Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Shinji's Decision ❯ To the Brink/ Memorial Service ( Chapter 10 )

Shinji's Decision

Part 10 - pre reader release v1 08/10/2002

General release v2 16/10/2002

By Jeff Mullier

Email: jmullier@idl.net.au

Copyright notice

Neon Genesis Evangelion and associated characters are copyright Gainax and associated companies.

Author Notes

I hope I haven't made any of the characters act wildly out of character.

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks to Greg Thomas and Leonard Chee for pre reading this part.

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Shinji's Decision

Part Ten - To the Brink/ Memorial Service

Unit 02 - terminal dogma

Misato's voice comes over the intercom, "Asuka, pull back and we will try another method of attack."

After overhearing that they intend to try later with either Shinji or Rei helping her Asuka comments to herself, 'No I have to do this on my own. I can do this.' She then answers Misato's order, "No I want to try something else first." A look of extreme concentration appears on Asuka's face as she mentally asks her mother, 'Come on mother help me. I know that you are there, help me beat this angel.'

Soon after this Asuka senses her synchro ratio rising and as it continues to rise, she feels the presence another person within the eva, which she soon recognises as that of her mother. 'Mother…… I was right. You have been here all this time. But why could I never sense you before?'

A voice answers inside Asuka's head, "Yes Asuka my darling, I have been here all the time protecting you. You just never realised it before."

Hearing the voice confirms Asuka's theory, 'Mother…….. But why now mother? Why haven't you revealed yourself to me before?'

"You were never ready to accept my presence in here before. Remember your reaction when the first child told you that you were blocking yourself and that your eva has its own soul."

After a pause Asuka angrily answers, '……Yes, how could I forget THAT day………The angel that tore through my mind making me remember all those horrible memories of what happened to you. What happened soon afterwards with the next angel was the final straw, it showed me just how useless I had become when I couldn't sync with Unit 02 anymore. Everything that I had worked for was for nothing, I was useless.'

"Yes, I am sorry that I couldn't help protect you more that day Asuka. Having to face your worst memories regarding how what was left of me treated you and also what happened afterwards was horrible. I would have never tested Unit 02 that day if I had any indication of what this monster was going to do me. The trouble was that with the evas being so alien, that no one alive had any idea regarding what could happen. It would have been better if this monster claimed both my body and soul, like Unit 01 did with Shinji's mother. That way while you would have 'lost' me, you wouldn't have had to experience what my shell did afterwards. What you saw was something that no one, especially a child should never have to see. Unfortunately the way that you dealt with the pain caused by what you saw only further added to your pain in the long term. For by shutting your pain away and letting it fester, you only made the day when your barriers were broken and you were forced to face those memories and feelings much worse."

Asuka angrily answers, 'Of course, how would you expect me to react after seeing that? Especially after having my mother totally ignore me and treat me like she did? Father's reaction to your accident didn't help either.'

"I am sorry Asuka, but you must admit that despite how unpleasant remembering those memories was for you, that you have become a better person because of it. While you were comatose you faced your fears and eventually overcome them, you came to terms with your feelings towards yourself and others. You also finally realised that there is more to life than piloting eva. What Miss Katsuragi and Mrs Ikari have since told you about what happened to me has helped you understand what actually happened to me that day."

Asuka pleads, 'Why haven't you come back to me then mother, like Shinji's mom did?'

"I am sorry Asuka my darling, unlike Shinji's mother I wasn't totally absorbed by this monster. As you know a part of me remained, because of this I can never return, but I will always be here for you."

'Mother……'

"You are very lucky Asuka, to have such good people around you. Misato Katsuragi has been more than your commanding officer; she has virtually acted as a mother towards you since your arrival. You were also right in trusting Mrs Ikari, because as you thought when you discussed my accident with her, she is the only person who can understand what happened to me. I am glad that you overcome your initial distrust of her. And your best friend Hikari Horaki, you are fortunate to have such an understanding friend, who was willing to stand by you and try and help you when you started to hate yourself."

Asuka sadly answers, 'I know mother. I just wish I wasn't quite as nasty to them.'

"They all know that you have been under a lot of stress, and understand that you had your reasons for acting they way you did."

'…..Yes I did have my reasons….'

"That you did. And we mustn't forget the most understanding one of all; you are extremely lucky to have such a caring boyfriend like Shinji. He does really love you, I could sense his feelings towards you when they tried him in Unit 02 while you were in hospital."

'I know mother, I just wish that we could have admitted our feelings towards each other sooner.'

"But the two of you were fearful at the time of being rejected by each other. You just dealt with this fear differently than Shinji."

'Yes I realised this when I was in my coma, it was one of the things that helped me out of it.'

"I thought as much, I am so proud of you Asuka. You have grown up to be such a beautiful and intelligent young lady. I am sorry that I wasn't there for you."

'Mother, I am so sorry for thinking that the shell who killed herself in the hospital was you.'

"There is nothing for you to be sorry about Asuka. You had no way of knowing what actually happened to me, I am the one at fault for being the test pilot for this monster knowing that something could go wrong, especially after what happened to Shinji's mother."

'….mother…'

After a brief pause Kyouho then asks Asuka, "Well shall we destroy this last angel and put an end to all the pain that the angels have caused?"

'Yes mother, lets destroy this angel together.'

"Yes, we will show it not to mess with a Sohryu."

With a grin on her face Asuka answers, 'My feelings exactly.' Unit 02 then shifts its grip on the progressive axe and starts walking towards Lilith once more. As Unit 02 closes the distance to Lilith, Asuka starts to have trouble distinguishing where her body finishes and the eva's body begins. As this feeling intensifies she feels another presence within Unit 02 and it is rapidly gaining in strength. Unlike her mother's presence this new presence feels menacing and overwhelming. 'What is happening?' Worried by this new presence she calls out to her mother, 'Mother what's going on?'

"I was afraid that this might happen, unfortunately I was right. Fight it Asuka. You must fight it, the eva is trying to claim you as well."

'What do you mean mother?'

"I had hopped that this monster wouldn't react to our reunion and you resulting high sync ratio, but it has. You must fight it or all will be lost."

Before Asuka can reply to her mother, Unit 02 starts acting on its own and lets the progressive axe slide out of its hands and starts walking awkwardly towards Lilith. Concentrating on fighting the eva, Asuka barely hears Misato's plea come through the static filled intercom, "O@ my god ##@#…… No, A*uka……. T@# to sto** it." This is soon followed by Shinji's frantic screaming of her name.

Asuka cries out in reply to Misato's plea, "I am trying….to. What's going on I can't stop this thing……."

Misato answers, "You have t* Asuk#, if you don't thi#d imp*ct will hap*en."

Asuka snaps back, "What! Now you tell me! Well how do you expect me to do that?"

"A$uka, you h$ve to **lm down. Wha*$ver you d*d to r#ise your sync r#tio wo#ked t*o well, it is t@o h*gh and it is c#usi*g your eva to r*act with the angel. Y#u have to lo#er your s#nc r*tio, we c#n't do a t$@ng from h$#e, there is too mu*h in#terf*rence."

"I will try Misato." Asuka's face contorts in pain as she tries to fight the eva. The eva fights back, causing her to clutch her head and scream in pain as it tries to enter her mind, bringing back painful memories of the attack of the fifteenth angel. "No..No NO. Not again! Make it stop, oh my god make it stop……" As Asuka does this Unit 02 is copying her actions and clutches its head and staggers around terminal dogma.

Kyouko cries out, "Asuka!"

'What can I do mother…..? It's trying to invade my mind. …. I don't want to go through that pain again….. Please help me.'

"I will try and help you this time Asuka, I will be honest with you and tell you that I don't know how successful I will be. But I will fight it for you my darling. I have waited for this for opportunity for a long time."

'Thank you mother.'

"Now I will try and distract it while you try and shut down your synchronisation circuits."

Asuka's mother's actions soon shows signs of having an effect and the intrusion into Asuka's mind from the eva diminishes. One the intrusion has dropped to a bearable level, Asuka quickly composes herself and studies her surroundings, she immediately notices that the power readout has switched to internal battery supply and is counting down rapidly. Taking the opportunity to deny the presence inside Unit 02 her high sync ratio she deactivates as many circuits as she can in an attempt to shut Unit 02 down. She then growls, "Come on you monster, you will do as I say, you will not act of your own will." She then rips the neural transmitters out of her hair; these actions have the desired effect as Asuka feels her connection to Unit 02 fade away. This causes the external visual displays inside the entry plug shut down, leaving Asuka unable to tell what is now happening between Lilith and Unit 02. She is however able to tell that Unit 02 has totally shut down from the violent movements of the entry plug as Unit 02 shudders and slump to the floor.

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Command centre at the same time

Seeing Unit 02 walk towards Lilith, Shinji frantically screams out, "ASUKA……….."

While she is watching what is happening in terminal dogma Rei senses something calling her to go to there. Realising what is happening she soon what is calling her. 'I can feel that which I am partly made from calling both myself and Unit 02. Previously I would have responded to her call as she intended, but now I must help stop her. Living with Mrs Ikari and Shinji and having them treat me as family has made me begin to understand what it is to be human, to be an individual. The actions of Colonel Katsuragi and the second child and their friends have helped me realise this as well. I cannot let this angel destroy everything now, despite what my relationship to her may be.' Rei then quietly gets up from her chair and leaves the command centre unseen.

Asuka's reply to Misato's plea comes through, "I a$ tr**ng….to. Wh#$'s going on I c#$t stop this thing……."

Misato's replies, "You have to Asuka, if you don't third impact will happen."

"W#at! %ow you te#l me! W#ll ho@ do you e$pect me t# do th*t?"

Misato answers, "Asuka, you have to calm down. Whatever you did to raise your sync ratio worked too well, it is too high and it is causing your eva to react with the angel. You have to try to lower your sync ratio, we may not be able to do it from here as there is a lot of interference."

"I #ill try, Mi#ato." The main screen soon afterwards shows the image of Unit 02 staggering around terminal dogma as Asuka attempts to gain control over it. Asuka's anguished cries can be heard over the comm channel as Unit 02's erratic movements increase, "N#..No @O. N#t aga*n! Ma*e it sto#, oh m# g@d mak# it st*p……"

A horrified expression appears on Misato's face as she hears Asuka's screams. Worried by what effects this may be having on Asuka as well as what the outcome will be if Unit 02's actions continue, Misato asks Maya and Ritsuko, "Can we at least try to lower Asuka's sync ratio or at the worst shut Unit 02 down from here?"

Ritsuko replies, "We can try, but I wouldn't hold my breath." She turns and orders Maya, "Do it Maya."

After entering the commands on her terminal Maya replies, "The signal is being rejected. Unit 02 is not accepting any external command signals!"

Misato then asks, "Do we have still have control over the external power supply?"

"Yes we do."

Misato then orders, "Cut the power supply to Unit 02's umbilical cord, but do not eject the cord."

Maya replies, "Power supply cut, Unit 02 has switched to internal power."

Unit 02 continues to stagger around terminal dogma for the next ninety seconds until it suddenly shudders and the glow fades from its four eyes, this action is soon followed by the eva collapsing to the floor. After checking her readouts Maya reports, "Unit 02's synchronisation circuits have been deactivated from inside the plug. It has switched to standby mode."

Seeing that Asuka has managed to stop Unit 02's rampage, a relived Misato tells Asuka, "Good work Asuka." 'Just don't scare us like that again.'

With the immediate danger of a berserk Unit 02 merging with Lilith apparently over the bridge crew including Misato and Yui breathe a sigh of relief. The signs of Misato's relief are short lived as a frown appears on her face as she attempts to come up with a new plan of action. After several minutes without success a frustrated Misato asks no one in particular, "So what in the world are we going to do now? We need to destroy Lilith now before she reacts to what has happened, and we have to somehow do this, without having to get Asuka so worked up again."

Ritsuko grimly answers, "You may not like my answer as we have only one eva unit that we can have ready within an suitable timeframe, and that unit has a rather questionable history."

Realising what unit that Ritsuko is referring to a look of horror appears on Misato's face as she asks, "Oh, no………… you don't mean………"

"Unfortunately yes I do. Unit 03 can be made operational within fifteen minutes. Either Unit 05 or 06 within four and a half hours. Units 07 to 09 will take three days and Unit 00 will take a week."

Having heard this Misato shakes her head and grimly mutters, "So we have no choice but to use that monster." Her expression becomes professional once more as she then asks, "Make it ready in ten please Ritsuko." She then turns and looks around to where Shinji and Rei were sitting only to notice that Rei has disappeared, after which she asks no one in particular, "Where the hell has Rei gone?"

Yui looks around to where Shinji and Rei were sitting and notices that Rei has disappeared and answers, "I don't know Misato. The last I knew that she was sitting with Shinji."

Misato then realises, 'Oh no this means that we will have to ask Shinji to pilot that monster. Will he do it? Especially that particular eva?' She turns to face Yui and asks her, "Yui, you do realise what this means, don't you? I don't want to ask Shinji to do this, but once more we have no choice….. I think that it would be best if you asked Shinji. I don't know how he will react to being asked to do this. That monster caused Shinji a lot of pain last time."

A sad expression appears on Yui's face as she realises what Rei's disappearance means for Shinji, she then answers, "Yes, I will ask him." Misato and Yui then make their way over to where Shinji is sitting.

Shinji has been too busy worrying about Asuka to notice what Misato, Ritsuko and his mother have been talking about. Yui placing her hand on his shoulder however suddenly jolts his attention away from the screen. He looks up at her and sees that Misato is beside her; both have a concerned expression on their faces. Yui tries to soften her concerned expression as she asks him, "Shinji, do you know where Rei is?"

With most of his attention is still focused on the image of Unit 02 in terminal dogma, it takes Shinji a few moments to register what his mother has asked, "Huh? …. I don't know mother." He momentarily tears his attention from the main screen and quickly looks around to where Rei was sitting, "I didn't notice that she had left. Why do you want her for mother?"

With a distressed look on her face Yui asks Shinji, "Shinji, I have to ask you to do something. I don't want to ask you do this, especially after all that you have been through. But we have no choice believe me, if we could find another way to do this, we would do it."

Worried by the look that his mother and Misato are giving him Shinji nervously replies, "…What…. do you mean mother? What in the world could I do to help?"

"We need someone to pilot an eva to help Asuka and Rei has disappeared for some reason."

"…….But…. there are no eva units ready…….." He then realises that there are at least two possible evas that could be used , 'No….please….not that one….but I have to….to help Asuka. I can't sit back and worry about Unit 03 and let her and everyone be hurt.'

"I am sorry to ask you to do this Shinji but we have no choice, will you pilot again?"

Shinji gives an involuntary shudder after having his fears answered, he clenches his right hand into a fist as few times before giving a weary sigh and answering, "I will mother. I will help Asuka this time."

Yui smiles at Shinji's answer, "Thank you Shinji."

Seeing the worried expression on Shinji's face, Misato tells him, "Don't worry Shinji, we don't expect you to do it on your own. All we want you to do is to help Asuka." She then silently adds, 'Plus to stop her if her sync ratio skyrockets and Unit 02 goes out of control again. I hope that it doesn't come to that though, as I don't know how badly Shinji would react if we had to ask him to stop Unit 02.'

The worried expression on Shinji's face momentarily disappears, "Thanks Misato." The worried expression quickly reappears as he asks, "But what eva will I be using? Is it Unit 03?"

"Unfortunately yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"N…no. But is it safe? It won't go out of control will it? What about the angel?"

"To be honest Shinji, I don't know what the chances of it going berserk are, if any thing looks like going wrong Ritsuko will stop the activation immediately. And Ritsuko assures me that there is no sign of contamination from the angel. I'm not comfortable about using it either, but it is the only eva that we can have ready in time to stop anything happening to Asuka. So will you pilot it?"

"Yes."

Yui gives Shinji a quick smile after hearing his reply, she then tells him, "Come on I will walk with you to the cage." Shinji then gets up and walks with Yui to the change rooms and the cage holding Unit 03.

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Evangelion cages/ Command Centre

Yui and Shinji enter the evangelion cages and walk onto the entry plug access catwalk for Unit 03; Shinji is dressed in his usual white and blue entry plug suit. As they near the open hatch Yui stops and faces Shinji and gives him a hug and tells him, "Good luck Shinji, you can do it."

Returning his mother's hug, Shinji replies, "I will mother. I have to, for you, Asuka, Misato and everyone else who has suffered because of the evas."

Blinking back some tears that were starting to form, Yui gives Shinji a quick kiss on the cheek before telling him, "Just come back in one piece, that's all that we ask for Shinji. And remember no matter what happens, I will always be proud of you."

With his mother's reaction increasing his uneasy feelings about this mission, Shinji gulps nervously and gives her a melancholy smile as he thanks her, "Thank you mother." The two then break their hug and Shinji walks over to the entry plug and climbs in. The hatch closes soon afterwards and the plug is then inserted into the neck of Unit 03. Having watched the armour close over the entry plug Yui gives Unit 03 one last look before returning to the command centre.

As soon as the LCL has filled the entry plug Shinji starts to feel strange but he puts it down to being in a different eva. As Unit 03 nears the start up threshold the uncomfortable sensation that Shinji has been feeling increases and he feels a sharp pain in his head. A series of images flash past his eyes, the first being of a young girl laying in a hospital bed, the next being that of seeing someone hit him, followed by one of seeing himself give someone a hard punch to the face, the image of Hikari Horaki then appears closely followed by the image viewed from an entry plug, of Unit 01 tearing the arms off the eva. Shinji realises even before the image of Unit 01 appears that these images are Touji's memories and he places his hand on his forehead and lets out a small gasp. Hearing this Yui asks him over the intercom, "Are you feeling alright Shinji?"

With the images disappearing and the sharp pain passing as quickly as it hit him, Shinji answers, "Uh, yes. I just felt a little strange, I feel ok now."

Hearing this Yui quietly asks Ritsuko, "Do you think that it could be dangerous?"

With her hand still hovering over the glass cover to the forced shutdown switch, Ritsuko answers, "I honestly don't know, anything could be possible considering this unit's history. But we don't have any other choice, do we?"

"Unfortunately no."

The start up procedure continues and once the critical point has been reached Maya reports, "Synchro ratio is stable at 45%."

Yui then asks Shinji, "How are you feeling now Shinji?"

Although he is still feeling a little uncomfortable Shinji answers, "I feel ok."

Misato then orders, "Proceed to the central shaft Shinji. The linear carriage will be waiting to lower you down to terminal dogma."

"Rodger."

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Japanese Prime Minister's Office Tokyo 2

The prime minister is sitting down at his desk studying some papers when there is a knock at his office door, he puts down the papers and calls out, "Come in."

The interior minister enters the office and reports in a worried tone, "Sir I have just received news that the angel attack alarms have just gone off in Tokyo 3."

Startled by this unexpected news the prime minister yells, "What! A new angel, but why now? I thought that Fuyutsuki said that after reading SEELE's copy of the Dead Sea scrolls that the chances of another angel appearing were almost next to none." He then realises what Nerv had scheduled to happen today, "Nerv had planned to carry out the operation to dispose of the second angel today. I take it that this operation is currently underway?"

"Yes sir. From what little information that we have received it would appear that the evangelion that Nerv is using in this operation has reacted to the presence of that angel for some reason. This is of real concern."

"Why is that?"

"Apparently if the evangelion remains in its current state and comes into contact with the angel, third impact will occur."

The prime minister is momentarily stunned by this revelation, once he has recovered he angrily asks, "What! I thought that there was no way that could happen now. Why wasn't this possibility considered? If I knew of this I would have never given my support for them to undertake this operation."

"The possibility of this happening was so remote that it wasn't even considered."

In a bleak tone of voice the prime minister asks, "I see. I take it that there is nothing that we can do to stop this?"

The interior minister shifts awkwardly on his feet and hesitates before replying, "Not really sir. There is only one course of action that we could undertake and I am reluctant to even mention it, for it is so drastic."

The prime minister frowns as he tries to work out why this option would be causing the interior minister so much discomfort. "What is it and why do you feel uncomfortable even mentioning it?"

The interior minister takes a deep breath before answering, "Our only option is to carry out part of that insane plan put forward by the former defence minister and drop as many N2 mines on Tokyo 3 and Nerv as possible."

Horrified by this the prime minister asks, "You mean our only option would be to kill everyone in Tokyo 3 and Nerv without warning?"

"Unfortunately yes."

After considering this disturbing information for a few moments the prime minister asks, "Even if I was to agree to such a drastic course of action, could we do it in time?"

"Probably not sir, it would be very unlikely that the operation could be undertaken in time to have any effect."

"Very well, we will do nothing. All that we can do is sit here and pray."

"Yes sir, we just have to hope that colonel Katsuragi and the evangelion pilots can stop it before it is too late for all of us."

The prime minister grimly replies, "Indeed. Once more the fate of the world is in the hands of those poor brave children."

"Indeed."

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Terminal Dogma

Rei walks out onto the balcony overlooking terminal dogma and prepares to expand her AT field but before she does, Unit 02 stops it's thrashing and falls silent, after seeing this Rei relaxes slightly. Soon afterwards she hears a familiar voice inside her head, "Welcome my child. Have you come to fulfil your destiny?"

Rei frowns after hearing this voice and she answers with an angry edge to her voice, "I am not your child."

"Why do you deny your true self? You are part of me. Come and join with me and we will end the existence of the pitiful Lilim."

"No, I am a human, an individual with my own will, I will never help you."

"Why not? Didn't that lilim named Gendo Ikari create you for the very purpose of merging with me?"

"Yes he did, however that was his purpose for me, not one that I had a part in choosing."

"But until recently you would have followed his wishes. What made you abandon this path?"

"Until his death I may have followed his wishes to merge with you, but since then I have learnt though my interactions with others what it means to be an individual and think and act for myself."

Lilith replies in a scornful tone, "Very well then you shall suffer the same fate as the rest of the lilim." Lilith then starts to thrash in an attempt to free herself from the cross that she has been crucified on. The attempt is soon successful and Lilith frees herself from the cross and lands awkwardly in the sea of LCL, sending a large wave towards unit 02. This wave hits the Nerv patrol boat broadside causing it to capsize, fortunately the crew had been ordered off the vessel and out of terminal dogma prior to the operation commencing. Once Lilith recovers from this landing she slowly stands upright revealing LCL running from the wounds caused by the spikes that held her on the cross. The flow of LCL soon slows and the wounds are then bathed in a bright blue light, once the light fades the wounds have disappeared. Lilith then starts making her way slowly towards the silent form of Unit 02.

Meanwhile Asuka is sitting in her silent entry plug with her knees up and her arms wrapped around them, her head is bowed and she is holding her neural transmitters in one hand. She is silently cursing herself for letting Unit 02 get out of control. 'Asuka you baka! How in the world could you let that happen? This was your last chance and you blew it. Worst still you nearly caused third impact and killed everyone. Baka! All because you wanted to see if mama's sprit was actually in Unit 02.' She is then shaken from her introspection by the noise and vibration caused by Lilith's landing. Worried by what could have caused this Asuka opens a comms channel to the command centre and asks Misato, "Misato what's going on?"

Misato quickly answers, "N# ti*me to exp#*in As$$#a, we are re#*%ring power to u#$* 02 now! Res#t what e#*er you d*d to st*# it and pre#*r* to c$#ry out an eme$**ncy re*c*ivation."

"Rodger."

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Command centre at the same time

The tension in the command centre has lessened slightly, with Shinji on the way to terminal dogma in Unit 03 and with Unit 02 and Asuka quiet for the moment, but the tension soon returns when the Lilith starts thrashing madly on the cross in an attempt to break free. Misato yells out in anger, "Not now!" She then orders, "Shinji, hurry up the angel is awakening."

A worried Shinji answers, "I am going as fast as I can Misato. What about Asuka?"

Before Misato can reply, Lilith manages to finally free herself from the cross that she has been crucified upon. Soon afterwards Asuka's frantic call comes the communication link, broken up with static, "Mi#ato wh*t's go#ng on?"

Misato quickly answers, "No time to explain Asuka, we are restoring power to unit 02 now! Reset what ever you did to stop it and prepare to carry out an emergency reactivation." She then turns around and asks in an irritated tone, "Can someone please do something about this interference, its really starting to cause problems."

Maya replies, "Already working on it colonel."

The main screen is now showing Lilith slowly making her way towards Unit 02 but before she can reach the silent eva she is stopped by an AT field. Worried by this development Misato yells out, "What the hell? It can't be Unit 02 it's shut down…….."

Maya quickly answers, "The source of the field is unknown. The magi are currently analysing the field."

Soon afterwards the angel attack alarms start sounding again and Maya reports, "Blood pattern is blue it is an angel!"

A horrified expression appears on Misato's face after hearing this news, "Another angel! But how? There are supposed to be no more….."

After further examining the readings on her terminal Maya answers, "The Magi have analysed the nature of the field……… Oh my god it is the same as the mysterious field that briefly appeared during the attack of the seventeenth angel."

Having heard this Misato realises the source and whispers, "Rei."

Only Fuyutsuki hears Misato's whispered comment and responds, "Yes, it looks like she has decided to follow the human part of herself and aid us."

Misato turns to Fuyutsuki and replies with a smile on her face, "I never doubted that she would."

Shigeru then reports, "Putting visuals of the location from where the AT field is originating from on the main screen now." The image of Rei standing on one of the circular balconies surrounding the upper levels of terminal dogma appears on the screen, this causes everyone on the bridge except Misato, Fuyutsuki, Ritsuko and Yui to gasp in surprise, some of the technicians even look fearful as they remember the seventeenth angel.

Seeing the image on the screen, Fuyutsuki replies to Misato, "Yes, but we better assist her quickly, for if she externalises her AT field for too long she will have trouble maintaining her body's integrity."

After hearing this disturbing information Misato wonders, 'What can we do? Shinji is on his way in Unit 03 but will he get there before Rei starts to experience the effects of what she is doing? We were about to restart Unit 02, I just hope that it doesn't run amok again, but we have no other choice.' She then yells out, "Lets get Unit 02 restarted NOW!"

Shigeru quickly responds, "Restoring power to the umbilical cable."

At the same time Makoto reports, "Resetting synchronisation circuits. Preparing to commence emergency restart procedure."

The start up procedure has only just begun when to everyone's horror the alarm klaxons start wailing their warning message once more. One of the auxiliary side screens rapidly fills with the dreaded hexagonal shaped emergency message. Seeing this Misato angrily snaps, "What the hell? What else could go wrong now? It's not Unit 02 is it?"

After frantically checking his terminal Shigeru reports, "The Magi have detected a large object heading towards Tokyo 3 from a lunar orbit."

"What is it? It can't be another angel can it?"

"Unknown, the Magi haven't detected any waveform pattern emissions from the object."

"What! None at all?"

"None at all." Shigeru's terminal beeps at him once more and he checks its readout. After examining the readout he reports, "The object is coming within long range visual satellite sensor range, putting the image up on a screen."

The image of a large red two pronged spear entering the atmosphere appears on the screen. Fuyutsuki immediately recognises what it is and gasps in surprise, "Oh my god….. It's the lance…….."

Misato has also recognised the approaching object and asks, "…The lance! But why is it returning now and how?"

Fuyutsuki replies, "The lance can be used as a important part of initiating third impact, it also can be a important part of preventing it."

After hearing this Misato mutters, "I don't know why it has returned, but I will take advantage of its return. This is the one thing that will let us easily defeat this angel and I intend to use it." She then activates the communications channel to Unit 03, "Change in plans Shinji. Head back to the catapults, we are going to send you to the surface to retrieve the lance."

This change in orders worries Shinji so he asks Misato, "Huh? ………What about Asuka?"

"Don't worry Shinji, Asuka is fine. We are restarting Unit 02 and Rei is helping holding back the angel."

"But how can she do that without an eva, how Misato?"

"Don't worry about it Shinji. Now isn't the time for explanations, just hurry up and head to the surface so you can retrieve the lance when it arrives."

Shinji reluctantly replies, "Ok, Misato."

Maya reports, "Communications with Unit 02 and sensors in the area of terminal dogma should be free of the worst of the interference now colonel."

Misato replies, "Good work Maya." She then reopens the comms line to Unit 02.

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Unit 02/ Command centre

Misato's image appears on a screen in the entry plug as she orders, "Asuka don't get carried away again, just pilot Unit 02 normally. Don't do whatever you did earlier."

After hearing this Asuka rolls her eyes in annoyance and asks in a cynical tone, "Well how am I going to stop it then?"

"Just avoid direct contact with it for the time being. We are sending Unit 03 down with the lance to help you."

Surprised by Misato's answer Asuka asks, "…….Unit 03! But who is piloting it?"

"Shinji is."

"Shinji is!" Her expression changes as she realises something and asks in a worried tone, "But why him? What about wo…. Rei? Why didn't you get her to pilot that monster?"

Misato frowns momentarily as she tries to work out the best way to answer Asuka's question. "Rei is otherwise occupied at the moment."

An annoyed expression briefly appears on Asuka's face as she replies, "Humph typical." The worried expression quickly returns as she asks, "So how is he?"

"He is finding it a little bit difficult, as you know he has bad memories of this particular eva. But he wanted to pilot that monster to help you Asuka, he still feels guilty for not being able to help you during the fifteenth angel's attack."

"Oh……." 'Baka Shinji still feels bad about not coming to my aid that time. I thought we had sorted that out.'

In the background Maya reports, "All systems are ready. Prepare for reactivation."

As she hears where the start up procedure is up to Misato tells Asuka, "Enough of this Asuka, we don't have time. Prepare for reactivation ."

As Unit 02 is reactivated and the final systems come back on line in Unit 02 Asuka realises that there is an AT field holding back Lilith. Puzzled by this she yells, "What the hell? Where is that AT field coming from?" As she rights Unit 02 she looks around terminal dogma and sees Rei standing on one of the lower balconies. She soon realises that Rei is the source of the AT field and gasps in surprise, "…..wondergirl?…." 'She can produce an AT field! Just how close is she to an actual angel?'

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Terraces surrounding Tokyo 3

Touji and Hikari are looking down at Tokyo 3 when Touji sees a large dark shape moving amongst the buildings. When it walks out into a clearing between some of the buildings revealing itself, Touji immediately recognises what the shape is and pales and gives an involuntary shudder at the sight. Hikari notices Touji's reaction and turns to look at him and after seeing the look on his face she asks in a worried tone, "What's wrong Touji? You look like someone has walked over your grave."

Touji shakily points towards the distant but recognisable shape of Unit 03 and gestures with his left arm, "That is what's wrong. You know how I told you that Shinji's dad had the monster that did this to me rebuilt? Well that is it in the flesh."

Hikari looks horrified after hearing this, "You mean?……."

"Yes, that is Unit 03." 'I wonder if that is the cause of the alarm? But everything that it would want to attack is underground. Why in the world is wondering around up on the surface for? It almost looks like it is waiting for something.'

"But who is piloting it? There are no new pilots are there Touji?"

"There are still only three active pilots in Tokyo 3 as far as I know. Considering what else we were shown yesterday I would imagine that we would have been told if there were more pilots. So either Shinji or Rei must be piloting it. I hope that Rei is piloting it; I don't know how Shinji would have reacted being asked to pilot that monster. He reacted to the news of it being rebuilt nearly as bad as I did. Despite what he has told me, I think that.he still blames himself about what happened."

Before Hikari can reply to Touji, a bright flash in the eastern sky grabs both of their attention. The flash soon develops into a streak of flame heading towards Tokyo 3. Worried by what this flaming object may be Hikari asks, "Oh my god! What is it Touji?"

"I don't know, but I think it may be what the evangelion is waiting for." The object soon nears Tokyo 3 accompanied by a deafening roar, but to Touji's and Hikari's surprise it slows and stops in front of Unit 03's chest and hovers in midair. Unit 03 then grabs the stationary object and the smoke surrounding it soon clears revealing it to be some sort of red coloured twin pronged spear. Shocked by what has just happened, Touji yells out, "It's a spear! But where did it come from? And why did it stop like that?"

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Terminal dogma/ command centre

Almost immediately after catching the lance with Unit 03 the unpleasant feeling that Shinji has been experiencing since he activated Unit 03 starts to intensify, but his concern for Asuka and Rei down in terminal dogma makes him ignore the pain the best as he can. He then asks Misato, "So what do I do now Misato? What about Asuka?"

Misato replies, "Shinji return to the elevator that you came up on. Once you are back, head for the central access shaft where a linear carriage will be waiting for you. Once you get to terminal dogma we will open the door and you are to give the lance to Asuka, she will then use it to destroy the angel."

Having heard that the lance is going to help Asuka, the worried look on Shinji's face lessens as he replies, "Rodger."

Several minutes later having re-entered Nerv headquarters and reaching the central access shaft, Unit 03 enters the entrance chamber for terminal dogma. The large armoured doors are already sliding open as Unit 03 hops off the linear carriage and heads towards them. No sooner has black eva entered terminal dogma and the clang of the doors sliding shut behind it can be heard. Unit 03 then slowly makes it way towards Unit 02, but as it nears the red eva the unpleasant feeling that Shinji has been experiencing gets worse. He puts his hand to his head and gasps, "Asuka……." Fighting the pain in his head he commands Unit 03 to stretch out its arms in an attempt to hand the lance to Unit 02 before this pain overwhelms him. Unit 03 starts to respond to this command but it slumps to the floor before the lance reaches Unit 02.

After hearing Shinji's pained voice and then seeing Unit 03 fall silent to the floor Misato cries out, "Shinji!" She then turns towards Maya and asks her, "What's happening? Is Shinji ok?"

Maya reports, "Unit 03's synchronisation circuits have crashed! The pilot has fallen unconscious."

"Is it mental contamination? Or is Unit 03 going to go berserk?"

"No, the eva has fallen completely silent, no activity detected at all. Shinji's life signs appear normal, other than he has fallen unconscious."

Having also heard Shinji's pained cry, followed soon afterwards by the sight of Unit 03 falling motionless to the floor Asuka screams, "Shinji……."

Lilith then starts to advance on the silent Unit 03, Asuka angrily yells out, "Oh no you don't." She then races over to the prone Unit 03 and retrieves the lance. Unit 02 then turns to face the rapidly closing Lilith and swings the lance, striking the angel in the waist with the sides of the twin prongs, while screaming, "Take that you monster." As she is yelling she feels the same menacing presence that she felt before probing at the edges of her mind and she growls, "You aren't going to win that easily. I am ready for your little tricks this time." The blow from the lance causes Lilith to fly backwards halfway across terminal dogma and land on her back in the shallows of the LCL. Lilith quickly recovers from this attack and as she is righting herself the seven eyes on her mask start to glow a bright white before shooting a beam of energy towards Unit 02. Asuka sees this attack coming just in time and jumps to one side, this action saves the beam from hitting Unit 02's chest but the beam still manages to clip Unit 02's right shoulder pylon, which is nearly totally destroyed by the impact. The impact from the beam as well as the sudden change in direction undertaken in the attempt to avoid the beam almost causes Unit 02 to fall, but Asuka uses the lance to steady Unit 02.

As Unit 02 recovers from the near fall, Asuka examines the damage caused by that the beam to the right shoulder pylon. The pylon is virtually destroyed and Unit 02's progressive knife along with it, Asuka curses Lilith and changes her grip on the lance before she starts running towards the angel again. Lilith fires another blast towards Unit 02 but Asuka avoids the blast this time whilst still racing towards the angel. After missing Unit 02 the beam strikes one of the armoured doors and melts a large hole in it. Continuing her momentum towards Lilith, Unit 02 reaches the angel and thrusts the prongs of the lance into Lilith's chest with no effect, so Asuka removes the lance and stands ready to attack again. After studying Lilith for a few seconds, Asuka then rams the prongs of the lance through the mask covering Lilith's face and into Lilith's head. The angel convulses wildly for a few moments before collapsing into a heap and falling into the sea of LCL and exploding in a large fireball which shakes the entire geofront. As the fireball starts to quickly fill terminal dogma, Asuka expands Unit 02's AT field and throws her eva over the inert form of Unit 03 in an attempt to protect Shinji. Once the fireball has filled terminal dogma it escapes through the door that was destroyed moments ago, it then shoots up the central access shaft all the way to inside the geofront and then spreads out into the image of a large cross.

As soon as she regains her feet Misato asks, "How are the children?"

Maya quickly replies, "Asuka is fine. Shinji is still unconscious in Unit 03, but his vital signs are stable and show no signs for concern. Unit 02's AT field protected both evas against the full force of the blast. Rei left terminal dogma just before the blast."

After hearing this Misato sighs in relief and a smile appears on her face. "Thank goodness. Now this madness is finally at an end."

Fuyutsuki wearily answers, "Yes it is, I can finally retire in peace now."

Puzzled by Fuyutsuki's comment, Misato asks him, "What do you mean by that sir?"

"I am tired of all this, I am just an old professor who wants to spend his last years in peace. I would like to return to teaching again. Anyway I don't think that we can hide this operation as we hoped, the authorities will be looking for a scapegoat It was my decision to keep the presence of the second angel and this operation secret. It looks like you are getting another promotion 'Commander Katsuragi'."

Stunned by this announcement Misato asks, "But sir…. Why me?"

"I cannot think of anyone more suitably qualified and motivated to make sure that no one ever attempts to resurrect the madness that was project E than you."

Misato blushes after hearing this and replies in an embarrassed tone, "……Thank you sir.'

One of the side screens then comes to life showing an image of a anxious Asuka in Unit 02's entry plug, she asks Misato, "How's Shinji?"

Misato answers, "He's still unconscious Asuka. But we don't think that it is anything serious, it was probably just the strain of piloting Unit 03." She then notices the blackened form of the lance of Longinus standing upright stuck in the floor of terminal dogma; she frowns as she contemplates what to do with the lance. After a brief moment she tells Asuka, "Before you race off to check on Shinji, Asuka you have one last job to. It won't take long."

Irritated by having to wait before seeing Shinji, Asuka snaps, "What now Misato? I have just killed the last angel, what else is there left to do?"

Misato can't help giving an amused snort at Asuka's predicable response, before replying. "We want you to throw the lance into lunar orbit again."

Unit 02 turns at looks at the sight of lance jammed in the floor of terminal dogma. Asuka replies, "But why now? Can't it wait?"

Misato turns serious once more and orders, "No it can't Asuka, the lance is too dangerous to remain on earth. Now go and get it and head to the surface and throw the lance back into space."

Asuka sighs before replying, "Yes Misato."

As Unit 02 moves off to retrieve the lance, Fuyutsuki turns to Misato and tells her, "By making decisions like that without hesitation is why I think you should be the new commander of Nerv."

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Terraces above Tokyo 3

Touji and Hikari are both quietly studying the sight of the silent city of Tokyo 2 below them wondering what is happening to their friends in the depths below the city. Hikari breaks the silence by asking, "What do you think that rumble was earlier on Touji?"

Seeing the worried look on Hikari's face, Touji takes a few moments to work out an answer that will try to ease her concern, once he has done this he answers. "I don't really know, probably an explosion somewhere in Nerv. Since nothing bad has happened I would say that it was probably the angel being destroyed." 'I hope….'

No sooner has Touji replied to Hikari's question when they both are surprised by seeing the shape of Unit 02 emerging from one of the eva lift buildings. Once he realises what this could mean a frown quickly appears on Touji's face and he tells Hikari, "Well something is happening, but what is the red demon doing up in the city? It was her job to destroy the angel." He then notices that Unit 02 is holding the same lance that Unit 03 had retrieved earlier. "What the……."

"Isn't that the spear that arrived by its own earlier on?"

"It sure looks like it. But why has the demon brought it up here again after they took underground? Is there another angel coming?" 'Just what in the world is that spear?'

Down in Tokyo 3 Unit 02 then changes its grip on the lance and starts sprinting down the road, once it has gained some speed it then throws the lance skyward. It rapidly flies upwards and disappears out of sight.

"Huh………."

"It just threw the spear away……"

Down in Tokyo 3 Unit 02 then re-enters the eva lift building that it arrived on, which then closes and the red eva disappears from sight.

"Just what happened then Touji?"

"I don't know, I imagine that Misato had a good reason for doing that though."

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Nerv Hospital

Shinji is laying in bed, there is a radio playing in the background with a news broadcast describing what has happened in Tokyo 3. As he slowly awakens he finds his vision is blocked by a clump of red hair. As sits up slightly he blinks a few times and sees that it is Asuka who is asleep and still wearing her plug suit. Shinji's action of sitting up wakes her up and she turns and looks at Shinji and cries out, "Shinji! Are you ok? You had me worried you baka!"

Shinji blinks a few more times before replying, "Asuka."

"Well how are you feeling baka?"

"Alright, other than a slight headache."

After a brief pause Asuka then asks Shinji, "Is it true that you piloted that monster for me Shinji?"

"Yes, I piloted it for you, also for mother and Misato, but mainly for you. I couldn't stand back and do nothing when I had a chance to help you. I had to, to make up for being unable to help you during the fifteenth angel."

Asuka groans after hearing this and answers, "Are you still hung up about that Shinji? I thought that we had already agreed that there was nothing that you could do because of your father had Unit 01 heavily locked down because he was so worried about it."

"But……"

"No buts Shinji. You can't be the invincible Shinji all the time." Asuka then wraps Shinji up in a big hug and kisses him. Misato and Yui walk in while they are kissing. Misato asks them with a big grin on her face, "Are we interrupting something?" After hearing Misato's question and seeing Shinji's and Asuka's reaction, Yui has a near identical grin on her face.

After hearing Misato's question Asuka quickly lets go of Shinji and the two of them turn bright red in embarrassment. Shinji tries to answer, "…M..Misato! Mother! um… well."

Asuka also tries to answer, "Uh… well I was worried about the big baka here. I was just glad to see that he was ok."

Still with the big grin on her face Misato replies, "Don't worry about it. Gee the two of you are so much fun to tease."

Yui adds, "I have already told you two that you make a lovely couple. As long as you two don't get too carried away, which I doubt that you will, I have no problems."

"Thanks mom." After a few moments Shinji then asks, "So its all over now?"

"Yes it is, to the best of our knowledge there is now no way anyone could start third impact."

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Tokyo 3 angel war memorial gardens dedication ceremony - Three months later

The service is being held in the courtyard of the memorial gardens, on one side of the courtyard are ten long walls of white marble listing the names of all those who have died in Tokyo 3 during the war against the angels. Located on the other side of the courtyard are three metre high bronze statues of units 00, 01, 02 & 03. Standing next to their respective eva units is a life sized statue of each of the pilots The statue of Unit 00 shows it poised ready to throw the Lance of Longinus. The statue of Rei shows her standing with her hands at her sides with her head turned to one side. Although the statue shows Rei with her usual neutral expression on her face, her eyes however seem to be studying something in the distance. Unit 01 shown lunging forward with its progressive knife gripped in both of its hands. Shinji's statue shows him with a thoughtful expression on his face. His right hand is held in a loose fist at chest level, his other arm is at his side. Unit 02 has a progressive axe raised above its head ready to strike. Asuka's statue shows her with both her arms slightly splayed at her sides with both hands clenched into fists. Her head is turned slightly to the right and her face has a steely look of determination upon it. Her hair is flowing wildly behind her like she has just quickly turned her head to face the direction that she is. Unit 03 has both arms outstretched reaching for something. The bronze image of Touji is standing with his arms folded across his chest with a serious expression his face. The most striking feature of the garden however is the archway at the entrance, this being formed by the armour of both of Unit 01's hands. The two hands are standing upright on either side of the entrance path with the interlaced fingers forming the arch.

In the courtyard with the statues as a backdrop is a small stage with some chairs and a speakers' podium. Dressed in black Nerv operations branch dress uniforms the pilots are sitting on the stage to the right and slightly behind the speakers' podium. Misato is sitting with them dressed in her commander's uniform; Fuyutsuki is sitting next to her wearing a dark grey business suit. The prime ministers and presidents of several nations are seated in the front rows of the audience. Also seated in the front rows is the command centre bridge crew, which also includes Ritsuko and Yui.

The new Secretary General of the United Nations is standing at the podium addressing the crowd. He has just finished the dedication of the memorial walls and is now moving onto the award presentation to the pilots. "We are also here to recognise the enormous contribution and sacrifices made by these young adults. I say young adults as they have made sacrifices that people twice their age shouldn't be asked to make whilst carrying out their duties during the war against the angels. Their actions remind me of part of a speech made by that famous British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, that being 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' Those words are truer today than when first spoken in 1940 as these four just didn't have the fate of one nation on their shoulders, but the very existence of the human race."

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Epilogue

Ikari Residence 8 years latter

Asuka is going through some boxes of old papers when she finds a yellowed piece of notepaper, she recognises what it is and she reads it once more. After reading the piece of paper a sad smile appears on her face and she then shakes her head and sniffles before muttering, "He was always the sweet baka."

Shinji walks into the room and notices the piece of paper in Asuka's hand. He pales as he immediately recognises what is on the piece of paper, for it is the note he wrote Asuka before he tried to commit suicide. Surprised by this he stutters out, "Y…..y y you kept THAT note!! Why in the world would you keep it for?"

Asuka gives Shinji a sad smile as she tells him, "Well it was the first time that you actually gathered up the courage to tell me how you felt for me."

Shinji just stands there speechless after hearing Asuka's reply. A frown then appears on Asuka's face as she continues, "As for what you did afterwards………."

Embarrassed by the memory of what he did, Shinji looks down at the floor and mutters, "Umm….well

"Not to mention the scare you all gave us when you self destructed Unit 01."

"I….. couldn't think of any other way of stopping it."

"Unfortunately you were right at the time Shinji. The important thing is that you survived. I don't know what would have happened if you died….."

Worried by what could have happened Shinji stutters a reply, "Um well……"

Asuka' expression lightens and a smile appears on her face as she tells Shinji, "Anyway Shinji I have some important news to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I am pregnant."

"What!!!!!!"

"Don't look so surprised, baka. You did have a part in this you know."

Embarrassed Shinji replies, "Um, yeah I suppose I did." Although he has a smile on his face, Shinji then starts to sniffle as he tries to hold back tears.

Puzzled by Shinji's reaction Asuka asks him, "What's wrong Shinji? I thought you would be happy about this news."

Shinji stops sniffling and gives Asuka a warm smile as he explains, "I am Asuka, I am overjoyed. It is the best news that I have heard since you said that you would marry me, but who would have thought that we could be so lucky. We have been so lucky for it to end up like this after all that we went through."

"Yes we have been lucky."

THE END

****************************************************

Well after all this time I have finally finished this fic! From what started as a way to pass time when I was out of work over 3 years ago and was only going to be 3 or 4 parts long developed a life of its own.

A big thanks to all those readers who have sent me comments over the course of this fic. Thanks also to the members of the EFML, especially Hotwire & Rhine who made me question why I was writing in script format. Their comments prodded me into changing into prose format and it definitely improved the fic (the first 6 parts were originally in script format).

A really big thanks also goes to my pre-readers, especially Leonard Chee and Greg Thomas. Leonard for putting up with the rather protracted delivery schedule of the latter parts and for giving me the idea for the little plot twist in part 7. Greg Thomas for pre-reading and posting the story on his NGE fic page on his excellent site Everything Anime.

Now on to the two alternative endings of this part & the fic.

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Omake 1

Asuka rips out the neural transmitters in a last attempt to shut down Unit 02. But to Asuka's horror Unit 02's actions fail to stop after she has done this, a strange sensation then flows through Asuka's body as she begins to apologise, "I am sorry everyone…………" She doesn't finish her apology; as to everyone's horror Asuka's body dissolves into LCL as her sync ratio with Unit 02 exceeds 400%. The now fully awakened Unit 02 then stops struggling and calmly walks towards the advancing form of Lilith. Lilith welcomes the advancing Unit 02 with open arms and immediately after the two make contact terminal dogma is bathed in a brilliant light.

Fuyutsuki turns to Yui and with in a sad tone of voice comments, "Well Yui, we have failed."

Maya frantically yells, "Massive energy readings coming from terminal dogma. …….It is expanding at an incredible rate."

Ritsuko looks at Yui and simply comments, "An anti AT field."

With her voice tinged with regret Yui answers, "Yes it is the same as sixteen years ago, but much worse. This is what we hopped to avoid………….."

The command centre is then bathed in the bright light and everyone dissolves into LCL. The light soon engulfs all of Tokyo 3 and continues to rapidly expand outwards.

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Omake 2

Asuka rips out the neural transmitters in a last attempt to shut down Unit 02. But to Asuka's horror Unit 02's actions fail to stop after she has done this. Asuka then climbs out of her command chair and turns around and reaches for the self destruct switch. After she turns and pulls the switch, the words 'Mode: D' appear. She then sadly comments to herself, 'Well it's my turn to do this, but I somehow think that I won't be as fortunate as you Shinji.'

Maya yells out in horror, "Oh my god! Asuka has activated Unit 02's self destruct mechanism!!"

Hearing what Asuka has done Misato screams out, "Oh my god Asuka! Don't do it…..please!"

"I am sorry Misato, this is the only way that I can stop it from destroying everything. Thanks for everything. Tell baka Shinji that I am sorry……."

Unit 02 then disappears in a blinding flash of light destroying both Unit 02 and Lilith.

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