to go to the tower and that I'd protect him. Fuyutsuki… arrived later."

    "He's… in the tower?" Misato stated slowly as a horrified look crossed her face, "You mean he's… so why aren't you?"

    Asuka sighed, "Nemesis Series were still chasing us… I had to hold them off. I'm going to go and get him now."

    Asuka slowly started to get to her feet but felt a hand press her back down. Misato was looking between both her and Fuyutsuki, "No… You're not going anywhere yet. Not until we figure out what he's doing here and what Gendo is up to."

    Fuyutsuki nodded, "I'm here because I saw what happened to Shikinami. It was my hope that I could save her. I don't mean you or her any harm Katsuragi. I'm not here as your enemy but as a willing ally."

    "Ally?" Misato spat out the word in anger, "You're NERV! You're what we have been trying to destroy for fifteen years! You and Ikari are responsible for what happened to us all! You betrayed us!"

    "I'm… aware of those facts and I won't try to deny anything or make excuses for my role in events." Fuyutsuki answered calmly, "I cannot make up for the sins of my past but… I also cannot allow Gendo Ikari to continue down this path. I want to… I have to make sure he is stopped. For the future… No… I'm lying, I'm doing this for Yui… and for Shinji."

    "Why now?" She asked, "Why the sudden change of heart? You've had fourteen years! You… You could have put an end to this at any time but you stuck with him. You helped him."

    Fuyutsuki nodded, "Because I'm a coward who couldn't do the right thing. That is the only answer I'm able to give you Katsuragi."

    "What changed?"

    "Shinji returned and… I realized what Gendo was doing… was wrong. We had already taken away his future once and… I couldn't see that happen again. I couldn't take part in that but I was not able to act out."

    "You could have done something!" Misato shouted, "We weren't exactly hard to find and you knew we were looking for Shinji! You could have stepped in and stopped him from doing whatever it was Gendo had him doing!"

    "I know…" He nodded, "I tried but… time was against us."

    Misato raised a curious eyebrow, "Explain."

    "I showed Shinji something whilst he was there and spoke to him. I told him something that Gendo had been hiding from him for a long time, that he had a right to know. The truth about his mother. It was one of the few things I could do and it was my hope that I could speak to him further but… the opportunity did not present itself."

    "A lot of good that did too!" Asuka called out, "All you did was hurt him by telling him that! He already thought he had destroyed his damn world and then you have to dump all of that about his mother on him too!"

    "I know and I knew back then it might have not been a great idea. When he left I hoped that maybe it would kindle something down the line but I could not put my faith in that so… I started to take action." Fuyutsuki explained, "It was not easy, Gendo had eyes and ears everywhere but I was able to do little things. Pass out information to Espèrer, to Ryoki Kaji and… to yourselves."

    "You mean… that source from NERV, was you?" Misato asked unable to hide her shock.

    "Yes but… I fear that I might have made things worse somehow by my latest actions. You were able to save Rei but…"

    "Made things worse? How exactly? What the hell is Ikari planning? Why is this tower so important?"

    "Ikari means to use this tower to open a forbidden path to the heavens and grant himself unimaginable power." Fuyutsuki answered, "His goal… at least his original goal was to be reunited with Yui but I fear it is more than that now."

    "Yui? You mean… all of this, all he has done has been just so he can get his dead wife back?" Asuka cried out in disbelief.

    "Yes, that grief at losing Yui has been the motivating factor in his life for the past twenty four years. All that he has done has been to reunite with her but it is beyond that now. He's become… warped somehow. Delving into things that should not be… he…"

    "To hell with this!" Misato cut him off, "Okay that can wait, how does he plan to do it and how do we stop him?"

    Fuyutsuki shook his head, "Stopping him… I don't know but I know how he plans to do it. Originally he was going to use one of the Ayanami types as a catalyst to trigger the tower to open the path required. Ayanami is… well she is a clone of Yui so carries her bloodline. Yui's bloodline dates back to those who built the tower. He is unable to use an Ayanami type thanks to you stopping Makoto but… he does not need an Ayanami type now…"

    A look of horror crossed Asuka's face, "Y-You mean… Shinji… he can use Shinji and I… I just delivered Shinji straight to him!"

    "Yes… Shinji is his chosen catalyst.

    "That bastard he… he knew didn't he! He knew that I'd… do something like this and set it up."

    Asuka slowly rose to her feet as Misato looked on in confusion, "What does she mean?"

    "Katsuragi if you had lost everything precious to you in the world and were given the option to get it back." Fuyutsuki started, "Would you let the world burn to do so? If you feel like there is nothing left for you at all?"

    "B-But… Shinji hasn't lost everything! Asuka is… alive and everyone else is!"

    Asuka propped herself up against her entry plug and sighed, "Yes but the idiot doesn't know that does he? The last thing he saw was me about to get cut up and then he was taken away! He thinks I'm dead! By all rights I should be dead! I'm only alive because of some sort of miracle but now… we need to get in there and save him!"

    Misato nodded, "I get it! Okay Fuyutsuki I'm giving you a chance, what do you want in return."

    "Nothing." He shook his head, "I just want to see an end to this."

    XXX

    They were finally at end of the long spiral corridor and Shinji waited as his father opened a door into another room. This room was large and circular, at their entrance to the room was a thin walkway that attached to a circular platform in the middle. Shinji could see another walkway coming off of the right-hand side of the platform.

    The air was thick with the scent of LCL and Shinji peered over the walkway to see an ankle-deep pool of the liquid was all around them. The circular platform was not empty, at the back fo the room was a large white cross shaped object not dissimilar to the one he had seen in Lilith's chamber so many years ago. There was no trace of any creature on the cross though.

    Towards the center of the platform was a bizarre looking contraption that seemed to consist of a tank, a number of wires leading up into the ceiling of the chamber and the pool of LCL. Shinji stepped into the room further and felt a chill run down his spine.

    His father said nothing as they made their way to the central platform. That same numbness Shinji had been feeling on the way up was still persisting within him. It was a strange feeling, he wanted to and knew he should be feeling sadness and sorrow at this point but he just couldn't. There was a feeling like he just wasn't himself right now, all that he had was this compulsion to keep moving forward and following his father.

    "We have arrived." His father announced, "I am afraid we might not have much time however."

    Shinji could only nod weakly, "I... I still don't understand, what is this place?"

    "This is where you will begin to aid me in reshaping this world." Gendo explained as his moved towards the device, "What you see here is ancient, a relic left behind by the people responsible for our very existence. A gateway to transcending beyond ourselves."

    Shinji still wasn't sure that he understood what his father was saying. This sounded very different to being able to see Asuka or even his mother again. Yet he couldn't bring himself to question his father on it.

    "You have never been aware of just how special you really are." Gendo stated, "Both yourself and your mother... come from a very ancient line. A line that goes all the way back to the ones that build all of this. It is from that same line that SEELE are from. In fact, your mother was the daughter of one of SEELE, she wished to shield you from this fact but I think you should understand the importance of your own existence."

    Shinji felt his mouth grow dry as his father spoke, his mind could barely process any of it. It all felt so very wrong. Yet he was absolutely powerless to stop it.

    Gendo smirked as he powered up the machines, "It is time to reclaim that which we have lost. Do you understand the importance of just who you are Shinji? Now... Reunite me with Yui."

    XXX

    Rei slowly opened her eyes to find herself lying face down on a warm patch of golden sand. She felt no pain as she slowly sat herself up and looked around this unfamiliar landscape. It seemed to be a beach overlooking a gentle sea. She rose to her feet and felt a warm breeze caress her plugsuit clad body.

    'Where is this place?'

    Rei looked around for any sign of the others but quickly realized she was alone. There was no one here besides her, no Wunder, no Mari, no Shinji and no Asuka. She started to slowly take a few steps forward feeling pangs of loneliness with each step.

    She wondered if maybe this was some strange dream but there was a feeling about it that gave it a sense of reality. Her dreams did not usually feel like this but if she was not dreaming then where could she be? What was this place and how did she get here?

    She tried to recall everything leading up to this moment. She had been inside Unit 08 with Mari and fighting the waves of Nemesis Series. Something had happened to her, she had become crippled with overwhelming pain and then everything had gone black. She was sure they had returned to the Wunder and Sakura had sedated her but there was little else beyond that.

    Rei continued to walk along the side of the beach and after a few minutes of walking spotted a figure of a woman in the distance. She was standing with her back to Rei and seemed to be clutching something in her arms. There was something oddly familiar about the woman's appearance Rei noted as she got closer.

    Rei got closer until she was only a couple of metres from the woman. She stopped still and the woman turned her head to acknowledge Rei's presence. She smiled warmly at Rei, her soft eyes and dark brown hair triggering something in Rei.

    "Hello Rei, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

    Rei's mouth opened ever so slightly in shock. She realized exactly who this woman was now. It was Yui Ikari, Shinji's mother and the woman from which Rei was created. Rei's eyes wandered downwards to the object Yui was holding. She saw it was actually a baby boy who was sleeping soundly in her arms.

    "You are Shinji's mother..." Rei stated flatly.

    "Yes." Yui nodded, "I am."

    "And that is... Shinji, isn't it?"

    Yui let out a laugh, "Yes, it is although he is slightly different to how you know him I imagine. Would you like to hold him?"

    Yui turned her body around and carefully held out the baby Shinji to Rei. Rei didn't quite know what to do, she stepped forward and gently took the baby from Yui's arms. It was strange, Rei had never held a baby before in her life and yet something about this felt natural. She cuddles the child close to her and smiled as she watched him sleep.

    "You're a natural." Yui remarked.

    "I am... you. It would make sense that I was able to do this would it not?" Rei asked.

    Yui shook her head, "I don't think so. Just because you were born from me doesn't mean you would be instinctively good at this. After all I imagine the real Shinji would be quite nervous when it comes to this and he was born from myself was he not?"

    Rei thought about it for a moment and nodded, "I suppose that is true."

    "You would make a good mother Rei." Yui suddenly stated, "But I suppose it's not something you have thought about, is it?"

    Rei shook her head, "I have never considered it, I do not know if I am capable of bearing children nor am I in a relationship that makes it biologically possible to conceive naturally."

    Yui simply smiled, "Well obstacles can always be overcome but... I fear this is probably not a subject we should discuss. I apologize I always get a little bit of a 'typical mother' syndrome about this sort of thing."

    Rei nodded, "Why... am I here?"

    Yui's expression suddenly softened and her smile turned to a frown, "He's in pain... my son, the real one I mean. The one... out there?"

    She nodded towards the horizon and Rei watched as a vision of the Tower of Babel came into view. She could see around it the battlefield she had fought in prior to her being here. It was a complete mess of death and destruction, parts of the Nemesis Series lay scattered and she could even make out components fo the Wunder and AAA Thunderchild.

    Her head snapped back to Yui, "The Wunder... are they alright?"

    Yui nodded calmly, "They were able to evacuate... I gave them the time to do so but... time is running out."

    Rei looked again at the vision before her. She could now make out the thin beam of light that stretched from the top of the tower towards the heavens. Where it ended was a small black hold in the guy, its perimeter all the colours of the rainbow.

    "I am afraid... this was not the bright future that I had envisioned for Shinji." Yui stated, "I... it was my hope that."

    "Your hope is irrelevant." Rei cut her off angrily and stepped forward, still clutching the baby Shinji to her. She softly rubbed the child's back as her slept. She kept her voice down so as to not wake the child, "You left him when he was a child and had him observe your leaving. You did not stop to consider the effects your actions would have on others. You were selfish."

    Yui seemed quite taken aback by Rei's sudden outburst but she eventually nodded, "I was and I accept that Rei. I thought what I was doing would save humanity but I did not think... I did not consider how Gendo would react or others."

    She stared out to the horizon, "My husband's actions are... detestable but I have some responsibility in that. I have to make sure he is stopped yet I am not strong enough to do it myself."

    Rei stared ahead, "I will help you. I will do whatever it takes to help Shinji, he would do the same for me."

    Rei turned to Yui and carefully handed the baby Shinji back to her, "Take me to him, let me help him."

    Rei felt the environment start to change around her. The luscious beach vanished and was replaced by the smell of LCL, the views of the tower and battlefield and the sights of a familiar looking cockpit. It was a single seated cockpit, functioning and looking out across the scattered remaings fo the battles participants.

    "This is Unit 01 but how?" Rei asked.

    "I was able to awaken Unit 01 and break free of the Wunder. All of your friends are safe. They are currently tending to you on a camp on the edge of this land."

    "I do not understand." Rei stated, "I am here, so how can they be tending to me?"

    "You are both here and you are not. Your body is safe with them but your mind and soul is as one with me. We share a link, you and I. One that we need to use to save Shinji."

    "I will be able to return?" Rei asked.

    "Yes." Yui confirmed, "I will not allow harm to come to you."

    "That is good." Rei looked ahead of herself and grabbed the controls of Unit 01. It felt unusual, very unlike the feeling she had within Unit 08 or Unit 00. She felt as one with the Evangelion. Be that because of the circumstances of her being here of the differences with those Units she did not know. All she knew was she had to help Shinji.

    She took a slow step towards the tower and noted that the tear in the sky had opened up.

    'Please... Do not lose hope Shinji, I am coming for you.'

    XXX

    Shinji was now stood in front of the large tank and peering inside. His father was nearby bringing everything that was needed online. He raised a hand slowly and pressed it against the glass. Was this what his father needed him to do? Was this how he could see Asuka again? Just step inside of this thing.

    "You should know Shinji…" Gendo spoke, "All I have done for the last twenty four years has been for this very moment."

    Shinji closed his eyes and pressed his head up against the tank. The numbness was still there within him, he could feel a strange compulsion within him to climb inside of the tank and aid his father but that small voice inside of him was back. Telling him that this was wrong and yet he didn't know what was wrong about it. He didn't know what was to come next.

    "Your mother was the one bright light in my life." His father explained, "She was the first person to truly say she loved me. I had nothing until I met her and then you came into our lives Shinji. I was… truly a happy man but because of SEELE I lost her. It was their plan that led to her sacrifice… I could not go on anymore and I could no longer be a father to you."

    "You… Could no longer be my father?" Shinji's voice cracked as he answered, memories of that day he was left at the train station with his teacher flashed through his head. He could remember calling out to his father on that day but getting no reply.

    "Indeed." Gendo confirmed colder, "I am still unable to be that man. Without Yui in my life I am nothing but… I do not wish for his. I do not wish for others to feel this pain either, SEELE were right, humanity does need to change but not in the way they wanted. Humanity deserves to live on but I will be the one to shape that future. You will be the one to help me rid this world of that pain."

    "I… I will be the one to rid the world of pain…" Shinji muttered to himself as he felt a tear slowly roll down his cheek.

    "You don't like feeling that pain either do you?" Gendo asked him, "You hate it just as I do. You'd do anything to rid yourself of it."

    "I… do not like it." Shinji nodded his head as once more the memory of what had just happened came rushing back to him. He had lost Asuka and though he knew it was not his fault he felt he was somehow to blame. He felt like he should have done more. Maybe he could have been quicker at taking out the enemy. Maybe he could have taken control of Unit 02. Maybe he could have been more forceful when she tried to push him out of the entry plug.

    'It should have been me and not her! She… Asuka deserved to live damn it!'

    "We are ready to begin now Shinji." Gendo stated coldly, "The final ritual for humanity has begun. We will cleanse this world together but first… take me to Yui. Bring her back to me."

    Shinji stared open mouthed at the tank in front of him. Tears were streaming down his face once again as he felt his body start to shiver. His mother… Asuka… they were gone, dead and here he was facing the possibility that he could bring them back.

    "W-What will happen… to the others?" Shinji asked weakly.

    "That is not relevant for the moment, their future will be decided by us. Now… begin Shinji."

    Suddenly Shinji felt that voice return inside of his head telling him to run. To turn around and run and never look back but it was much too late. His body was acting for him as if driven by an external force. He rose to his feet and gazed into the tank. He blinked and immediately jumped back in fright, the tank was no longer empty. Staring back at him with cold red eyes, clad in the same plugsuit that he had been months ago was Kaworu Nagisa.

    "K-Kaworu!" Shinji called out in fear as he scrambled backwards away from the tank.

    "What are you doing?" Gendo looked at him in frustration, "We do not have the time for this!"

    Shinji turned around on the spot and his eyes grew wide with fright as he saw the ghostly image of Rei Aynami stood at the doorway they had used to enter this room. A moment later the room shook violently. Shinji was sent flying into the middle of the room landing with a loud thud. Ahead of him his father was also knocked down.

    Shinji was the first to get to his feet. He felt a brief wave of dizziness wash over him as he struggled to get to his feet. Something felt strange, he looked around the room and it seemed as though the fogginess that he was feeling movements ago had been lifted.

    'What… What was that?'

    As if answering his question he heard Rei's soft voice in his head, "Run Shinji!"
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • jcmoorehead said:
    overcome the trails it faced
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    Click to shrink...
    Trials
    jcmoorehead said:
    a small black hold in the guy,
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    hole in the sky?
    jcmoorehead said:
    Yet he couldn't bring himself to question his father on it.
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    Damn it, Shinji, that's kind of the problem. Every time you've listened to your father, it's resulted in catastrophe. Hell, it just happened! You listened to your father instead of Misato and Asuka, and you almost triggered another Impact. You really don't see the problem in doing it again? Even with you thinking Asuka dead, this is pretty dumb of you.
     
    Dealer said:
    "Goddammit son stop having friends! They're ruining everything!"
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    "...And I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those pesky pilots and that Nephilim!"

    Damn it, Shinji, that's kind of the problem. Every time you've listened to your father, it's resulted in catastrophe. Hell, it just happened! You listened to your father instead of Misato and Asuka, and you almost triggered another Impact. You really don't see the problem in doing it again? Even with you thinking Asuka dead, this is pretty dumb of you.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    The circle of Shinji. :p
     
    YMNRA Chapter. 33
  • Threadmarks
    • You Must (Not) Run Away - Chapter 33 - The Tower Suite Finale - The Lamb Lies Down
    Shinji was moving through another spiral corridor upwards and away from the large chamber that he had left his father in. He had no idea where he was going only that he knew he had to get away. There was nothing right about this whole situation at all. The sight of Kaworu and Rei had lifted that cloud over his mind but now all he was left with was the overwhelming series of emotions rushing through him.

    He slowed down and clutched at his head as a wave of dizziness struck him. Images started to flash through his mind. Images of people he knew, of places he had been and events he had taken part in. He felt his chest tighten as one by one the images flew through and repeated.

    'Asuka'

    He stumbled forward as a series of scenes from his memory played out. His first meeting with Asuka, him finding out he would be living with her, the night she had come into his room after fighting that Angel together, him having to listen as she was nearly killed by the Dummy Plug, him seeing her again, them confessing their love and him losing her.

    'Misato'

    Misato flashed through his mind and with it came more scenes. Meeting Misato when the fourth Angel attacked. Her taking him to look over Tokyo-3. Seeing her again after the fourteen years he was inside Unit 01. Her welcoming him back to the ship.

    'Rei'

    Seeing Rei for the first time, her being used to force him to pilot Evangelion Unit 01. Talking to her at school and rushing into her Entry Plug during the fight with the sixth Angel. Losing Rei in the battle against the tenth and trying hard to get her back. Discovering the truth of who she was at NERV and gaining her as a sister.

    'Father'

    His father abandoning him. Summoning him back to NERV and telling him to pilot. Seeing his father again at NERV and seeing him once again just now.

    One by one these people flashed through his mind as did the accompanying memories. Along with them were other people he knew, Kaworu, Mari, Sakura, Touji his mother. With each time they played the dizziness he was feeling became more intense. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as he fell into the wall.

    He came to a stop and tried to focus and rid himself of these visions. He propped himself up against a wall and shook his head.

    'I can't take this anymore… this is… this is too much. I can't do this… I don't know what to do… I don't know what to do… I don't know what to do… I need Asuka… I need Rei… I need Misato… I need someone… please… I can't… I can't take this anymore… I can't lose anyone else…'

    Shinji tried to move forward again but regretted it immediately as a rush of nausea suddenly went through him. He sank to his knees and vomited out the contents of his stomach.

    Teary eyed and in pain he muttered, "I can't… I can't… I can't take this… somebody… somebody please help me… please… help…"

    With those words he collapsed onto his side and slipped into unconsciousness. As he drifted off he thought he could feel someone's presence and a set of arms gently lift him up but he wasn't sure of anything anymore.

    XXX

    Ever since they had entered the small craft that had carried Fuyutsuki and Gendo to this place Asuka had not taken her eyes off of the elderly man. She had watched his every move as he had brought them into the ship and started working at one of the small consoles. Misato was stood nearby, not directly behind him but a few metres away and also watching intently.

    If he was bothered by their presence he gave no indication of it. Instead he worked at the machine, bringing it online and scrolling through a series of images. Asuka was not sure what exactly was on the screen. She was too far away to see anything, having been told by Misato to stay seated and rest for the moment.

    She didn't care much for being told to sit around and do nothing but she supposed it was for the best. Her focus was on getting Shinji back before his father could do whatever it was he had planned for him. So if she had to save up her strength for that then so be it. She just didn't like the fact.

    "So Gendo wants Shinji to think Asuka is dead…"

    Fuyutsuki looked towards Asuka with a look of sympathy, "Ikari's intention was for Asuka to die but yes… his plan relies on Shinji believing Asuka is dead."

    "Why?" Asuka growled.

    "Because Ikari on his own is incapable of using the tower to do what he needs it to. He lacks the same thing that Shinji and Yui have which was within all of SEELE. A link to the people who built the tower. His plan was to use one of the Ayanami types, as clones of Yui they weren't perfect but they would have been able to accomplish what he wanted. When that was no longer possible he settled on Shinji…"

    "He wanted Yui back… so he thought that if Asuka died then Shinji would want her back and do anything to get her back, is that it?"

    Fuyutsuki nodded, "Yes. You… saw what Shinji was willing to do during the Third Impact to get Rei back. If it was Asuka then he…"

    "You mean the Third Impact that Shinji took the blame for because of NERV?" Asuka cut him off angrily.

    "Yes… I mean that Third Impact. Gendo believes that Shinji is very much like himself… That he would do anything to get Asuka back even if that meant following Gendo's orders."

    "And what about you?" Misato sneered, "What do you believe?"

    Fuyutsuki shook his head, "I believe Shinji is nothing like his father. When I saw him and spoke to him at NERV I saw… I saw only his mother in him but I fear that may not be enough. Gendo will have thought of the possibility of Shinji declining his offer and so… we have to act fast."

    "So how do we get inside the tower? Gendo got in right, so what do we do?" Misato asked him.

    "That particular secret Ikari kept to himself. I've been able to disable the security around the tower but as far as getting inside I have yet to decipher how the Key will help us."

    "What Key?" Asuka queried.

    "Nebuchadnezzar's Key... It was a failsafe device that Ikari used to bypass the towers security and gain access to the main structure. I still have it embedded in this ship but outside of deactivating the security I haven't been able to figure out anything else."

    "And how long will it take for you to figure it out?"

    "I don't know but there is someone who might be able to help." Fuyutuski looked towards Misato, "Akagi... If anyone can figure this out it'd be her."

    Misato nodded, "I'll put in a call to have her transported over here immediately."

    Misato moved to make the call as Asuka continued to watch Fuyutsuki's attempted to figure out how to work the device.

    "The Nemesis Series falling, was that the doing of this Key as well?" She asked.

    "Yes, I regret I was too late in deactivating those as well. I saw what happened to the Thunderchild it was... a tragic loss of life."

    "So it was you who stopped them from killing me?"

    Much to her surprise the man shook his head, "Actually, it wasn't. I was unable to trigger the shutdown until after they had attacked you. I... can offer you no explanation for that."

    'Mama!' Asuka thought hopefully to herself as his words sunk in. There could be no other explanation for it. Asuka certainly hadn't have fought them off and anyone else had retreated by that point. It had to have been her mother.

    'Thank you.'

    XXX

    Shinji slowly opened his eyes and felt a softness beneath him. As he stirred he could hear the faint sounds of classical music from within the room. His entire body felt weak as he rolled onto his back and sat himself up and checked out his surroundings. He was lying on a single bed, he was still in his plugsuit and had a blanket draped over him.

    'Where… Where am I?'

    He heard the sound of a door open and his eyes were immediately drawn to it. He half expected his father to step through or hopefully Misato or Sakura. He was not however expecting it to be the person who did. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, Shinji felt a surge of fear spread through him and he gripped the blanket tightly and backed himself up against the wall.

    Kaworu immediately sensed Shinji's fear and stepped forward holding his hands out to try to calm him, "Shinji, it's alright. You are safe here, there is nothing to be afraid of."

    "Y-You… K-Kaworu… But but how?" Shinji spluttered.

    Kaworu maintained a distance from Shinji so as to not rile up the boy any further. He stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him.

    "Please Shinji, you don't need to be scared. I'm here to help you."

    "H-Help? Help me?" Shinji mumbled, "No… No No No No, this doesn't make sense. This isn't right. You… You're dead… I I I… How! I don't… I don't…"

    Shinji felt his chest tighten and he glanced down at the covers gripping the sides of his head with his hands. He shook his head from side to side daring to not look at Kaworu.

    "This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real."

    "Shinji, this is real." Kaworu slowly and carefully stepped forwards towards the bed. He gently climbed onto it knee first and wrapped both his arms around Shinji's shaking body and held the boy close to him.

    "This is real Shinji, I'm not dead."

    Shinji felt the warmth from Kaworu's body all around him and his first instinct was to bury his head into Kaworu's shoulder. He wrapped both his arms around Kaworu's back, this was real. Kaworu was here right now in front of him. Shinji felt a rush of emotion as everything from the day suddenly came back to him. He let out a loud sob and felt the tears flow freely down his cheeks again.

    The two remained like this for a few minutes. Kaworu sympathetically rubbing Shinji's back and holding him close. Shinji sobbing and holding onto Kaworu tightly. After those few minutes the tears finally stopped and Shinji pulled away from Kaworu.

    "You are in much pain Shinji Ikari." Kaworu spoke softly, his voice keeping that same level of kindness that Shinji had known before, "Please, talk to me about it."

    Shinji wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and shook his head. He looked at Kaworu once again, this didn't make any sense. He had watched Kaworu die months ago, he had been the cause of it and yet the boy was sat before him.

    "Kaworu how… how are you here… You… I killed you?" Shinji asked weakly.

    Kaworu merely smiled and shook his head, "No Shinji, you were not responsible for what happened to me. My prior vessels death was not your fault. It was the result of a lapse of judgement on my part. My desire to fix things and ensure your happiness causes me to lose sight of certain things. In other words, I was careless."

    "Your… prior vessel?" Shinji asked with some confusion in his voice.

    "Yes, I am not unlike Rei Ayanami. When that previous body died I was simply transferred into this one."

    "Oh…" Shinji muttered as he looked at Kaworu, "You're just like Ayanami."

    Shinji fell silent for a moment as Kaworu sat himself on the edge of the bed. As the two of them fell silent Shinji started to recall the mentions of Kaworu since he had returned to the Wunder. Kaworu had been there as a part of WILLE at one point. Asuka had seen him during her recovery. Also Misato had mentioned that Kaworu was the one suspected of being the Mark.06 during the Third Impact.

    Shinji felt himself sigh as he took a few deep breaths. The calm that he had felt moment ago had been replaced by anger and confusion. Kaworu was not what he seemed, Shinji had known that from the start but Shinji had trusted him. He had to ask himself if he could really trust Kaworu now.

    "You have questions for me don't you Shinji?"

    Shinji nodded, "Y-Yeah…"

    Kaworu's gaze lowered and for one of the first times Shinji saw genuine sadness in Kaworu's eyes. He sighed, "I owe you a huge explanation of who exactly I am, of what I am and what I'm doing. I want to tell you the truth, you… you deserve that but there is something very important I need to tell you first."

    "What is it?"

    "You are wrong about losing her." As Kaworu spoke a faint smile crossed his lips.

    "Huh?" Shinji raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

    "You have not lost her. The one you love dearly, she is still alive out there. Her body is weak but her A.T. Field shines as bright as ever."

    "Y-You mean Asuka?" Shinji could hardly believe what he was hearing.

    "Yes, I do."

    "Can I see her?" Shinji asked as he looked towards the door hopefully.

    Kaworu shook his head, "Unfortunately not at this moment, "Although it is my wish to see the two of your reunited it isn't possible right now. This tower in which we are in… It does not exist within that physical world. On entering it you left that plane of existence for a new one. Unfortunately neither her or the others can cross that threshold."

    Shinji's joy at hearing she was alive quickly turned to disappointment, "I see."

    "I apologize if this is a bit much for you. I hope that the knowledge that she is alive is of some help to you though."

    Shinji nodded and took a look around the room before his eyes fell on Kaworu one more time. The boy actually looked fearful for a moment as he locked eyes on Shinji. Shinji recalled what Kaworu had just said about owing Shinji an explanation. He wondered what he should be feeling right now, anger at Kaworu? Sympathy for him? Annoyance? Should he be happy that Kaworu was alive? He didn't even know what it was he should be asking him.

    "Take as much time as you need Shinji." Kaworu reassured him again.

    Shinji nodded appreciating those words. It was a little bit too much for him to take in right now, he had only just found out that Asuka was actually alive. His heart felt lightened with that fact but he couldn't exactly bring himself to jump for joy just yet. Not until he actually saw her again. There was also the matter of his father.

    His father was still in the tower and he would most likely be looking for Shinji. He had tried to get Shinji to do something, something Shinji now assumed was terrible. He had only been saved at the last minute by some sort of interference but what would have happened if he hadn't have been stopped?

    "I'm sorry Kaworu." Shinji finally spoke, "It's a bit... too much for me."

    He felt both of Kaworu's hand take one of his own as the boy gave him a warm smile, "I apologize for only adding to that Shinji. Perhaps I could offer some explanation of things and you speak when you need to."

    Shinji nodded, "Y-Yeah I think that would be best."

    "I would ask as well. Please do not be afraid of being angry with me. I accept that I have done things that have caused yourself and others suffering."

    Kaworu's hands tightened around Shinjis as Shinji nodded again, "Thank you."

    "As you now know I am not human. My body is merely a constructed vessel made to hold a soul. That soul is the one you know as the First Angel or 'Adam.' Adam was... one of the last of their kind from a civilization that died many years ago. They along with what you call Lilith and many others sought a new world as theirs was dying."

    "Y-You mean... they weren't from Earth?"

    Kaworu shook his head, "No they weren't their home Is far from here."

    "So how did they get here?"

    "They constructed giant vessels which was to house themselves and the means of bringing life to a new planet. There were seven of them in total, each one was to populate a different planet and give birth to a new race there." Kaworu replied, "Something went wrong during the journey. I don't know how but two of these vessels landed on the same planet. Adam and Lilith."

    "Why wasn't it supposed to happen?"

    "Each one was supposed to be an individual source of life, tuned to that particular planet they landed on. Two of them crashing on the same planet caused a conflict as both sources were incompatible with one another. It was Lilith who won this battle and gave birth to the Lilin."

    Shinji recognized that term, he had heard Asuka and Kaworu use it in the past, "Y-You mean humans, right?"

    Kaworu nodded, "Indeed, although all the life that would be spawned from these seeds would be humanoid. During the uncertain times of conflict between Adam and Lilith some life did flourish and early civilizations were forms. A strange union between Lilith and Adam based lifeforms. It is they who were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls and the construction of this tower, it was they who were the roots of the group known as SEELE."

    Shinji said nothing but let the boy continue, "Their civilization was all but wiped out but some remained and integrated themselves with the new humans that claimed the Earth. They had lost all that they had and wanted to reclaim it and instill themselves as not only the dominant life form on Earth but something akin to Gods themselves."

    "M-My father mentioned something about my mother and SEELE..." Shinji said suddenly.

    This received another nod from Kaworu, "SEELE's bloodline is ancient and powerful and your mother is a part of that bloodline. You are as well, this is why you are able to enter this Tower and that is why you are special Shinji."

    Shinji's mouth opened in shock but he closed it again as Kaworu carried on speaking.

    "Your father heard rumours of this group when he was younger and sought them out thinking he desired power. He met your mother and the two fell in love, many believed it was him using her but..."

    "My father loved my mother... didn't he?"

    "Yes, he did but it was that love that twisted him into who he is now. Your mother always wanted to stop SEELE and for a time your father was a part of that. He unfortunately did not know the cost of fighting a group like SEELE. Your mother put herself into the vessel known as Eva and your father could not cope with this... he swore to not only put an end to SEELE but to achieve what it was they wanted himself."

    "I-I nearly did what he wanted too!" Shinji exclaimed in distress, "I was about to... if it wasn't for.."

    Kaworu quickly interjected, "No, do not blame yourself. He had a hold over you, using your recent distress to control you. Your father has... become something, something terrifying, he had reached into a world he should not have done and seen things that... only I thought I had seen."

    "S-Seen things?"

    "This tower exists outside of your plane of existence. There is a way to get back to your world but it is also a means of viewing other realities. There are many worlds out there Shinji, some of them run parallel to this one, some of them have experiences situations like this, some of them are vastly different to this one." Kaworu explained, "I... I have seen them... I've seen you lose hope a thousand times over, I've seen you find hope, I've seen myself die so many times and felt that pain each time."

    It was Shinji's turn to tighten his hand around a distressed sounding Kaworu, "Kaworu... I had no idea."

    "I've seen you fall in love Shinji, sometimes it's with Asuka as you have here, sometimes it's with Rei, sometimes the two of them together or sometimes..." Kaworu laughed, "Sometimes it's even with me."
    Shinji felt himself blush, "I see..."

    "The thing is Shinji that... the use of this tower in the way that your father wants will not just give him power over this reality but those as well. He will be able to reshape them all as he sees fit but... I can't allow him to do that."

    "He said he wants to end the pain of suffering that humans feel..."

    "To feel pain is to be human Shinji." Kaworu replied, "Without it..."

    Shinji nodded, "Without it we're just running away, we may as well be living in a dream, right?"

    "Exactly." Kaworu agreed.

    "I... don't wish for that to happen. I don't like feeling pain but... if I have to then I must. I don't want to live in a false world it'd just be... wrong." Shinji said, "I want to stop him."
    "I was hoping you would say that." Kaworu smiled.

    XXX

    Mari had not moved from her position next to Rei ever since they had returned to the camp. She didn't dare move lest something happened to Rei. She wanted to be there for any change at all in Rei's condition. She was not going to let the girl out of her sight, not for one second.

    'I should have never let her pilot the Eva with me!' Mari thought to herself, 'If I had been firmer or more persuasive then this might not have happened!'

    Deep down Mari knew that wasn't true, what had happened to Rei was not a result of her piloting the Eva. It was something else entirely and would most likely have happened if Rei had remained on the Wunder.

    'Yeah but she could have gotten treated faster if she had remained on the Wunder…'

    In a way she knew that wasn't necessarily true either. Rei could have been anywhere on the Wunder when this had happened. She could have been surrounded by people or in their quarters. Mari had done the best she could and gotten her back quickly. Ritsuko and Sakura had assured her that Rei was going to be fine.

    Yet Mari couldn't silence those voices in her head that continuously asked 'what if.' They nagged and pecked at her and were only being made worse with the tiredness and pain she was in from the battle itself.

    Rei's condition right now was stable, she had been sedated as soon as they had returned and Ritsuko was trying to work out just what had happened to her. Unfortunately she had been unable to find anything so far. So Mari remained seated, her hand holding Rei's and her just waiting and trying to fight the negative voices in her head.

    She looked up from Rei's sleeping face for a brief moment to see Ritsuko was standing at a makeshift analysis areas. An array of wires were scattered around her, some hooked up to a machine monitoring Rei, and others hooked up to a number of special machines she had requested.

    "I-Is Blue going to be alright?" Mari's voice quivered as she spoke. She tried to muster up a weak smile, "J-Just you know… I figure that with the Princess and Puppy out there they might need saving and she could… Blue could…"

    Mari trailed off and sniffed. She brought her hand up to her head and let out a loud sob as the exhaustion and emotion took over her. Ritsuko looked on in slight discomfort, this was not really a state she was used to seeing Mari in and not one she really knew how to deal with. Misato was always better at dealing with this sort of thing.

    'Of course Misato isn't here and anyone else who is good at this is busy…'

    Ritsuko looked around the small tent, there were two assistants also there to help monitor Rei's situation. Ritsuko nodded towards the two of them, "You two can leave, it's been a long day and there isn't really you can do. Go and have a break and join up with Sakura."

    One of them stepped forward, "We really want to help, in any way we can. It couldn't feel right abandoning her wh-"

    Ritsuko shook her head and cut them off, "Honestly there isn't anything the two of you can do at this point. Your offer is appreciated but Sakura will likely need the help more than I do. I can handle things here on my own."

    "Okay." They two quickly exited the tent and shot Mari a sympathetic glance as they did.

    When they had finally left Ritsuko let out a sigh and stepped away from her workspace. She wandered over to a small kitchen area and prepared two cups of coffee. It was instance, black and most likely tasted horrible but it was something at least.

    She made way over to Mari and tapped the girl on the shoulder. Mari turned and looked up at Ritsuko, her eyes red and puffy with tears falling down her cheeks. She took one of the cups from Ritsuko, "T-Thank you."

    "It might be a good idea if you went and got some rest Mari." Ritsuko stated as Mari turned her attention back to Rei.

    "Is that… an order?" Mari asked.

    "If it was an order you'd probably just disobey it." Ritsuko smirked as she spoke, "Just a recommendation from someone who is worried about you. You've had a long day, being in the Eva will have taken a toll."

    "I'm not leaving Rei's side." Mari said defiantly, "She'd do the same for me and besides we haven't heard from the others yet. I can't rest until I know they're alright. I'll… I'll be fine."

    Ritsuko placed a comforting hand on Mari's shoulder, "I know you will be… I know…"

    "You know you don't have to try to make me feel better." Mari smiled weakly, "I know it isn't really your area."

    Ritsuko nodded, "I've never been very good at dealing with people. Cats have always been my thing."

    "You don't do too bad a job. You helped Maya didn't you?"

    Ritsuko shrugged, "Perhaps. I sometimes think Maya could do a lot better than myself."

    "Are you kidding, she adores you." Mari laughed, "I know you feel the same for her as well. You're perfect for each other. Misato always said she saw it back before the Third Impact."

    Ritsuko felt herself blush at Mari's words, "Misato talks too much."

    Mari sighed and turned to look at Rei, "Is she going to be alright?"

    Ritsuko nodded, "As far as her physical condition goes there is nothing wrong with her. There is a high amount of brain activity though."

    "Is that bad?"

    "At first it was worrying." Ritsuko admitted, "It was an alarmingly high amount when we first arrived but it's since dropped off. It's a promising sign but a clear indication that something is still happening to her. In addition, I was detecting some spikes in her A.T. Field every now and then."

    "Her A.T. Field?" Mari muttered, "Do you know why?"

    Ritsuko shook her head again, "No I don't. I suspect that proximity to the tower and the large number of Nemesis Series might have proven to be too overwhelming for her to cope with. Rei's biology is fragile and although I dislike refer to her body as a 'type' this particular type has been modified compared to the one I dealt with at NERV."

    "In what way?"

    "Something in this body reacts when in proximity to and Angel or Adamite material. We saw that when we first encountered an Angel months ago. I was able to find and suppress it to a point but it might be that what we have encountered here was too much."

    "So could you not just administer higher amounts of the suppressant?"

    I'm afraid not, the amount she has been given combined with the existing medication she has to take is enough for her body to handle. To add more might put her at risk." Ritsuko explained to Mari, "With that said… the Nemesis Series seems to have stopped their attack for the moment and we are quite far from the tower again. Perhaps she just needs to sleep it off."

    "I hope so." Mari mumbled as she brought the cup up to her lips and sipped the warm liquid. Her face screwed up immediately on her tongue making contact with the liquid, "This tastes like shit."

    Ritsuko smiled and nodded, "I know it does… but it's all we have right now and I figured you could do with some sort of distraction."

    "Wonderful…" Mari sighed. She did have to admit that Ritsuko's words had put her a bit more at ease. It seemed like Rei was going to be alright after all. She watched as Ritsuko moved back to the workstation, "Hey Akagi…"

    "Yes?"

    "I'm… Well I'm sorry if I've been a little harsh over the time I've known you. I thought you were… Well I guess I didn't…"

    Ritsuko felt a smile come to her lips, "Oh I know exactly what you thought Makinami and you're not the first person to think it nor will you be the last. I have to accept that in many ways I only have myself to blame for that fact. I hid stuff from people to serve myself but I do appreciate the apology all the same."

    Ritsuko was about to start getting back on with her work again when she heard a faint beeping sound coming from her travel pack. She walked over to the pack shaking her head, "What now?"

    She pulled the communications device out of the pack, "Akagi here?"

    "Ritsuko!" Misato's voice was heard from the device, "What is the situation? Is everything alright?"

    Ritsuko smiled on hearing the woman's voice, "Situation is fine so far, we were able to get everyone away from the Wunder without any issues. We have a few injuries but nothing serious. Sakura is leading the medical team here and we have Maya and Aoba monitoring the situation inside the perimeter."

    "Anything to report?"

    "So far nothing, Nemesis Series seem to have shut down completely and Rei is stable. What's the situation out there? Did you find Asuka and Shinji?"

    "Yes… Well not exactly, Asuka is alive but injured. I've got her with me now. As for Shinji he is… he's inside the tower itself. Apparently Gendo is in there too but we can't find any way of getting ourselves inside to rescue him. We also…" Misato trailed off, "We also have another person in here with us. It seems the good Professor Fuyutsuki has had a change of heart and wants to switch sides."

    Ritsuko frowned and immediately glanced over to Mari. The girl had rose from her seat ever so slightly on hearing that name be spoken. Ritsuko was not able to hide the distain in her voice, "Has he really?"

    "So he says, look I don't trust him either but he did help Asuka with her injuries and he also claims to be the one who deactivated the Nemesis Series." Misato paused, "He mentioned something… Nebuchadnezzar's Key, do you know anything about it?"

    "No, I can't say I do. Unless it was to do with Rei or the Eva's themselves I never knew about it." Ritsuko replied, "Ikari kept things on a need to know basis."

    "Damn, it's supposedly another artefact. Ikari acquired it sometime before the Third Impact and it's what he used to access the tower. Fuyutsuki can't figure out how it was used, he says he could deactivate the Nemesis Series but he reckons if anyone can figure it out it'll be you."

    "Is this an idea that you share?"

    "Maybe… If I was going to put a bet on anyone it'd be on you."

    Ritsuko shot another glance over at Mari who was still listening in on the conversation, "She's right Akagi… If anyone can figure it out it'll be you. You already said… you've done all you can for Rei. If Shinji is trapped in there with his father we need to save him."

    Ritsuko nodded at Mari, "I'll prepare a transport. Have Fuyutsuki prepare everything he can on it. I need to know where it was found, who found it, what it is, anything at all no matter how small."

    "I'll let him know… Thank you Rits"

    XXX

    Shinji remained in the centre of the room and watched as a visibly nervous Kaworu opened the door and peeked out into the corridor beyond. Although in reality Shinji had only known Kaworu for the total of about two to three weeks from his previous time at NERV he felt that the sight of a nervous Kaworu was unusual. He couldn't really imagine Kaworu being afraid of anything, if anything it would have been Shinji who looked to someone like Kaworu or Asuka when he was afraid.

    Yet he supposed that much like Asuka, Kaworu would have his own fears and insecurities. Although he wasn't human he was very much like them and with that would surely come the same things any human faced.

    He waited for Kaworu to be done looking to make sure things were clear. In doing so he caught of a glimpse of himself in a mirror. Despite knowing the seriousness of the situation he wished he could be out of this plugsuit and wearing something more comfortable. He had been in the Eva for hours and out of it for god knows how long. His hair was still sticky with LCL and his face red and blotchy from crying and being ill earlier.

    'I need a shower…' He thought to himself, it was a strangely inappropriate thought he realized but he couldn't help but think it.

    He heard Kaworu close the door and his attention turned once more to his silver haired friend, "It is safe for us to go now Shinji. Are you ready?"

    "Yeah." Shinji gave a confident nod and took a single step forward. He approached Kaworu and the door before stopping, "Kaworu I just… I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for when we were at NERV for being there for me and also… I really enjoyed looking at the stars and playing piano with you."

    Kaworu's face seemed to light up on hearing Shinji mention the piano, "You are most welcome Shinji. Tell me, do you still play?"

    Shinji shook his head, "Er… No I don't… not since I left… I haven't really had the chance to on the Wunder and even if I did I… Well it would have felt wrong somehow considering what happened."

    Kaworu took both of Shinji's hands into his own, "You should continue Shinji even if those prior memories do remind you of sad times. Use those memories and emotions and channel them into wonderful compositions from your heart. Music is human expression at its finest, a means to channel oneself into notes and create something beautiful. I think of it as one of the pinnacles of human achievement."
    Shinji laughed at Kaworu's passion, "I think you would get on with Mari. She is really passionate about music too. She talks a lot about what she likes and plays it for everyone."

    "Perhaps…" Kaworu looked away for a brief moment and Shinji recognized a flicker of sadness in his eyes, "If it was possible then I should like to meet them all."

    Shinji placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled, "When this is over Kaworu, you will."

    "I hope so Shinji." Kaworu looked back towards the door, "We must go now, I do not know how much time we have."

    Kaworu opened the door and the two of them stepped out into an unfamiliar corridor. Kaworu took a look around and frowned, "It has been altered once again. I believe we should be fine though, after all together we are capable of doing this."

    Shinji nodded and started to follow Kaworu, "What do you mean by altered Kaworu?"

    Kaworu explained as he led Shinji through a maze of small corridors. Shinji observed the doors they were passing as they moved from corridor to corridor. It all looked the same to him but Kaworu seemed to know exactly where he was going, "As I mentioned before this tower exists in a plane beyond what you call reality. It is a construct of sorts that bends to the will of those who made it and those who inhabit it. As such the structure is not a static one. It can alter its shape although the changes are not usually as drastic as the ones I am sensing now. We are in no danger but it might slow us down somewhat."

    "Oh…" Shinji said still not fully understanding what Kaworu had said. It all seemed a bit too weird even for someone used to piloting a giant bio-mechanical being against equal sized monsters.

    "Think of it like something from a dream where what you see might change of alter around you to create something new. You might not notice the change until after they happen."

    Shinji could only nod as they moved along further sets of corridors and passed more doorways. There was a familiarity to the structure now. The walls were a light green with a pink strip running along them. The doors themselves automated sliding doors.

    "It looks like NERV used to."

    Kaworu nodded, "Yes, it is not surprising that this is the form the tower takes for this moment. It reflects something personal to those inside, NERV is the one thing we all share."

    Eventually they came to a large set of double doors and along with them came the confirmation that this was indeed supposed to be NERV. The half fig-leaf logo synonymous with the organization had been painted across the door. Kaworu pushed the door open revealing a spiral staircase leading upwards, Shinji followed Kaworu carefully up the staircase.

    "You were at the Third Impact weren't you?" Shinji suddenly asked.

    "Yes I was." Kaworu admitted, "I was sent to stop Unit 01 from awakening completely. It was I who threw the Spear of Longinus into Unit 01 and halted the Third Impact from happening."

    Much like the admittance earlier of Kaworu's intentions, Shinji had been expecting such an answer from him. He again wasn't angry but instead felt some relief as those little bits of truth were finally known to him.

    "W-Why didn't you tell me?" Shinji asked, "Back at NERV I mean… I thought…"

    Kaworu suddenly came to a stop on the staircase and turned himself around to face Shinji. He opened his mouth as if to give a reply but closed it again before looking down regretfully. After some time he looked up at Shinji.

    "I… I can only apologize to you Shinji." Kaworu muttered, "It was my intention to tell you the truth after we had recovered the Spears. I had intended to tell you the entire truth but not until after that. I thought that by keeping that knowledge from you it might make you more determined to help me."

    "It's alright… I forgive you Kaworu." Shinji put a hand on Kaworu's shoulder. He couldn't bring himself to be angry at Kaworu. Just as he hadn't been able to be angry with Misato previously.

    "I do not deserve your forgiveness Shinji but I am thankful for it all the same." Kaworu responded, "However I feel that should I meet Asuka she will not be quite as forgiving as you."

    Shinji laughed, "No, she probably won't be."

    "Allow her to be, I will not run from her and accept whatever she has to say. My actions nearly cost you your life and your world."

    "Kaworu… It's alright." Shinji reassured him again, "My actions fourteen years ago nearly cost everyone the world. If you hadn't have stopped me… It would have done… I just don't understand why you were there or what happened."

    "It was SEELEs doing. They suspected your father was working against them and wanted me to report and hopefully stop him from hindering their own plans. My own fate was… an unpleasant one, one which I have seen many times over."

    "Kaworu…"

    "Of course Unit 01 awakening changed that. It changed the structure of what was Lilith and prolonged my existence beyond SEELE's scenario. Of course I had seen my fate in other worlds so I had plans of my own."

    The two of them started walking, "I did not wish for the destruction and rebirth of SEELE as gods nor did I wish for the world as your father saw it. I wish for what you wished for, this world to continue. Although back then I was led to believe that perhaps I could reset things for you. Send you back with prior knowledge and avert the catastrophes…"

    "So that is why we pulled the Spears…"

    "Indeed. Fourteen years ago your father engineered the awakening of Unit 01. He used both yourself and Rei Ayanami as chess pieces in a game against SEELE. He created Ayanami and made her aware of who she was and of her replaceable nature. She was put into a position where she could grow close to you and wish to protect you, a position where she would willingly sacrifice herself."

    "You mean me meeting Rei… Was because he wanted me to?" Shinji said angrily.

    "Yes, by doing that and having Rei sacrifice herself he knew you could push Unit 01 to awaken and he knew it would force SEELEs hand and reveal their agent to him. Their agent of course was me."

    "So you stopped Unit 01 from awakening."

    "I did but that was only the beginning. With the awakening and my halting of it your father had awakened the remnants of the old civilization. That which we call the Nemesis Series."

    "Awakened the Nemesis Series? What exactly are they?" Shinji asked.

    "A self-replication system that was designed to prevent the dominant race on this planet from doing what your father is about to do. They were built to awaken when something like Unit 01 awakening happened and deal with it. It was they who sealed Unit 01 inside the Tesseract and hid you and it away for fourteen years. It was their emergence that caused the many changes to the world."

    "So Third Impact really wasn't because of me then…" Shinji said with some relief.

    "No it was not Shinji." Kaworu stated, "Again I apologize that my previous words led you to believe that. I suppose in that way I am no better than SEELE or your father. I attempted to use you to satisfy my own goals. I said I did it in the name of your happiness but…"

    "Kaworu…" Shinji started to speak but quickly trailed off at the realization that they had reached the top of the spiral staircase. Before them was a large metallic door with a card reader to one side. Shinji recognized it as being from the doorway that held the being known as Lilith back in NERV.

    "We have arrived." Kaworu said his voice shaking, "How apt that it this is where we end up. The same place that I have witnessed countless times before, heaven's door and beyond this is where the beginning of the end always starts…"

    Kaworu took a single step forward but just as he did the entire tower shook knocking both of them off of their feet. Kaworu quickly scrambled to his feet and looked up towards the ceiling, his eyes seemed to be tracking something but whatever it was Shinji did not know. Finally a smile crept onto Kaworu's face.

    "I see! So you have awakened once again!" Kaworu turned to face Shinji and extended a hand to help Shinji back up onto his feet, "Come Shinji, it seems that we have a visitor for our journey."

    XXX

    Asuka had had enough of sitting down and doing nothing. Her Eva was out of commission and all she had for company right now was her own pain and frustration. She would have even jumped at the chance to take Unit 02 out on patrol if it was even functional anymore. She needed some sort of distracton, anything to take her mind off of what might be happening to Shinji right now.

    'We need to get inside there, I can't believe I let him go alone, what the hell was I thinking?'

    She leaned her head back against the side of the craft, 'I thought I was going to die, I was prepared to die and one of us had to get inside. If anyone was going to save the world it'd be him. I'm not the person who saves the world, I'm just the soldier who plays their part.'

    Asuka slowly and gingerly got to her feet. A wave of dizziness hit her and she had to lean against the craft for a moment to steady herself. She took a few careful steps away from the craft and felt the soft ground beneath her plugsuit clad feet. She didn't stray too far from the craft, instead choosing to remain inside the small cavern that held the entrance to the tower.

    From her position she could look out across a small selection of the battlefield. All was so very calm and still, a vast difference to the chaos she had been within just over an hour ago.

    "Ritsuko'll figure it out." Asuka heard Misato's voice from behind her, "And we will get inside and save him."

    Asuka turned herself around to see Misato stood in the doorway of the craft. She couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of irritation at Misato's optimistic words. It had been over an hour since Shinji had gone inside the tower and no one had heard anything. No one had any idea what could have happened to him in that time and they didn't seem any closer to getting inside.

    "When?" Asuka asked bitterly.

    "I... I don't know Asuka but she will." Misato tried to be reassuring, "He'll be alright, you'll save him."

    "We should have gotten in there ages ago!" Asuka kicked the ground as she spoke, "Instead we're just wasting time with this stupid Key. Why don't we just blow the damn entrance up and rush in there."
    "Fuyutsuki said doing that won't work, the only way inside is with the key." Misato replied.

    "And you trust him?"

    "No... Yes..." Misato let out a sigh, "I don't know any more Asuka. If he was trying to mislead us then why go through all of this? Why tell us what he did? Why leak that information to us? Why go to the effort of patching you up?"

    "Great, remind me of my humiliation today! How wonderful! Bad enough that I got torn apart by those things but for him to be the one to save my life... pathetic." Asuka snarled.

    "Don't say that Asuka, I..." Misato shook her head, "I know you dislike what happened but you're here and you're alive, that's what's important."

    "I know!" Asuka retorted, "I'm... I don't want to die Misato but it doesn't make that any less humiliating. I'd rather have had Mari administer treatment."

    Misato smirked, "I can just imagine what sort of treatment she'd administer to you with your history."

    "Is that really appropriate?"

    Misato shook her head, "No, I guess not. Sorry."

    Asuka looked at her and shook her own head, "It's fine, I'm just... very angry right now and I'm..."

    She paused and looked away from Misato, "Urgh, I'm scared... I can't lose Shinji and I can't just sit around and do nothing!"

    "I hate it too." Misato stepped away from the craft and took a few steps towards Asuka, "I want him back too and I hate not being able to do anything. All I can do is hope that they can figure things out. If not then I need to come up with a Plan B."

    She stopped close to Asuka and reached out with a hand towards the girl's shoulder. She stopped about halfway wondering if she really deserved to be the one to comfort Asuka. Her hand finally made its way to Asuka's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

    No words were exchanged as the two of them looked out towards the wasteland. As far as the two of them could see were the scattered remains of the Nemesis Series and parts of the shattered AAA Vessels.

    Misato felt a peculiar numbness as she tried to process the loss of the AAA Wunder and the numerous lives lost with the AAA Thunderchild. She wanted to feel something for it but it was just too big a loss and hadn't properly sunk in yet. The Thunderchild had barely just launched, it carried a crew of a couple of hundred on board and was supposed to have been a symbol of hope. Yet it had been brought down so easily by that monster.

    As for the Wunder, that had been in full operation for just under a year but it's history was longer than that. Misato and the others had used the Wunder as their home for a number of years and now it was all gone. She only hoped that Ritsuko had at least been able to save both the cat and the fish before the craft had gone down.

    She shot a glance at Asuka, "I know you don't think much of me right now Asuka so it's probably pointless asking this but... did I do the right thing?"

    "Worlds still here isn't it?" Asuka remarked, "Maybe you could have communicated to us a bit better, not lied to me and not treated Shinji like shit for months but... I guess somehow you managed to do the right thing in the end."

    Misato said nothing as Asuka looked down at the ground, "It's not like I didn't make any mistakes though... I'm hardly an endorsement for treating people right."

    "We've all made terrible mistakes Asuka..." Misato mused, "I've managed to lose an entire ship now... I can't imagine the higher ups will be too happy about it."

    Asuka shrugged, "They could always build another one. Probably loads more stuff buried around the world, plenty of German words left to pick a name from too."

    "That's true, I guess we ca-"

    Misato was suddenly cut off by the ground violently shaking and the sound of a loud scream from outside of the cavern. She watched as Asuka fell forward. Misato quickly dived forward catching the girl in her arms before she fell to the floor. Asuka let out a grunt of pain as the two of them looked ahead and saw that the sky had turned a deep blood red.

    "Misato! Maya has just been in contact!" Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki had now joined them outside the craft, "Something is happening out there! It's Unit 01!"

    Misato looked at her in horror, "Unit 01? I thought that went down with the Wunder!"

    No further words were exchanged as the four of them quickly made their way to the entrance of the cavern. Pure fear spread across each of their faces as true to what Ritsuko had said, Unit 01 was stood twenty metres or so away from the tower.

    It was a terrifying sight to behold. It's eyes thin slits of bright white light. A thin halo of light had appeared above it and further above that was a wide black tear in the blood red sky. It was mostly motionless but Misato could see that the Unit's jaw had become somewhat unhinged.

    "It's... awakened..." Asuka muttered.

    "B-But how?" Ritsuko asked, "There is no pilot and... unless... Rei."

    Fuyutsuki looked up at the widening tear before each of their attention was drawn towards the outer edges of the battlefield. Nothing beyond where the A.T. Field had been was visible, instead the outer world had been obscured by a blood red fog.

    Further high-pitched screams were heard and the group looked towards the source of the noise. Around the perimeter four ghostly white figures had appeared, each one dwarfing Unit 01 in size. Misato's eyes widened with fear as she gazed from figure to figure. Each one was identical, nightmarish wearing a halo of their own. The figures had no defining features only blood red holes where their eyes would be and a similar style hole in the middle of their chest.

    Misato shook her head, "No... it's... it's the same... it's happening all over again."

    "Katsuragi."

    "Huh?" Misato's attention was immediately drawn to the source of the new voice. She looked away from the figures and in front of her to see a handsome and roguish looking man looking back at her. His hair in a ponytail, a scruffy mess of facial hair on his face and as always, a smile, "It'll be alright Katsuragi."

    "Kaji..."

    Misato stepped forward towards him and felt only warmth as a bright light overcame her.

    The other three were still drawn towards the figures in the sky. Ritsuko couldn't believe what was happening, after all their efforts this had happened anyway.

    "Ritsuko."

    "Maya?" Ritsuko looked down to see Maya standing in front of her.

    "Thank you... For saving me Ritsuko."

    Ritsuko took a step forward and the light took her too.

    Now only Fuyutsuki and Asuka remained. They had witnessed the others vanish but did not know why. Asuka was about to speak when she heard Shinji's voice call out to her.

    "S-Shinji..."

    "Asuka... I'm here."

    Asuka shook her head, "No... No! You're not. You're not here. You..."

    The Shinji in front of her extended a single hand towards her and nodded, "He needs you Asuka. Save him."

    Asuka swallowed and nodded before stepping forward herself. She didn't know what was about to happen or why it was happening but she felt like she could trust this bizarre vision of Shinji.

    Fuyutsuki looked on as Asuka now vanished and he nodded, wondering what fate awaited him.

    "The beginning of the end is here. The fate of our world is in their hands." Fuyutsuki looked ahead and saw Yui Ikari staring back at him, "I wonder... If it was really worth it for you Ikari."

    XXX

    "FATHER!" Shinji called out the moment both he and Kaworu had entered the large chamber. There he was, stood on the opposite side of the room. Standing in front of a large cross like structure with his arms hanging down by his side. To his father's left was what appeared to be the seat and cockpit from the inside of an Eva.

    Gendo Ikari did not respond to Shinji's shout. He seemed to follow the two of them as they entered the room but his attention actually turned towards Kaworu. He looked directly at Kaworu with a look that frightened Shinji, whatever humanity he might have sensed within his father had now completely gone.

    "Father!" Shinji called out again and stepped in front of Kaworu, "Stop this… It… It isn't right!"

    "I presume that you told him then." Gendo once again ignored Shinji and spoke directly to Kaworu. Shinji looked behind him to see Kaworu's eyes had narrowed and were focused angrily on his father.

    "He deserved to know the truth before you could force him into a decision he would regret." Kaworu replied, "It is not too late for you either."

    Gendo seemed to chuckle at that response, "The regret would be allowing humanity to continue with this existence. I merely offered him an out from that."

    "An out?" Shinji exclaimed, "No! This is wrong! Father… Mother is gone, going through all of this just to see her again… it isn't worth it. We have to accept that. I did years ago… We can still be happy."

    "Quiet!" Gendo said sternly, "You have been tainted by his way of thinking. The misguided belief that hope still lives out there in this world. The belief that pain is something humans must experience to achieve true happiness. It is nothing more than a fallacy."

    "I'm not misguided!" Shinji answered back, "I don't like feeling pain… I don't like knowing that mother is gone, I don't like seeing my friends hurt and I don't like being hurt. I'm scared of being hurt but… I don't want to eliminate that either. Even if it would bring her back I… I don't want that."

    "You would rather suffer? You would rather condemn your friends to a life of suffering. Look around you Shinji, this world is no longer fit for purpose!" Gendo shot back, "From the moment you were born all you did was suffer. You were brought into a dying world and left to fend for yourself."

    Shinji shook his head, "That wasn't the fault of this world! You were the one who abandoned me! You lost mother and were afraid of me!"

    Gendo remained silent as Shinji continued, "You were a coward! I didn't suffer because of this world. The reason I suffered was because of you!"

    "Your mother was…"

    "My mother is dead!" Shinji yelled back, "And you stood by and did nothing except try to get her back and create some perfect world you could run away to!"

    Shinji felt anger rising up inside him, "What you want is… It's empty! The pain I felt… It wasn't pleasant or fun but it helped make me a better person. Without it I wouldn't have tried to understand others, I wouldn't have made friends, I wouldn't have fallen in love and knowing what I went through makes the good parts of it even better. I don't want to run away anymore!"

    "Stop this!" Gendo shouted back, "Your words are meaningless, just like that of the being behind you. You have allowed yourself to become corrupted by this world but no more. You cannot end what has already started. I will have my world whether by your consent or not and I will have Yui return to me."

    Kaworu stepped forward but just as he did Gendo brought one of his hands up revealing a pistol. He aimed it directly at Kaworu.

    "Father!" Shinji cried out, "What are you doing?"

    "I'm giving you a choice." Gendo explained calmly, "I had hoped that it would not come to this but my hand has been forced. Come to me and enter the seat, return Yui to me and give me what I want or you can witness your friend die."

    "K-Kaworu…" Shinji called out as he watched Kaworu walk forward.

    Kaworu turned to face Shinji and smiled, "Do not do what he asks Shinji. I do not fear death, I've witnessed my own so many times already and experienced that pain a thousand times over. This will be a release for me. Remember… I am not human, I have no place on this world. I am here because I am trapped but death might actually be the freedom I desire."

    "N-No… You can't." Shinji cried out.

    Gendo raised the gun higher aiming it at Kaworu as the boy continued to walk across the distance towards Shinji's father. Shinji felt his legs tremble as he tried to force himself to walk forward. Kaworu took one more step and then Shinji felt the entire tower shake once again. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He heard the sound of the gun ring out and Kaworu fall to the floor. He dashed forward and leapt to try and catch the boy in his arms.

    "KAWORU!"

    Shinji felt a stinging pain in his knees as he landed hard on them catching Kaworu just before he could fall. He looked down at Kaworu and saw a bloody stain on the boys shoulder, Kaworu grimaced in pain as he looked up into Shinji's eyes.

    "Kaworu…" Shinji felt something wet on his hand and he pulled his hand away and saw the red liquid from where Kaworu had been wounded. He looked towards his father who had now dropped the gun and was staring up towards the ceiling.

    "Yui… You have returned!"

    Those were the last words Shinji heard before he let out a scream and a white light engulfed him once again.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • jcmoorehead said:
    Kaworu nodded, "Indeed, although all the life that would be spawned from these seeds would be humanoid. During the uncertain times of conflict between Adam and Lilith some life did flourish and early civilizations were forms. A strange union between Lilith and Adam based lifeforms. It is they who were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls and the construction of this tower, it was they who were the roots of the group known as SEELE."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Interesting... Explains where the DSS come from...
    jcmoorehead said:
    "I've seen you fall in love Shinji, sometimes it's with Asuka as you have here, sometimes it's with Rei, sometimes the two of them together or sometimes..." Kaworu laughed, "Sometimes it's even with me."
    Shinji felt himself blush, "I see..."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Awww....
    jcmoorehead said:
    Further high-pitched screams were heard and the group looked towards the source of the noise. Around the perimeter four ghostly white figures had appeared, each one dwarfing Unit 01 in size. Misato's eyes widened with fear as she gazed from figure to figure. Each one was identical, nightmarish wearing a halo of their own. The figures had no defining features only blood red holes where their eyes would be and a similar style hole in the middle of their chest.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Uh oh... these ....people? again.
     
    Strypgia said:
    Gendo, you really are the Bastard King...
    Wait, there's another one? The AAA Wunder is a salvaged FAR vessel. Did they find another one, or build it using the Wunder as a model? How the heck are they powering it? They needed Unit-01 to energize the Wunder, so... ?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It's a ship made by the FAR (Ancestrals as I call them)? I thought it was completely built by humans! They had Evangelion tech and 14 years to make it.
     
    Viper5497 said:
    It's a ship made by the FAR (Ancestrals as I call them)? I thought it was completely built by humans! They had Evangelion tech and 14 years to make it.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    It's not really stated in the film itself anywhere but I think the overall look of it and perhaps some of the side stuff that has been released (Art books/etc) imply that it's a mixture of both.
     
    Viper5497 said:
    It's a ship made by the FAR (Ancestrals as I call them)? I thought it was completely built by humans! They had Evangelion tech and 14 years to make it.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It's the Ancestral Assault Ark Wunder. It's a FAR product, from the White Moon. It's a cute little reference, too: The Black Moon is a big sphere, like an egg, and the AAA Wunder has a non-coincidental resemblance to a spermatozoa.

    But like JC said, the Wunder also looks like it's had a substantial amount of human tech piled on top of it. So overall, it's a lot like an Evangalion: Far organic-tech core, human-tech skin to 'control' it.
     
    YMNRA Chapter. 34
  • Threadmarks
    • You Must (Not) Run Away - Chapter 34 - The Living Years

    "The white zone is for loading and unloading only. If you have to load or unload go to the white zone."

    This strange announcement was the first that that Shinji heard echo all around him as he wandered through a large open space. It appeared to be some sort of airport terminal, to one side of him were rows of unoccupied seats and beyond those a window that looked out to an empty run away. To the opposite side of him were store fronts but each one with their shutters down at this moment in time.

    "Where… am I?" He asked aloud, his voice echoing through the empty lounge.

    There was of course no reply to his question. Shinji finally came to a stop to look at an information board overhead. It told him that he was in a departure lounge but for which airport he had no idea. He had no idea how he had even gotten here. Shinji had never flown by plane or been in an airport before, any travelling that he had done before the Wunder had been by train or by car.

    He walked over to the large glass window overlooking the runaway. Much like the departure lounge the space outside was also bereft of any activity. There were a couple of planes he could see, a few sets of steps leading up to the doors of the planes and some vehicles used for transporting luggage or for refueling but no people whatsoever.

    'Where is everyone?' Shinji thought to himself as feelings of panic started to set in. Panic accompanied by slight annoyance. He was getting fed up of waking up in new places like this without any information. He was convinced that this wasn't a dream but if it wasn't then even by the standards of what he had already encountered it was a bizarre location to be in.

    His second thought that maybe this was another part of the tower. Kaworu had told him that it was possible for the tower to alter its form but then why would it pick this form? Also if he was still in the tower then where was everyone else? Where was his father? Where was Kaworu?

    "Kaworu!" Shinji exclaimed and spun around as more feelings of dread rushed through him. He felt his body start to sweat as he thought of Kaworu. The last time he had seen Kaworu the boy had been lying in Shinji's arms and bleeding from where he had been shot. Now Kaworu was absolutely nowhere to be seen.

    "I have to find him!" Shinji said as he walked away from the window and back to the information board. Maybe he could find some sort of map or even someone else if he went to another part of the terminal.

    "Your friend is fine Shinji." Shinji froze up immediately at hearing the woman's soft voice from behind him. He slowly turned around to face the source of the sound. Standing at the entrance to the lounge was a woman with short dark brown hair, she was wearing a lab coat and smiling at Shinji.

    Shinji's knees started to tremble as he slowly recognized who she was, "M-Mother…?"

    Shinji felt his eyes start to tear up as his mother, Yui Ikari simply nodded her head. He slowly walked towards her as if in some sort of trance. A few steps away he reached out with a shaking hand and placed it on her shoulder. She was real and she was standing close to him.

    "Y-You're real…" He muttered, "Y-You're really here…"

    "Yes… I am." She replied as he walked forward and she wrapped her arms around him tightly pulling him close to her.

    "I've missed you so much Shinji." She whispered to him as she ran her hand through his hair and hugged him, "You've… You've grown so much. I'm so proud of you."

    "Mother…" Shinji didn't know what to say as he raised his arms up and put them around her. He felt his tears trickle slowly down his cheeks as words finally started to come, "I… I've missed you too…"

    Neither of them moved for a couple of minutes as the reunited mother and son shared a warm embrace after not having seen each other for so long. Finally Yui released him from the hug and gently took hold of his hand. She guided him towards one of the seats and the two of them sat and looked out over the tarmac runway.

    She looked to be in thought for a few moments before turning to him, "I… I suppose I owe you an explanation don't I Shinji? About me… About all of this and what is happening right now… About what happened to me so many years ago and about what is happening to your friends?"

    Shinji wiped a tear from his eye, "Are they alright?"

    Yui nodded, "They are fine but… it will not be possible for you to see them just yet."

    "Why not?"

    "Because we have no entered the process of Instrumentality. Your friends are currently on a journey of their own, much like you are but… you will be reunited with them. It will come after we have ended this unification of souls."

    "Unification… Instrumentality? Did… Did I fail?"

    "Not at all." Yui smiled and shook her head, "The process might have begun but it has been contained to the space around the tower. If… If anyone failed Shinji it was me, I had hoped that it would not come to this at all but it seems it was unavoidable and I have only myself to blame."

    "How? You were… You were in Unit 01 weren't you?"

    She nodded, "By becoming the control system for Evangelion Unit 01 it was my hope that myself and you could be put into a position that we could avoid this fate for mankind. My intention was to stop SEELE, to use Evangelion Unit 01 to halt their plan but I failed to talk many things into account."

    "You mean father don't you?" Shinji asked.

    For a moment his mother looked angry at the mention of his father but her expression softened quickly, "Yes, I do. I did not anticipate the toll my leaving would take on him. I did not know he would go on such a crusade. I'm truly sorry for that Shinji… I didn't know he would act in the way that he did. I thought… he was a better man than that."

    "Why didn't you tell him?" Shinji asked, "About what you were planning to do?"

    "I couldn't… I knew he would try to stop me in some way but it was the only way to stop SEELE. If they had gotten their candidates into Unit 01 we would not have control over it and would be powerless to stop them." Yui explained, "It wasn't an easy decision so I thought it would be best to make it look like I was pulled in by an accident. I knew they would try to extract me but I thought after a failed attempt they would not try again."

    "You left us…"

    "I regret the way I handled it. Those things that happened to you and everyone else, I have to take responsibility for it." Yui let out a sigh, "My hopes and regrets are irrelevant right now though. Your sister has already told me this."

    "Rei?" Shinji looked up in surprise and with a look of happiness, "You spoke to Rei?"

    Yui nodded, "Yes, Rei… helped me awaken Unit 01. It was the only way I could get through to you and hopefully control the tower. Unfortunately I was unable to halt the process of unification. I was able to restrict it to only the area around the tower but… that is why you are here now?"

    "Unification?" Shinji asked.

    "Yes, SEELE also called it the Instrumentality of Mankind. It is the merging of all human souls into one being, one consciousness. We lose our form and become on entity, each being capable of living their ideal lives within without pain or sorrow. Except SEELE did not desire the rest of humanity for this, they wanted the process for only themselves with the rest of humanity being denied access to their paradise."

    "What would happen to everyone else?"

    "Everyone else would cease to exist and the members of SEELE would be reborn as a being within the bodies of the Eva Series as a perfect being."

    Shinji's eyes widened with shock, "They… were going to destroy everything?"

    She nodded, "As you know now we are related to one of the council members Shinji. I knew of them and their plans for some time. I couldn't let them go through with it. SEELE saw humanity as a stagnating series and themselves as the ones with the potential to push it forward. I saw humanity as a species with endless potential. We might not be perfect, we might have conflicts and wars and times where things seem doomed but… we would overcome that."

    "W-What about father?"

    Again there was a flash of anger on her face at the mention of Shinji's father but she let out a sigh and the look changed to sadness. Shinji couldn't help but feel bad for asking the question, "Your father wasn't… a bad person Shinji. I know that is hard for you to believe right now but he wasn't. He was just… misunderstood when he was younger."

    Shinji cut her off, "Whatever he was then he isn't now… You know that."

    Yui almost cringed to hear the anger and bitterness in Shinji's voice, "I know Shinji and I'm so sorry. How he ended up… is my fault."

    "No! It isn't!" Shinji raised his voice, "You… He did that to himself! He made all of those choices himself because he couldn't face the truth! He was a coward and you… You just… You abandoned us."

    She cringed as Shinji's words stung her. She saw his expression change immediately to shock as he realized what he had said.

    "I'm sorry!" He exclaimed, "I… I didn't mean…"

    "No… You're right Shinji." She stopped him, "I did abandon you and him. I have no right to call myself your mother. I just… I wish I could make it up to you."

    "He wanted to get you back… but how?" Shinji's voice was barely above a whisper.

    "His plan… He wasn't willing to sacrifice humanity in the same way SEELE were but he wanted complete Unification but he would be the one at the front. Except… something different happened. He didn't just want Instrumantality for this world but for the many others that exist. He wanted to reach through the barrier and shape a new world in his image… he… he nearly succeeded."

    "But you said the Unification had started?"

    "It has." Yui confirmed, "But it has been restricted to only a small area thanks to Unit 01 and it is in a state of uncertainty before of you. Your father is out there right now like your friends are. Living a life and exploring their dreams and possibilities. They wait for a decision to be made."

    "Yes, your decision Shinji." Yui answered, "Will you set these people free? Let them return to the world as it was or will you allow this to continue and swallow the world. Will you let everyone experience this unification and become one being?"

    Shinji looked down at his hands and clenched and unclenched them nervously. It sounded so absurd that he alone had this power at his fingertips. For a moment it sounded appealing, he had been hurt so much over the years that the idea of never having to experience that again was tempting. Same went for all his friends.

    Finally thought he shook his head, "No… I don't want that to happen. I don't like pain and sadness but it's what makes us human right? If we get away from that then we're nothing. It'd just be like a good dream, it might be pleasant whilst we're in there but in the end, it isn't real. It's just a fantasy."

    "So, you've already made your decision?" Yui asked him as she took his hand.

    "Yes." Shinji confirmed, "What my father wants… What SEELE wanted isn't right. I might get hurt outside of this but at least my feelings will be real. Here they'll just be what I want and they'll be nothing more or less. I don't want that."

    "Good, I'm proud of you." Yui suddenly stood up and Shinji rose alongside her. She hugged him again before saying, "Let me show you something first Shinji."

    At that exact moment in time a sound was heard from within the terminal. A woman's voice came over a loudspeaker.

    "Passengers for Flight 1701 are now able to board. Please make your way to the aircraft. Remember that the white zone is for loading and unloading only. If you need to load or unload, go to the white zone."

    Shinji looked towards the end of the lounge and saw that one of the entranceways had now opened. He walked alongside his mother towards it as she smiled at him.

    "What's going on? Where are we going?" He asked her in confusion. His mother had just asked him about what his decision was and he had made it, so what else was there for him to do? Was this a part of that or was it something else?

    "When this is done Shinji… You won't be able to see me again." Yui said, her voice tinged with sadness, "I will miss you but before that I want to show you something. I want to show you the others, the worlds that still have gone on and still have hope. The proof that you have made the right decision. I also… Well I wish to spend time with you and see you happy."

    "Mother…"

    "Remember above all else Shinji, I love you."

    "I love you too."

    The two of them walked through into a small corridor and before Shinji knew it they were stepping onto an aircraft. As they moved down the aisle of the aircraft towards what he presumed were their seats Shinji could see a number of them were already occupied. Most of the people he didn't recognize but every now and then there was a familiar face he had seen from the Wunder.

    "What is this?" He asked her as they sat down and his mother put his seatbelt on properly.

    She simply smiled at him as he heard the engines fire up and a bright white light spread through the cabin of the aircraft.

    XXX

    "Hey Mom! I'm home!" Mari called out as she entered the front door of her house. The first thing she heard was the TV on in the front room, there was the familiar sound of a clock ticking down followed by the same jingle she heard every time she got in from school.

    Moments later her mother's voice was heard calling from the kitchen, "Hey Mari! Welcome home, don't forget to wipe your feet!"

    Mari had already taken severel steps into the passageway by the time her mother had called out. She looked down at her shoes noticing the mud around them.

    'Oops...'

    She shuffled back to the front door and wiped her feet a couple of times before deciding to take off her shoes. She kicked them off leaving them on the mat trying to not get any mud on her socks. She had no idea how the mud could even have gotten there. She supposed that school shoes were mysterious in that way, they were like magnets for mud.

    It wasn't as if she had walked across the fields to get home this time either. She had stuck to the path just as she had been told to, lfest she hear the same speech about having muddy shoes for the fifth time this month.

    She made her way into the kitchen and the smell of a beef casserole filled her nostrils. Her mother turned and smiled at her before glancing down at Mari's trousers and giving her a disapproving look, "Mud on your trousers again! How many times do I have to tell you?"

    Mari simply grinned and shrugged, "I'm sorry! It just happens! I can't help it, I am careful!"

    "Maybe if you changed them when you wanted to play football at lunchtime It wouldn't happen!" Her mother sighed and walked over to the sink pulling a clean cloth out for Mari. She ran it under the tap for a few seconds before throwing it towards Mari.

    Mari nimble caught the cloth, "I'd love to do that but you know how that school can be with its uniform policy. Need to represent at all times or some rubbish like that."

    Her mother sighed again, "Yeah I know... Just be careful."

    "Yeah yeah I will!" Mari grabbed herself a few sheets of kitchen towel and sat herself down at the table and placed the towel around her foot. She started to wipe away some of the mud that she was able to from her trousers.

    "So how was school anyway?" Her mother asked as she went back over to the oven.

    "The usual." Mari replied, "Plenty of talking about exams and the future as usual. Trying to prepare us for what's to come. We did more anthology work in English, some World War 1 poetry this time."

    "And how was that?"

    "It was alright. Mr Porter at least managed to make it interesting. I can't imagine the other teachers being able to do that." Mari smiled as she continued to wipe away the first, "Oh! We got a new student in my class today as well. Rei Ikari, she just moved over here from Japan."

    "Ikari..." Her mother seemed to think for a few moments, "Oh! Yui's daughter!"

    "Yui?"

    Her mother nodded, "Yeah Yui Ikari! She just transferred to our lab from the Japanese division. She'll be staying with us for a year to oversee a few important tests. Her husband Gendo is in charge of the Japanese branch."

    Mari nodded as a strange feeling went through her at the mention of those names. Something about them seemed familiar, as if she had heard them before.

    "They have a son too actually."

    'Shinji!' The name flew through Mari's mind without warning and sure enough the next few words to come out of her mother's mouth confirmed it.

    "I think his name is Shinji. They're twins but Shinji will be staying with his father back in Japan."

    Mari felt a wave of dizziness rush over her suddenly she shook her head and it was immediately gone. Something felt weird about hearing that series of names but she couldn't quite place it. It was as if she had heard them before but that couldn't have been possibly. She had only met Rei today and hadn't really spoken to her.

    "So, what is she like?"

    Mari was snapped from her thoughts by her mother's question, "Oh, she seems nice! She's quite shy and soft spoken but I suppose moving to a new country and getting used to it all will leave you like that. She speaks English really well too. I was a little bit surprised."

    'She is also absolutely gorgeous...' Mari thought to herself with a little bit of a blush. She figured she could probably leave that part out of describing Rei to her mother.

    "Well I hope she settles in well, it can't be easy to move to somewhere like this but I'm sure you'll be there to help her out." Mari's mother replied.

    "Yeah! I will." Mari nodded enthusiastically, "Anyway, I'm going upstairs to get changed. Shout me down when tea is ready!"

    Mari didn't hear her mother's reply as she left the kitchen. Her thoughts were instead occupied by Rei Ikari. Another name had come into her mind in that moment, Ayanami but she didn't know where it had come from. All she knew was that there was something about those people that seemed strange familiar and even unsettling.

    XXX

    Asuka stepped through the front door of the apartment and called out, "I'm home!"

    She kicked off her shoes, leaving them untidily arranged with the other sets that were by the door and heard the call of her mother from the front room, "Welcome home!"

    Asuka stepped through into the front room and took a look around. Sat at the dining table, a large number of papers scattered around her was her mother. Asuka rolled her eyes and smiled, this was not a completely unfamiliar scene. It may have been her mother's day off but she somehow always found a way to work somehow.

    "Busy day?" Asuka asked.

    "Something like that." Kyoko replied with a sigh, "Supposed to be my day off but of course the lab had to send over all this paperwork for me to go through."

    "Could someone else not have done it?"

    "Like hell, these are my tests!" Kyoko said sharply, "I'm not letting someone else touch my stuff. Of course, this had to happen when I'm not at the lab!"

    Asuka shrugged, "So why not just go in."

    "Are you stupid? It's my day off of course!" Kyoko exclaimed, "My days off are for me to be here at home and to see you when you get in. I spent enough time there."

    "I wouldn't mind." Asuka said, "Your works important, isn't it?"

    "Not as important as you are Asuka. I made a promise that I'd always be there for you when you were born and I intend to keep it."

    Asuka grinned, "So what was it that couldn't wait?"

    "Just the usual world changing stuff that is to be expected from me." Kyoko grinned back.

    Asuka threw herself down on the couch and laughed at her mother's boasting. She switched the TV on and stretched out, "World changing eh? So, are you going to tell me?"

    "It's nothing to get too exciting about just yet but we think we got some positive results back from one fo the samples I put together." Kyoko started to explain, "We're been studying some unique organic materials at the lab and we were able to extract a liquid from them. I build a specialized chamber and flooded it with the liquid. We placed a damaged tissue sample in there and it looks like the thing has managed to regenerate somehow."

    Asuka felt a strange feeling of dread at hearing her mother's explanation. She blinked and the image of a large chamber appeared, there was a person lying in a tank surrounded by a peculiar and strong-smelling orange liquid.

    Beyond the chamber was a large window and she could see the forms of some very concerned looking people. She didn't recognize any of them. She blinked again and the image was gone and her mother was waiting for her reply.

    "So... Could this be used on people?" Asuka wasn't sure why she had asked that of all questions but her vision had made an impact.

    Kyoko shrugged, "Maybe... Don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We need to find out why it regenerated first and set up further tests. Then we need to work out side effects and possible applications, be a long way off of testing on people."

    "This liquid, does it have a name?"

    'LCL.'

    Those initials popped into Asuka's head before she had even finished asking the question. Her mother opened her mouth and Asuka got that feeling of dread back.

    "Life Component Liquid, which is a bit of a mouthful so just LCL. Until today it had no name but they're optimistic about its properties about a regenerative source so what can I do? I'm there to study and turn it into something to benefit mankind not market it."

    Asuka frowned and the feeling of dread grew. She realized very quickly that she no longer wished to hear about this subject. She was proud of her mother for such an accomplishment but something had unnerved her about hearing about it. She could feel her legs start to shake.

    "So, what's for dinner?" Asuka asked trying to change the subject.

    "Oh crap!" Koyko exclaimed, "I'm so sorry Asuka but I've been so busy with this that I fo-"

    Asuka laughed, "Forgot to prepare something? It's alright I'll call Shinji and get him to bring something over. He always makes three times too much for them."

    Asuka pulled her phone out of her bag and brought up Shinji's number. She stopped when she saw the wide grin on her mother's face, "What?"

    Kyoko continued to grin, "Nothing! I just think it's sweet that he's the first person you think of. You could have had your pick of anything but Shinji's cooking is the thing that comes to your mind first. It's quite romantic."

    Asuka felt herself blush at the comment, "Oh shut up! It isn't like that! We're just… friends and besides it's a trade we have. He brings us food and I make sure he is looked after, that idiot wouldn't know what time of day it was if it wasn't for me. I'm the one who make sure he gets to school on time too! He's getting off lightly if you ask me!"

    Kyoko just laughed, "You are truly my daughter. He's a sweet boy though, you could do a lot worse than him you know."

    "Drop it mother!"

    "Ooh, calling me mother now!" She continued to laugh, "Seems I have struck a nerve."

    Asuka just ignored her and continued to blush as she brought up Shinji's details on her phone again. It wasn't that her mother was wrong about her and Shinji, it was more that Asuka didn't quite know how to act on it yet. Both her and Shinji had been friends for a very long time, since they were little children and it had always been that way.

    She had considered asking him out many times. The idea of a relationship with him, well it did sound nice but there was always a risk involved. Shinji had been the one constant in her life, someone she could rely on and she liked to think she was the same for him. She wanted him to be around. She actually felt like she could be herself around him but then if they moved past friendship the risk would be there of losing him.

    'I already lost him once didn't I?'

    Asuka looked up as that strange thought entered her mind. She shook her head and tried to cast it away. Wherever the thought had come from it wasn't true. She had never been close to losing Shinji. Yet that thought wouldn't go away.

    'What is wrong with me tonight?'

    She started to make the call but just as she did a feeling of dizziness washed over her. She stumbled forward and felt the phone drop from her hand. The vision from before had returned only more intense this time. That tank from before came back into view only this time she was standing over it and could see the occupant.

    Asuka's heart leapt into her throat as she recognized herself floating inside the tank. There were a number of tubes running to various parts of her body, a mask fitted over her mouth and she seemed to be wearing an eye patch.

    She blinked again and the front room had returned, she could hear the distant echoes of her mother's voice calling out to her. Asuka felt herself fall backwards and a soft pair of arms caught her. She looked up into her mother's terrified face.

    "M-Mama?" Asuka mumbled.

    "Rest Asuka… I… I'll get some help!"

    "Shinji… Get… Shinji… I think… I'm starting to remember…" Asuka muttered as she slipped into unconsciousness.

    XXX

    Mari pulled on a top and switched the power on for her computer. All the time she was getting changed the image of Rei Ikari had not left her mind. It was strange how the girl had made such an impression on her. She had only known Rei for less than a day and even that would be stretching it. She had said hello to her once and sat next to her during maths. It wasn't like they had had any contact beyond that.
    Yet Mari found herself enthralled by Rei. The girl just had an aura about her. She had perfect deep blue eyes that Mari felt she could just get lost in, she had cute short brown hair and although Mari hadn't seen her smile she was certain it's be a beautiful smile.

    Mari wasn't especially bothered by being attracted to Rei. She had come to terms with the fact that she liked girls a while ago. Her mother had been accepting of that fact and whilst she might have received a few snide comments at school most people had been supportive.

    'It's funny but I don't just feel attracted to her but I feel like I know her. Being near her… Just felt right. This isn't like any other time I've found a girl attractive…'

    She sighed and rose from her seat as the computer was stuck booting up. She bashed the side of the tower and moved towards the window.

    'Stupid bloody thing, it always does this after an update!'

    Mari looked out of the window and down the street. It was mostly silent aside from a couple of kids out there playing and throwing a ball towards one another. She looked a bit further down and almost called out in fright at that she saw. She blinked and looked again to confirm it. There was a person stood in the middle of the road, not just any person but as she kept on looking it seemed to be Rei.

    Except this wasn't the Rei that she had met today. This Rei was much paler, had short blue hair and was wearing a bizarre black skin-tight body suit. From here Mari could also see the girls piercing red eyes. She kept on looking ahead as Rei stood in the middle of the road and then finally she looked directly at Mari.

    Mari ducked in fright and slowly peeked back up out of the window. The figure was gone. She shook her head and looked up and down the road but there was absolutely no trace of the girl.

    'What the hell?'

    She leaned up on the windowsill trying to get a better look in case the person had moved to one side of the road but she was certain that they were gone.

    'What the hell is wrong with me? I must have really fallen for her to start seeing things like that. Why did I see her like that though? I feel… like I've seen it before.'

    She moved away from the window and felt that dizziness pass through her again. She stopped in her tracks as a rush of words and phrases popped into her head followed by the image of her holding that paler and blue haired version of Rei. Only Mari was wearing a similar style body-suit but it was pink in colour.

    'SEELE… Evangelion… Angel… Nemesis Series… Akagi… What the hell?'

    She felt fear rush through her as each of the words was accompanied by an image. Impossible images of strange machines and environments. Stuff from Science Fiction or from a strange nightmare and yet they felt so real.

    "Mari! Tea's ready!"

    Mari was snapped from her thoughts by her mother's call. She quickly exited the room and moved downstairs back into the kitchen. A plate of the casserole had been put out for her and her mother was already eating. She shot Mari a smile, "Are you feeling alright? You look a bit lost in thought, bit strange to see you quiet."

    Mari stuck out her tongue in reply, "Sometimes I like to think. Just not often!"

    "It's about that girl isn't it?"

    Mari blushed but nodded, "Yeah…"

    "Well ask her out then!"

    Mari almost dropped her fork in shock, "And you call me out on being impulsive! I can't do that!"

    "Why not?" Her mother shrugged, "You like her don't you? Worst that she could do is say no."

    "W-Well because… She'll probably be freaked out by it, I've known hew for less than a day." Mari explained, "I mean what am I supposed to do? Walk up to her, 'Oh hey Rei, I'm Mari Makinami, Teessides resident lesbian schoolgirl. Would you like to go on a date with me?'"

    "Don't be silly!" Her mother shot back, "Just ask her if she'd like to go into town with you, take her out for a meal and show her the sights."

    "That'll be a very short afternoon if I'm showing her the sights…"

    "Just don't mention it's a date, get to know her and take her somewhere. Go see a film together and get some food. I'm sure she'd enjoy that."

    'Go and see a film together and have a meal…' Mari felt that feeling of familiarity wash over her again. Another image this time of her and the other Rei walking along a bridge hand in hand. Both were dressed more casually and the other Rei had an expression of wonder on her face.

    Mari shook it off, "Maybe…"

    She looked at her mother as the two resumed eating in silence all the while thinking about those strange words and images she had seen.

    "This is going to be a strange question but…" Mari started, "I've not met Rei or their family before have I?"

    Hey mother frowned, "No. Why do you ask?"

    Mari shrugged, "I dunno, just… when you said her brother's name I felt like I had heard it before somewhere. Also… this is going to sound stupid but when I was upstairs it felt like I remembered something from a long time ago."

    "Oh?" Mari's mother raised an intrigued eyebrow, "What was it?"

    "I dunno, some words… Evangelion… Nemesis Series… Angels… I dunno why it's bugging me so much."

    Mari looked at her mother's reaction and was surprised when her mother didn't laugh but instead looked away and seemed almost sad. Mari waited a few moments as they sat in silence until she finally spoke, "Mom… Is everything alright?"

    "So… You're finally starting to remember… I wondered when this would happen."

    Mari looked at her in confusion, "Remember? Remember what?"

    Her mother looked up at her and smiled, "The world beyond this one, your true past. I've been wondering when this day would come. There… are some things I need to tell you."

    XXX

    'I remember now... This... this is not where I should be...'

    Asuka felt a stinging pain in her head as she slowly opened her eyes to find herself in her bed. She didn't know how long she had been out for but she awoke with a feeling of sadness. Her dreams had been strange and vivid but with them came the reality she had been fighting against. This was not real, none of it was and it was time for her to return.

    She looked over towards the doorway to see her mother standing there, a sad look in her eyes as she simply nodded her head at Asuka.

    "You've realized then."

    Asuka nodded back, "Y-Yeah... I think... I always knew but I fought it. I just wanted..."

    Asuka felt the sting of tears in her eyes, "You were taken from me when I was four. I just wanted a... I needed to know what it would have been like to have you there. Even if it was temporary I had to know that... you loved me."

    "You idiot!" Kyoko stepped forward and flung her arms around Asuka, "I always loved you and I always will do Asuka. You're my daughter, I... I fought so hard to have you and I'm so sorry things ended the way they did."

    "It wasn't your fault..." Asuka muttered as she hugged her mother back, "You were always there through, weren't you?"

    "Yes." Kyoko confirmed with a nod, "Inside Unit 02... I felt your pain as you fought those monsters. I tried to protect you as best I could but what I could do was limited. I was always looking over you... I never stopped loving you."

    Asuka sighed, "I guess when I came here I made myself forget about it all. I always... felt like something wasn't right with me. A strange emptiness but I never figured it out until now."

    "What was it that did it?" Kyoko asked.

    "You talking about the tissue regeneration." Asuka explained, "I started to remember the tank I was put in after the incident in Unit 03. That tank... it saved my life back then. That was your work."
    Kyoko laughed, "I did say I was going to change the world, didn't I?"

    "And you did." Asuka smiled back at her, "Shinji is here isn't he?"

    "Yes, he made you some soup for when you wake up. He's really worried about you."

    "Can I... see him?" Asuka asked, "I know it isn't really him but... Is it alright if I delude myself just a bit longer?"

    "Of course. I'll tell him to come him."

    Kyoko kissed Asuka gently on the forehead and started to leave the room. Asuka turned and propped up a pillow allowing herself to sit up properly and watched as a visibly nervous Shinji entered her room. He was carrying a tray with what smelled like chicken soup in a bowl as well as some bread. He placed the tray carefully on her bedside table and sat down on the edge of her bed.

    "How are you feeling Asuka?"

    "Better." Asuka nodded, "Thank you for coming to see me. You've... always been there for me haven't you?"

    Shinji shook his head and blushed, "N-No... If anything you've been the one who has been there for me. All those times you've helped me when I was being bullied or... didn't know how to do work or needed waking up in the morning."

    "And what about all the times you've came to bring me things when I've been ill? Tended to my injuries when I've hurt myself?" Asuka retorted, "Been there when I cried because I missed my mother?"

    Shinj smiled, "I... I guess."

    "And now you're here for me again and you made me soup and... I hate it so much." She laughed, "I hate relying on people but... if it's you then I guess it's alright."

    "Would you like the soup now?" He asked.

    Asuka looked at the bowl and started to reach over to pick it up. She realized about halfway into the motion that her hands were trembling and she would be unable to pick up the bowl. She glared at it in frustration before mumbling something under her breath. Shinji looked at her in confusion, "Did you say something?"

    "…Need you... feed... me..." She muttered.

    "I... I can't hear you."

    "I need you to feed me!" Asuka raised her voice, "I can't... pick the stupid bowl up. My hands are too shaky from what happened."

    "O-Oh!" Shinji immediately picked up the bowl and the spoon. He stirred around the bowl a little bit before getting a good amount of soup on the spoon. He slowly and carefully lifted the spoon out of the bowl and guided it towards Asuka. She opened her mouth and allowed the spoon to enter before closing her lips around it and allowing Shinji to pull the spoon out.

    She waited a few moments before smiling, "It's good... As always."

    This repeated until the soup was half finished. She raised her hand to signal him to stop as he put the spoon in another time. He placed the bowl back on the table and looked at her. Asuka simply looked back, this was nice and it was so tempting for her to remain like this. Living in this little world that had been conjured up especially for her but this Shinji wasn't the real one and this homelife wasn't where she belonged.

    She shot Shinji a sad little smile, "You know I love you, don't you?"

    Shinji looked back at her and she wondered how he would react to her sudden declaration. Much to her surprise he looked her straight in the eyes, "I love you too Asuka."

    He leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips, she ran her hand along his face. It all felt so real and she supposed that in a way it was real. It was as real as she wanted and as she needed it to be but it just wasn't reality. It was little more than a dream she had conjured up for herself. She released Shinji from the kiss and he continued to look her in the eye.

    "You're returning now aren't you?"

    "So you knew as well?"

    He nodded, "In this world we're all connected it seems, the people we conjured are fragments of those people but reshaped in the images of those who conjure them."

    "That sounds awfully clever coming from you." She remarked.

    "I don't think they're my words but probably someone elses after they explained it to me."

    "So you'll be going through this sort of thing too?" She asked, "Does that mean... you might not return?"

    Shinji shook his head, "I don't know but... I promised I wouldn't leave you and I will keep that."

    "If you don't I'll come get you myself." Asuka warned him with a smile, "Can you go... and get mama for me. I need to talk to her."

    "Of course." They kissed one more time before Shinji got up and left the room. Moments later Kyoko walked back in with a smile on her face.

    "So... Are you a fragment like that Shinji is?" Asuka asked.

    Kyoko shook her head, "No, I'm the real thing. All I ever desired was to see you again Asuka, the real you and not some false you and so I was brought into this. I was given the chance to do something I never could do. I was given the chance to raise you and be a mother to you. I watched you grow up in this place, I fed you and clothed you, was there when you were ill and... I even got a chance to watch you fall in love."

    Kyoko sat herself down next to Asuka, "I'm so sorry you never had a real childhood Asuka. I'm sorry you never had that opportunity."

    Asuka threw her arms around her and held her tightly. She was about to speak but no words came out, only a slight sob and a sniff as tears ran down her cheeks, "Mama... I'm... Glad I got to see you one more time."

    "I'm glad I got to see you too Asuka." Kyoko said, "I'm so proud of you, everything you've fought through and the person you are. It hasn't been easy for you but... you've overcame everything."
    Asuka laughed, "Yeah..."

    Kyoko released Asuka from the hug and held her hands in her own, "I'm sorry I won't be around for you but keep moving forward Asuka. Keep striving to be the best but don't forget others are there to help you too."

    Asuka nodded, "I know... Shinji... Mari... Misato... They'll all be there for me."

    "But make sure they also get a reminded of how special you are as well, after all you're my daughter." Kyoko laughed as she spoke.

    "I can see where I get my arrogance from now." Asuka laughed as well, "I'll make sure they stay in line and remember."

    "Remember as well... I'll always be looking out for you Asuka. I love you."

    "I love you too Mama."

    They embraced once again as Asuka felt a warmth spread throughout her. It was followed by a bright white light as the room faded around her.

    XXX

    Shinji now found himself standing in the middle of a street and looking up at an apartment block, a block not dissimilar to the one that he and Misato had lived at many years ago. He felt his throat go dry as he already knew why he was here of all places, it would not be Misato he'd be encountering in this place but someone else.

    His mother was stood next to him, her hand on his shoulder and he spoke, "He's in there… Isn't he?"

    Yui nodded, "Yes… This is his world."

    Shinji swallowed and peered up as she reassured him, "Take your time. Unlike those other places he will be able to see you."

    Shinji nodded slowly. It had been an unusual journey for him since he had stepped onto the plane. Just as Kaworu and his mother had mentioned there had been so many other worlds out there, each one with different versions of himself there. Some of them had been in various stages of progress. He had seen a world in which Third Impact and Instrumentality had happened, it was a world in which he, Asuka and others were rebuilding their lives and relationships.

    He had witnessed a world that had suffered the Third Impact but somehow managed to reset itself. A world where he lived as a regular school student amazed by the strange stone statues that littered the area around his town.

    There had been a world where he had dared to act during a kiss that Asuka had dared him to take part in. One that had seemingly led to wonderful consequences, a stark contrast to the first world where h had simply stood there and done nothing.

    As Kaworu had mentioned there were sometimes many strange differences in these worlds. Relationships differed and even people differed. In the worlds he thought of before Mari had not factored into things at all for some reason. In other worlds he had found love not with Asuka but with Rei. In others he had found love with Kaworu. There was one particular world where he had even found love with Asuka and Kaworu at the same time.

    One thing that bound all of these worlds was that they each had hope within them. They each shown Shinji the power of hope and continuing. Of not running away and of communication. Each Shinji within these worlds face their trials, sometimes it had been disastrous. Yet each Shinji had made the same decision as he did, to abandon Instrumentality and push on in the hope that they might find happiness.

    Even in those worlds ravaged by disaster and Third Impact, where they fought hard to rebuild their lives it was still there.

    "Anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live. After all, you are alive so you will always have the chance to be happy. As long as the Sun, the Moon and the Earth exist, everything will be alright…"

    Shinji looked up as his mother spoke those words to him.

    "What do I say to him?" Shinji asked.

    Yui shook her head, "I don't know Shinji. That is for you to decide."

    "How do you feel about him?"

    "Conflicted, I still love him… I know a side of Gendo that many others do not. I know the man he used to be. He was smart, funny and kind. He was unfairly treated by others but I also know the things he has done since." She said, "I can't forgive him for those things but I cannot let go of my love for him."

    Shinji walked forward with his mother following close behind, they went up two flights of stairs before coming to a door. The nameplate read Ikari and taking a deep breath Shinji pressed the buzzer. It did not take long before the door slowly opened.

    It was his father who answered, dressed much to Shinji's surprise fair more casually than he had ever expected to see him. The man was also clean shaven and wearing non-reflective eyes. It was the first time in years Shinji had actually seen his father's eyes clearly. The man actually looked human, he looked at Yui and then at Shinji before nodding his head.

    "I have been expecting this. Come inside."

    Shinji followed him inside into the front room. On the floor was a toy box and a small child with short brown hair playing happily with a train. Shinji instantly recognized the child as a younger version of himself. The kid seemed to ignore Shinji's presence and carried on running the toy train along a small build up section of track.

    "I knew this day would come." Gendo uttered as he walked through into the apartments kitchen, "This… Was only ever temporary. My time running must come to an end."

    "You're going to return?" Shinji asked curiously. It was strange for him to hear his father utter those worlds, this was surely what his father had always wanted. To live in this world free of pain and suffering, to have the family he always wanted. Why would he return? Wasn't this what he had fought for?

    "Yes… You were right." Gendo explained, "This life… It was what I wanted but every day I wake up and I remember the life beyond this one. I remember everything I did to get to this point and I remember all I sacrificed and I can't will it away. That I suppose is my punishment, to have what I desired but to always be reminded that it is nothing more than a façade."

    "Why didn't you make it so that you could forget then?" Shinji asked.

    "Because I desired punishment for what I had done. I could not be a father to you without Yui and everything you said was correct." Gendo added, "I was a coward and I ran away. I am responsible for so much pain and suffering in the world. I desired punishment for my crimes, I would have welcomed death but death is not a punishment."

    "So your punishment was to remember it all? To always feel that emptiness each time you saw mother or me."

    Gendo nodded, "Indeed."

    Shinji shook his head, "You know you won't have a life outside of this, don't you?"

    Gendo nodded again, "I am more than willing to accept any punishment for my crimes. I will readily admit to everything and explain it all. I will aid WILLE and its people however I can."

    Shinji looked Gendo straight in the eyes and looked to see if maybe this was another lie from him. Another way of his father trying to manipulate him but there was no trace of that in his eyes, just someone who wanted this to be over.

    "It would be best if you went now Shinji, I expect we will never see each other again after this."

    Shinji lowered his head, "No… You… You don't get away that easily."

    "You… I hate you." Shinji said out loud, "I hate you more than anything right now. You… You hurt me, you hurt Misato and Asuka and so many others. You… You killed people and nearly tore the world apart for your own selfishness. You… You…"

    Shinji had run out of words to speak, he didn't know what it was he was trying to say or if he was actually trying to say anything at all. He felt rage and anger build up in side of him, he felt like he wanted to hit this pathetic man in front of him but then he figured what would be the point now? What would that achieve, Shinji would get maybe a minute of satisfaction from it.

    His father said nothing, instead looking somewhat taken aback by Shinji's outburst. Finally Shinji looked up at him.

    "This won't be the last time we see each other." He muttered, "That will be your punishment out there, whatever prison you are in or wherever they put you, I will see you again. You might have abandoned me but… I won't abandon you. She… She wouldn't want that."

    Gendo looked at him in surprise but finally nodded, "You really are her son. Goodbye Shinji."

    "Goodbye…" Shinji turned around and started to walk out of the apartment, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder, "Goodbye father…"

    He stepped out of the apartment and was immediately greeted by his mother, "How was it?"

    "I… I don't know." Shinji admitted, "He doesn't want to stay here. He realizes it's empty but there is nothing for him out there. WILLE will just lock him away like he deserves to be. I already said I will see him again but I don't even know what I meant by that. I feel stupid for it, even after all he has done I still… want some sort of contact."

    "You're a good person Shinji." Yui pulled wrapped her arms around him, "I think it's time to go back now. Is that alright with you?"

    Shinji held onto his mother tightly, "I won't see you again will I?"

    Yui shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks as she held her son to her, "No, I'm sorry Shinji. This will be the last time."

    "Then… Can I have just a few more moments?" Shinji asked as mother and son embraced each other for the last time.

    XXX

    Shinji felt the warm liquid surround him completely as he slowly opened his eyes. There was a brief moment of panic as his brain reminded him that he was unable to swim and yet his body rose to the top with minimal effort and he found himself able to make it towards the shallower parts of the lake with ease.

    As he moved through the liquid he started to realize just what it was, it was a lake of LCL. The blood-like stench of it infiltrated his nostrils, it was much stronger than he had ever experienced before. Finally he made it to the shoreline and he stumbled forward out of the lake, he felt sick and took a moment to steady himself.

    He dropped to his knees and turned to look behind him. The tower, for the moment, was still there and he could see a thin beam of white light shooting up into the sky from the structure. Stood in front of the tower, about a third of the structures size was Evangelion Unit 01. From here he could see the eyes of the Eva shining brightly and a thin halo of light above it.

    Shinji continued to watch as he felt a rumbling from beneath him. It intensified as the light above the tower vanished and the structure suddenly started to crumble before his very eyes. He looked on in shock and amazement as the whole thing collapse sending debris and rubble crashing down into the lake of LCL.

    At this was happening he also turned to look at Unit 01. The halo of light had vanished as well as the light in its eyes. He wondered if it too would crumble like the tower had done but instead it seemed to power down. The once vibrant green and purple armour was turned to the colour of stone.

    "Goodbye… mother…" Shinji whispered softly as he rose to his feet once again.

    He now wondered if this was it, if this was all finally over. Evangelion Unit 01 had stopped working permanently and the Tower Of Babel was now nothing but rubble that had sunk to the bottom of a lake. Did then then mean that it was over?

    He experienced a flood of emotion in that moment, elation, joy, sadness and confusion. He looked around the area for a trace of any other people but no one was nearby. He wondered what had happened to them all. He could remember what his mother had said about the unification, people around the tower had been pulled in, it could be that they were waiting to return and would emerge from the lake just as he had done.

    An eerie silence was around him as he tried to think of what he should do. Should he remain here and wait or go and try to find someone? His mind was occupied by thoughts of all the people he knew, hoping that they would be alright and that he could see them soon.

    'Asuka… Rei… Misato… Mari… Kaworu… What happened to them? Are they alright?'

    Shinji finally started to walk away from the lake. He followed the coast for a minute or two before a flash of red on the ground caught his eye. His heart skipped a bit as he made out the form of another person slowly getting to their feet.

    'No… It… It is!'

    "ASUKA!" Shinji yelled out and ran over to her just as she was getting to her feet. He put out a hand to steady her as the girl moved forward. She slowly turned to look at him, her expression one of confusion.

    "S-Shinji?" She muttered, "S-So I… I'm back then?"

    Shinji nodded slowly, "Are you alright?"

    Asuka shook her head, "No… I will be though. I need a minute."

    Shinji nodded and gently guided her back down to the soft ground. She sat looking out towards the ruins of the tower and the petrified form of Evangelion Unit 01. She felt a gently breeze on her face as she slowly tried to come to terms with what had just happened and also deal with her joy as seeing Shinji alive and well.

    "I-It's really you… I was so scared that you had… I saw them get you but…"

    Asuka nodded and let out a short laugh, "Hah… Like I'd let something like that kill me."

    Shinji remained on his feet standing by her as she continued to look at the tower. She didn't even want to think about what had just happened, she just wanted to sleep right now.

    "So… That's it then… We won I guess…" Asuka finally said.

    Shinji sat himself down beside her and slide his hand into hers, "Yeah… We did…"

    "Doesn't really feel like a victory." Asuka admitted, "I… I saw her."

    Shinji nodded, "I know… I saw mine as well."

    "We won't see them again will we?"

    Shinji shook his head, "No… We won't."

    They fell into silence for a few moments and just looked out of the calm red waters that now filled the scene of the grand battle that had taken place. Everything was so quiet and still, an eerie contrast to how it had been earlier on in that day.

    "We should look for the others." Shinji said as he slowly started to rise to his feet.

    Asuka nodded, "Yeah…"

    She too got to her feet and turned to face him. They looked one another in the eyes and no words were exchanged as they slowly moved closer to one another. Shinji reached up with one hand and gently ran it through her red hair before cupping her face and running his hand down along he cheek. She smiled back at him, "Let's go then."

    Shinji nodded back but before they moved he leaned in and kissed Asuka softly. She brought her hands around him, the two sharing a warm and passionate embrace on the side of the lake. Finally, when the kiss was broken they took each other's hand and started to walk along the shoreline of the lake.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • jcmoorehead said:
    "Your father wasn't… a bad person Shinji. I know that is hard for you to believe right now but he wasn't. He was just… misunderstood when he was younger."
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    I... guess 'angry loner jerk who gets into a lot of fights' is better than 'psychotically obsessed amoral maniac bent on the end of the world'?
    jcmoorehead said:
    "Yes, your decision Shinji." Yui answered,
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    Yui 'answered', but she was the speaker of the last line too, and Shinji didn't say anything in between.
    jcmoorehead said:
    "Your works important, isn't it?"
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    work's
    jcmoorehead said:
    There had been a world where he had dared to act during a kiss that Asuka had dared him to take part in. One that had seemingly led to wonderful consequences, a stark contrast to the first world where h had simply stood there and done nothing.
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    where he
    And you used 'dared' twice in that sentence. Consider an alternative for one?

    And Ha! I recognize a few of those! :)
     
    YMNRA Chapter. 35
  • Threadmarks
    • Epilogue - Our New World

    Two Weeks Later.
    It had been two weeks since they had emerged from the lake and witnessed the destruction of the tower. Now Asuka and Shinji found themselves once again in the exactly same spot they had emerged from. This has become a part of their daily routine since returning, they would go out early in the morning and walk along the shore of the lake to talk and look for anyone else who had returned.

    The two weeks had been strange for the both of them. Much of that first day had been spent completely alone with Misato the first to return and find them. They had set up a small camp for just the three of them near to where the original camp had been. The original camp and all of its equipment had been destroyed and swallowed up by the lake.

    Over the course of the second day a few more people had returned. Mari and Doctor Akagi among them. On this day a group from WILLE and Espèrer also arrived on site to provide aid to those emerging. Misato had explained the situation and a small and temporary settlement was put in place to home those that emerged for time being.

    Within the first week most of the Bridge Crew that Shinji knew, Sakura, Maya, Aoba and the others had returned. This was accompanied by other members of the Wunders crew that Shinji didn't know and much to the others surprise and also their joy members of the AAA Thunderchild's crew also started to emerge.

    Rei had finally emerged only yesterday. She had been highly disorientated from the experience and it had not been possible for Shinji or the others outside of Mari and Ritsuko to speak to her. On examining her condition, she had been ordered to rest in Mari's tent.

    Shinji was however keeping his eye out for one specific person to return. He had told both Misato and Asuka about what he had experienced within Instrumentality and his meeting with his father. He had told them that his father said that he would return and face up to his crimes. Yet as of two weeks there was no sign of him at all.

    "You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

    Shinji nodded in response to Asuka's question, "Yeah, I can't help it. I just keep expecting us to find him when we walk along here and I keep on thinking about what he said. I wonder what I'd do if I did find him."

    "He should hope that you wouldn't be the one to find him." Asuka said sternly, "Because I'll be right alongside you and I'll make sure the first thing that he sees is my boot in his face."

    Shinji couldn't help but smile, "Would you really do that to him?"

    "I almost died because of him... He shot your friend and put this entire world at risk. I'd... be tempted." Asuka sighed whilst shaking her head, "But I know it'd probably make you sad or something so probably not."

    "Sorry."

    Asuka playfully hit him on the back of the head, "Idiot, you have nothing to apologize for. It's a complicated situation, I can appreciate that."

    As they continued walking Shinji made an effort to put the thoughts of his father out of his mind. Asuka was right, it was a complicated situation, he didn't know quite how to feel about that man. He didn't know how he would feel if his father would emerge from the lake. Gendo ikari was still his father and a part of Shinji knew that Gendo did care about him but that part was buried beneath everything else that made up Gendo.

    Shinji knew there would never ever be a rebuilding of the relationship between the two of them. Gendo had done far too much and gone too far for Shinji to want that. If anything, Shinji just saw it as sad, that his father chose to run away from his fears and feelings than face up to them.

    "He won't come back..." Asuka suddenly stated, "I know he said he would but... he won't. Ir was just another lie. Probably a way of making himself feel better."

    "I know..." Shinji admitted, "It's probably best he doesn't anyway. There is nothing for him here. Did... Misato say what is going to happen to us all?"

    Asuka nodded, "I had a meeting with her last night. WILLE and Espèrer are going to start moving some of the people back to their home settlements soon. Apparantly Akagi has managed to convince them there is no risk to anyone else from the people who emerged from the lake but they want to wait another day or two to make sure. I believe we'll be offered the opportunity to leave along with the first batch."

    "I... I want to stay." Shinji suddenly stated, "Just... for another week or two. Just until I'm sure he isn't coming back."

    "I had a feeling you would." Asuka replied, "I've already spoken to Misato and she is happy for us to stay. She was actually going to ask us to stay anyway to help explain to any new survivors what it is that just happened to them."

    "Good." Shinji nodded, he was happy to be helpful to Misato and the others. Part of his and Asuka daily activities since they had returned had been speaking to those who emerged and explaining what Instrumentality was and what had happened to them.

    "Not really sure what'll happen to us after that though." Asuka admitted, "The Wunder is gone and I doubt there are any more of those things buried in the world. No more Eva's to pilot and no Angels left to fight."

    "So what about everyone else?"

    "Misato said that WILLE and Espèrer will find ways to rehome everyone and give them jobs within the respective groups. There is a lot of work to be done to rebuild this world so it's not like all these people are suddenly unemployed."

    "What about people like Erika and Fuyutsuki?"

    "No idea, I think Akagi and Maya have expressed an interest in taking care of Erika and as far as Fuyutsuki goes..." Asuka frowned, "I guess it's complicated... He's been helpful to those in charge telling them everything he knows, treating the wounded and so on but... he was your father's right-hand man for many years."

    "I know, he could have stopped it at any time but he didn't..." Shinji added. He had only seen Fuyutsuki the once after returning. It had been an awkward encounter in which Fuyutsuki had told Shinji he was sorry for what had happened, and hoped that now he would find peace.

    "No, he didn't, and by the time he had his crisis of conscience the damage had already been done." Asuka added, "Still... At least he is facing up to it and trying to do something. Seems he is genuine in wanting to help."

    Asuka felt Shinji's hand in hers as they continued to walk along the shoreline. She had been thinking about her future, up until now she had never thought about her future. She had never been able to see that far ahead of her. It had always been preparation for the next battle, worrying about what it would bring and trying to survive. It seemed that she would no longer have that worry, the battles were over and she had no idea what to do.

    She shot a quick glance at Shinji and smiled, remembering what he had said back when they were in the Espèrer village. If she was free now, truly free it didn't seem like too bad an idea.

    "We should travel Shinji." She suddenly stated, "Like you said you wanted when we were in the village. After we leave this place we should ask them to take us to Neo-London and just go from there. Spend a few weeks in one place and move on. I've... not really seen much of the world either and I think I've earned a bit of a break."

    Shinji didn't take long to think about the offer, he nodded immediately, "Yeah... I'd like that Asuka."

    They stopped and kissed one another for a moment before continuing their journey towards their new and open future.

    XXX

    Mari rolled herself over and began to open her eyes slowly, she smiled as Rei came into view. The girl was dressed in a pair of pink pajama's that had been loaned to her and was carefully pouring herself a cup of tea. Mari let out a small yawn, "Morning Blue… Are you feeling better today?"

    Rei smiled at hearing Mari's voice and she carefully shifted herself around to sit cross legged facing her girlfriend. The tent was somewhat cramped with the two of them in there but neither Rei nor Mari minded that. Rei was happy just to be able to be next to Mari and be alongside her again.

    She gave a small nod of her head and softly smiled at her, "I am feeling better today. I apologize that I was not very good company last night."

    Mari shook her head and reached out with a hand to playfully boop Rei on the tip of her nose, "Silly! You don't need to apologize. First day back is always the same for people it seems, takes some time to adjust and… well you had it pretty rough before and I imagine during."

    "Were you the same when you emerged?"

    Mari nodded, "Yup! Took me about two days to get back to normal."

    "I am sorry that I was not there to help you." Rei lowered her head slightly and she received another playful boop on the nose.

    "It isn't your fault!" Mari replied, "You couldn't help when you emerged from there any more than I could. Besides I had the Puppy and the Princess to look after me and now I get to look after you! Mari-Care is the best type of care!"

    Rei let out a small laugh at Mari's comment. Truth was she still felt slightly disorientated from the whole experience. There was a lot going through her mind at the moment from the initial meeting with Shinji's mother, being a part of awakening Unit 01 and her own experiences within the reality she conjured during Instrumentality.

    "So… Anything you want Rei, you just name it."

    Rei nodded and sipped from her warm tea before setting it down carefully. She thought about Mari's words and what she would want right now. Only one thing came to mind for her right now and she shuffled herself over to where Mari was sitting.

    "I think… I would like to be hugged."

    Mari grinned, "One hug coming right up!"

    Mari reached out with both arms and wrapped them lovingly around Rei's body. She pulled the blue haired girl towards her and felt Rei nuzzle her head into her shoulder. Rei put her own arms around Mari and gently pushed her onto her back and continued to snuggle into her. Mari used one free arm to pull the covers up over them and they lay silently for several moments sharing and enjoying the warmth of one another's body.

    "I'm so happy you're back Rei." Mari whispered, "I don't know what I would have done if you didn't return."

    "You feared I would choose to remain in that state?" Rei asked.

    Mari shook her head, "Not that, I had no doubt you would choose to return. It was what happened to you beforehand. When we were piloting the Eva… Akagi… couldn't find out what was wrong and you fell unconscious. She couldn't wake you… We didn't know what had happened."

    "I was… called to Unit 01 by my mother."

    Mari raised her eyebrows in confusion at Rei's statement, "M-Mother… you mean… Yui?"

    "Yes. She required my help to… save Shinji. I spoke with her…" Rei smiled, "She let me hold a version of Shinji as a baby."

    Mari giggled, "Shinji as a baby, what was he like?"

    "He was cute." Rei admitted, "And he was warm, I liked the feeling of holding him. I also… liked talking to her as well. Our time was brief but as I left she told me that although she did not know me nor did she give birth to me she considers me her daughter. She asked me to look after Shinji and she also said… that she is proud of me."

    Mari's only reaction was to hold Rei tighter and kiss her on the back of her head, "Well… I guess we'd better start thinking of how to look after the Puppy then and keep him from getting into trouble!"
    Rei smiled, "it was strange to hear such words from her. She has never known me and has every right to not care about who I was. I always thought that… if she knew me she would hate me for what I was, a copy of her made with only one purpose. I am thankful that she does not hate me and she considers me family. She seems like a good person."

    "I'm sure she was Rei."

    "I would… like to know what you experiences in there."

    Mari gave a shrug, "Just what you'd expect from me really! Typical 'normal' world where I lived back in England with my mum and I had a crush on this really cute transfer student. I was never tempted to stay though… after all… you just don't suit brown hair."

    Rei leaned up and looked deeply into Mari's eyes before kissing the girl firmly and passionately on the lips. She held onto Mari tightly and climbed further on top of the girl as Mari pulled the sheets up a little bit more and they shared in one another's love.

    XXX

    Everything was a painful blur as he stumbled out of the lake and strained his eyes up towards the bright blue sky. There was a stringing pain in his right shoulder as he tried to move forward only to collapse to his knees on the sand below. The heat of the sun bore down on him as he studied his surroundings trying to figure out where he was.

    He turned his body around to look out over the red lake towards where the tower had once stood. What he saw now only confused him.

    'It… It has gone! I do not understand… if it no longer stands than how am I still here? I should not be here. I do not belong in this world!'

    He tried to look around again. Off in the distance he could see tent like shapes from what he assumed was some sort of settlement. There were people nearby. Maybe he could get over to them and find out what had happened. He tried to get to his feet but his legs refused to work for the moment so he remained still.

    He even wondered if it'd be a good idea going to the camp. He had no idea who those people were and if they recognized him what they would do. Perhaps it would be best for him to gather his strength and go elsewhere, but where would he go? There was nowhere for him.

    "Well of all the people to return." He froze instantly at the sound of the woman's voice, it was a familiar voice belonging to Misato Katsuragi, "I certainly didn't expect to see you. Welcome back, Kaworu Nagisa."

    Kaworu felt the unfamiliar pangs of fear rise up throughout him. Misato Katsuragi was stood behind him, she knew who and what he was. He slowly turned himself around to face her and was surprised to see her not standing as he expected but smiling at him.

    "Miss… Katsuragi…" he uttered.

    Misato stepped forward and immediately Kaworu tried to back away. He scrambled backwards but his body gave way midway during the attempt and he found himself crashing to the ground and letting out a yelp of pain.

    Misato quickly moved forward and knelt down beside him, "You don't need to be scared Kaworu. I'm not here to hurt you."

    "You're not?" Kaworu asked.

    "No, not at all. I'm here to help you and bring you back to our camp." She continued to smile as she spoke to him, "I've got a car parked nearby. We can go when you're ready. Take your time, the first day back is the worst."

    "I… I do not understand why I am here." Kaworu admitted.

    "Way I understand it is you're here because you want to be here, just like the rest of us who were caught up in this thing. We were given the choice to return and so we did."

    "But… I am not human I do not recall being given a choice." He replied.

    "Doesn't matter what you are or what you remember. You're here and we will support you in any way we can." Misato stood up and extended her hand out to him, "Now, shall we go?"

    Kaworu looked back towards where the tower had stood for a moment. None of this made sense to him, he had not expected to still be here when all of this was over. His kind and humanity was not supposed to be able to co-exist and he had come to terms with that fact. He had been prepared to sacrifice himself so that humanity would go on.

    He took Misato's hand and got to his feet, his legs and shoulder still hurting and the feeling of disorientation still there. There was also something else there, a craving that he had never experienced before.
    "I… I am hungry…" He uttered with some surprise.

    It was a statement that drew a chuckle from Misato, "Yeah you're not the first to say that when they come back."

    Kaworu shook his head, "No… I mean… I'm hungry… I… I am not supposed… my body does not require such things. At least… it did not used to."

    "You mean because you were part Angel right?"

    Kaworu nodded, "Yes… I have… eaten in the past but only minimal amounts. I do not understand, something has… happened to me."

    Misato gave him a look of concern before shrugging, "We'll worry about this when we get you to the camp. I can have Akagi or Suzahara look over you but for now don't worry about it. Take your time to adjust, there is no rush.

    Kaworu followed her to where her vehicle was parked, before getting in he looked towards the direction of the camp. If Katsuragi was there then that meant others could be as well, "Miss Katsuragi… Tell me… Is Shinji alright?"

    Misato looked at him and nodded, "Shinji is fine, he's out walking with Asuka at the moment so you won't see him when we get back. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you though. Also before we go I should probably thank you… Shinji told us about how you helped him in the Tower and what happened to you. You did a good thing Kaworu, thank you."

    Kaworu felt a blush come to his cheeks on hearing Misato's praise for him. Embarrassment was going to be another new feeling for him to have to adjust to. He got into the passenger seat of the car and cast one final glance at where the tower once stood.

    'It seems that I am human now, there will be much to adjust to and so much to learn. I do not understand how or why this has happened but I am grateful for this opportunity. I suppose I shall see you soon Shinji Ikari and you can keep your promise of introducing me to the others as well.'
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Thank You
  • Threadmarks
    • I'll keep this brief but that is indeed the end of this little story and I wanted to say a few things. First of all a big thank you to everyone here who was following along with the story and leaving comments every now and then and quoting little bits of the story with your input. All of that meant so so much to me, I was really nervous about posting this story on here but honestly everyone here was so friendly and it was a highlight posting a chapter here and seeing those little alerts when people had posted in the thread.

    So as mentioned this is the end of the story, I really hope you liked my little take on what happens after 3.0, I guess now we can all sit and wait to see just how wrong I'll actually be when the film comes out next year or whatever :p

    Once again thank you. :)
     
  • Threadmarks
    • jcmoorehead said:
    "He should hope that you wouldn't be the one to find him." Asuka said sternly, "Because I'll be right alongside you and I'll make sure the first thing that he sees is my boot in his face."
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    Hee hee. Ahhh, Asuka, we love you.
    jcmoorehead said:
    Ir was just another lie.
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    It

    Kaworu gets a chance at a freer life. Mari gets her Rei back. Asuka gets to look forward to life without any limits. And Shinji learns to let go and get comfortable with life with people who love him. We can only hope that 3.0+1.0 is as positive in its ending.

    Thanks for the most enjoyable Rebuild fic I've read, JC. :)
     
    Strypgia said:
    Hee hee. Ahhh, Asuka, we love you.
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    *Gendo returns to camp with a large bootvprint in his face*
    Fuyutsuki: Was that also according to the scenario?

    Strypgia said:
    Mari gets her Rei back.
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    And Rei got a hug too, that little bit was actually a bit of a reference to this place because as we all know the best thing to do when she is down is huggle teh Rei :)

    Strypgia said:
    Thanks for the most enjoyable Rebuild fic I've read, JC. :)
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    *blushes*

    Thank you, that means so much :)
     
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