Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Evangelion: Tribulations After ❯ Instrumentality Reborn ( Chapter 13 )

Shinji breathed deeply as he dragged his way through the countryside. His head was bleeding in two spots, and he could still feel the pain in his legs. It was the pain that kept him from walking back towards SYNAPSE, formerly known as NERV. The information he had was priceless if his friends and allies were to prevent another attempted Third Impact.

All of a sudden, memories returned to him. He remembered receiving a signaling device, something that would alert SYNAPSE if he needed help or if he had found Gendou Ikari, his father who he had been searching for for the past six months. He pulled out the small black box out of his jacket pocket. There were two buttons on it, one for saying if he had found Gendou, and the other if he needed assistance. He took a deep breath, and pressed both buttons down, hard.

And then he fell unconscious.

"`You're a God, and I am not, and I just thought that you would know!'"

The audience in the restaurant stood up, clapping like mad for Tenshi's singing. He took a bow.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, and thank you! We're going to take a little break here. You get yourselves a drink, some food, anything! I recommend the fried chicken, but that's just me." Tenshi let go of the microphone and walked down off the stage over to the table where Misato and Asuka were sitting.

"You seem a little tired tonight." Misato states.

Tenshi yawns. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who were you doing the Midnight Olympics with, pray tell?"

"Maya. No, I'm just kidding, I didn't sleep with anybody. It's just ever since Rei disappeared on us, I've been having trouble sleeping." Tenshi replies.

"That might also explain why your synch ratios have been slightly lower than usual." Misato says.

"Ah, I wouldn't be too worried about Ayanami. Wonder Girl's a survivor." Asuka says.

"No, `Wonder Girl' is a clone that can no longer keep cloning herself should she die. So, I think-"

A ringing from Misato's pocket interrupted Tenshi. Misato pulled out the ringing cell phone and pressed the talk button.

"General Katsuragi. What? We're on our way."

Misato hung up and turned to the two. "The computers are picking up an emergency signal from Shinji!"

Asuka immediately started to get up. Tenshi turned around and shouted to the band on stage, "Lee, you've got to take over for me for tonight. Possibly for the rest of the week! Something's come up!"

Tenshi got out of his chair along with Misato and Asuka.

The helicopter swooped over the countryside with Asuka and Tenshi in it. They had sunglasses on, and Tenshi looked out one open side of the helicopter with binoculars. Finally looking in a direction towards the right, he saw him.

"I've got him! He's lying on the ground over there!" he exclaimed.

The pilot nodded and went in the direction he pointed him to. The helicopter swooped over the unconscious Shinji, and landed right next to him. Tenshi and Asuka got out with the medical team that was with them and examined Shinji. The team looked him over.

"He's alive, but not much longer if we don't get him back to SYNAPSE." One of the Doctors said.

"Get him into the chopper and bring us back." Asuka commanded.

The medical staff nodded and complied with the command.

Three hours later, Tenshi, Asuka, and Misato stood or sat in the waiting room of the hospital. They all looked impatient.

"Damn it, what are they doing in there?!" Asuka demanded.

"They're healing your boyfriend. I recommend you at least be a little more patient." Tenshi replies.

"Oh, come on, Tenshi. You're just as impatient as the rest of us about this." Misato states.

Tenshi sighed. "Alright, I admit I am a bit curious as to what is happening in there."

Asuka mockingly patted him on the back. "See? It does not so hard admit you have emotions, now is it?"

Tenshi glared at her. He was about to make a comeback, but the doors to the emergency room opened and a Doctor came out. He sighed and said, "Well, we've done everything we can. He's in a coma now. It could be hours, days, months, or even years before he wakes up."

"We don't have years. In fact, we may not have hours. His distress call said he had found Gendou, and we must find him, as well." Misato states.

"Well, there's nothing more we can do except pray." The Doctor said, walking off.

"I can try something." Tenshi says.

"What? What can you try?" Misato asks.

"A couple months ago, I tested to see if my ability to enter a mind had been taken away from me when I had been kicked out of Heaven. It had not. It's a long shot, but I could go into Shinji's mind and get from him the answers we seek." Tenshi says.

"That's brilliant! How did we ever survive before you came along?" Misato asks.

"My guess is you had divine intervention." Tenshi suggests, standing up.

The three walked down into the Emergency Room, where Shinji Ikari was laying. Most of his wounds had been treated, and an oxygen mask was over his mouth. Tenshi rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles. He spread his fingers apart and placed his hands on Shinji's face. He smiled when he next spoke.

"My mind to your mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts..."

Within his own mind, Shinji Ikari sat in a train car. The entire area seemed to be hazed over with a yellow color. Shinji merely ran his thoughts in circles several times before he finally looked up to see Tenshi staring back at him.

For what seemed like an eternity, neither spoke to one another. They merely stared at one another, for what appeared to them as millions of years, their eyes never moving except to blink.

Finally, Tenshi scowled at Shinji and said, "Doesn't this train ever go anywhere?!"

Shinji blinked, unknowing what to say.

"I mean, of all the weird, twisted mind messages me and the other angels have subjected to you, this one was the weirdest. I think Ramiel gave you this one. I mean, what the hell is this train car doing? Where are we going? Where did we come from? It's one screwed up little reality he concocted. That was always Ramiel's problem: he always thought three-dimensionally."

All of a sudden, Shinji burst out laughing. Tenshi stared at him with a blank expression.

"Tenshi, you are too much." Shinji sighed.

"Probably. So, how've you been doing?" Tenshi asked.

"Well, I started looking for Gendou in a couple of places I knew, but none of them matched up. I got a lead on him about a month ago, and managed to track him down. I've acquired information on what he's been doing ever since he first disappeared. However, a group of would-be assassins beat me half to death. They probably think I'm dead right now." Shinji explains.

"Did Gendou send them?" Tenshi asks.

"No. The people I found out about sent them. There's a new SEELE. Apparently, they've been funding Gendou to find a way to create Third Impact."

"What about Rei? She's been missing for a little bit. Do you have any idea if she's involved?"

"Yes, she is. My father took her out of SYNAPSE through a secret room. Down in Central Dogma, where Lillith used to reside, there's a hidden chamber that Gendou's been using to get in and out of SYNAPSE to collect supplies."

"Thank you, Shinji. I'm going to leave now and inform the others."

Tenshi stood up.

"Oh, Ikari?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sure you can think up better fantasies than a fricking train, okay? Maybe a threesome between you, Asuka, and Misato."

Shinji gaped at Tenshi, who smiled and disappeared from the train. Shinji blinked and then thought for a moment.

"Well, the idea IS sort of appealing..."

Tenshi opened his eyes and let go of Shinji. He fell to the side a little, but caught himself. He breathed deeply as he realized he had used up a lot of strength doing that. He turned to the others.

"Rei was kidnapped by Gendou. There's a hidden chamber in Central Dogma, where Lillith used to be. There's a lot more, please help me up."

The doors into Central Dogma opened slowly, having not been moved for so long. The place was dark, and the air was cold, stale, and smelled like blood. Misato and Ritsuko strained their eyes trying to see what was inside, but failed. Ritsuko took out the small control panel in her hands and typed in some commands. All the lights in the chamber flickered, but then turned on. The two looked around the lit room, seeing the makeshift patch on the hole that was generated by one of SEELE's EVA series when it attempted to free Lillith and create Third Impact. They looked around, and saw one part of the wall that seemed to be a panel on it. Ritsuko accessed the control panel, trying to gain entry into the locking mechanisms throughout Central Dogma. She managed to access it, and the panel slid open, revealing an array of technological equipment scattered throughout it. Also appeared to be a dark tunnel going up into a sewer system above SYNAPSE. Misato pulled out her cell phone and dialed the main control room.

"This is the General. We have a more far more interesting problem than I thought." She said.

Tenshi stood on the spot where Misato and Shinji used to go to overlook Tokyo-3. However, his mission was not to look at the city, but to look at the sky. He knew that there was still one unfinished matter to be taken care of if a new SEELE had indeed been formed that had another goal of Third Impact. He raised both of his arms up at the sky and began to concentrate. His mental vision took him up into the atmosphere, and then past it, and up to the encircling moon. There was one object in orbit around it he required.

The Lance of Longevus.

He focused his mental powers and pulling the lance down and compressing it's form at the same time. His mind was beginning to strain as he pulled at the Lance, trying to get it back down to Earth. It was beginning to move, but Tenshi was in immense pain. His eyes felt like they were on fire and he was sweating heavily. He felt as if his very mind was going to burst, but he knew he had to bring the Lance back down and shrink it down to a reasonable size, and he was accomplishing that. The power needed to pull it diminished, as it got closer to the earth, falling quickly through Earth's atmosphere as it approached his position. Still, the pain remained as it finally dropped in front of him, now only two meters long. Tenshi collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily and with a giant headache. He got up and picked up the Lance.

"I hate this stupid thing."

"This seems to be some sort of jamming device." Ritsuko states, examining one of the large electronic boxes in the room.

"Jamming devices, sensor blocks, lockout codes. This is intense stuff here." Misato says.

"You know, when all of this is over, I'm going to retire to Cambridge University and raise Begonias." Ritsuko states.

"Lovely flowers, Begonias!"

The two turned to see Tenshi walking towards them with the Lance in his hands.

"Tenshi, what exactly is all of this equipment for?" Misato asks.

"Don't bother trying to understand. Mainly, it's a link for Gendou to send Rei or himself into SYNAPSE without anyone knowing." Tenshi explains, pulling the lance out from behind him.

"And I don't want him here just yet!" He shouted, and immediately shoves the lance through one of the boxes.

Misato and Ritsuko gaped at him as he began slamming the lance onto the equipment like a baseball bat and shoving it through things, destroying all of the sophisticated equipment. He began delivering blows to one particular console, and finally after three straight hits to it, the Lance snapped in half. Tenshi looked at the stick that had been the handle for the Lance.

"Weapons, always useless in the end." He said as he threw the stick to the side.

Both Ritsuko and Misato were still staring and gaping at him. He turned to them and said, "You two look hungry. Let's have lunch."

Shinji's eyes fluttered open, expecting to see the ceiling that was not so unfamiliar to him anymore. However, what he instead saw was the face of the light blue-haired, red-eyed, clone of his mother named Rei Ayanami. For a moment, he thought the girl had been watching over him, waiting for him to awaken from the sleep he had been through. He began to open his mouth to ask for some water, but then Rei's face came down at him, and much to his surprise, her mouth locked around his, kissing him deeply. To say he was surprised would've been an understatement, but then he felt something seep from her lips into his, and he suddenly felt tired and woozy once again, falling back into a deep sleep.

Rei pulled Shinji's unconscious body off of the bed and onto a cart, quickly pushing the cart out of the hospital room.

Tenshi leaned his head against his fist, staring at a cup of tea. Misato walked over to him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Concentrating!" he exclaimed.

Misato rolled her eyes and sat down at the table with him.

"That thing you used to smash up the equipment in the hidden room... Was that the Lance of Longevus?" she asks.

"Yes." Tenshi replied, yawning from exhaustion.

"So... How did you get it from orbit?" Misato asked.

"My telekinetic abilities are relatively intact. I pulled it back to Earth and shrunk it down to a reasonable size." Tenshi explained.

"And how did you manage to break an object of holy power just by slamming it into a couple of boxes?" Misato inquired.

Tenshi smiled. "The Lance of Longevus, even being a holy object, is just a stick with a pointy end. It's not the Lance itself; it's the power that imbues it. Since you people aren't going to need the thing for another few millions years or so, Heaven has taken the power of the Lance away from it, leaving it but a metal pole. When you people need the thing again, it'll be recreated."

"You seem tired. Maybe you should get some rest." Misato suggests.

"Well, entering a person's mind and shrinking a big object down to a reasonable size and pulling it from orbit sort of takes a lot out of a person." Tenshi replies.

A beeping sound came from Misato's pocket. She reached into it and pulled her cell phone to her ear and said, "General Katsuragi here."

Misato's eyes got wider when she heard the news. "I'm on my way."

She turned off the phone and put it back into her pocket, standing up.

"Rei was just caught within the HQ trying to cart Shinji out through Central Dogma. And Shinji's awake."

"Well?" Ritsuko asked.

"Well what?" Tenshi asked in return.

"Aren't you going to scan her mind, try to find out what happened?" Ritsuko inquired.

Tenshi yawned and replied, "I'm tired, Ritsuko. It's been a long day and I need sleep. I'll scan her in the morning when I feel better."

Tenshi walked away from the hospital room. Shinji, in a wheelchair, asked, "Since when did Tenshi seem to get so much executive power? Misato, shouldn't you be able to order him to do it?"

"I'm not running the same policies as your father did, Shinji. The kid needs rest, and I'm letting him have it. Until he directly questions my orders, there's nothing I can do to him." Misato explains.

It is now 3:00 AM, Tokyo-3 standard time. Rei Ayanami's closed eyes are shifting left and right, and suddenly they open up. Rei's eyes must adjust to the darkness, but they accomplish that with ease. She attempts to stand up to look around, but she realizes she cannot. She looks down at herself to find herself in several restraints keeping her attached to a bed in the hospital.

"Damn it, what have I done now?" She asks to particularly no one.

Now it is 8:00 AM Tokyo-3 standard time. Rei Ayanami's eyes are shifted at an angle, indicating extreme annoyance and anger. Two SYNAPSE Soldiers held automatic weapons trained on her at all times, and Ritsuko quickly walked into the room.

"I demand to be released from these-"

Ritsuko nodded at the guards, and they took hold of the bed and began quickly wheeling it down the hall, and then to an elevator. They walked into the elevator and went down two floors. When it stopped again, they pushed the cart down another hall and into an enclosed cell at the end of the hall. They put the bed in the cell and then quickly undid the restraints. They then ran out of the cell and aimed their guns at her again. Rei pushed the restraints away from her and got up, stretching her arms and legs as she got out of the bed and faced the guards. Now accompanying the guards were Tenshi, Misato, Shinji, Asuka, and Ritsuko.

"What the hell is going on?" Rei asks.

"You tell us, wonder girl." Asuka commanded.

"What?" Rei asks in reply, confused.

"All I know was that you were kidnapped by Gendou. Was I wrong about that? Were you really working with him the whole time?" Shinji asks, still sitting in his wheelchair.

"The last thing I remember is walking out of my home in the apartment building and then something coming over my mouth. After that I don't remember a thing." Rei said.

"Tenshi, are you strong enough to scan her now?" Misato inquired.

"I should be. Sleep is what I needed." Tenshi replies.

Tenshi walks into the cell and walks in front of Rei.

"I'm going to scan your mind to see if I can uncover some sense behind this, alright, Ayanami?" Tenshi asks.

Rei nodded, and closed her eyes. Tenshi rolled the sleeves on his shirt back and placed his hands on Rei's face. He closed his eyes and began to focus. His hands seemed to glow a little, and Tenshi's head moved from side to side sometimes, like he was moving. He then slowly let go of her head and fell back a little, but he caught his balance.

"Interesting." He stated.

"What?" Ritsuko asks.

"She's telling the truth. However, what she doesn't know is that after she was kidnapped, Gendou Ikari planted some type of device in her mind. It's not very sophisticated; it just suppresses the memory sectors of the brain and plants an alternate personality over the current one. That personality was completely obedient to him and him alone. It seems to have gone into remission for the moment. Ritsuko, you can remove the device through a simple surgical technique." Tenshi explains.

"Does it tell where Commander Ikari is?" Misato asks.

"Yes. I have found his location. Quite an interesting place he chose." Tenshi replies.

"Why? Where is it?" Asuka asks.

Gendou Ikari looked at the monitor screens, all showing DNA samples from Angels and from the late Yui Ikari. Gendou typed furiously into the comports, each time the results showed the DNA samples splitting apart. Gendou growled and slammed his fist into the desk.

"Temper, temper, dear Ikari."

Gendou leapt from his chair, aiming a gun at Tenshi, who stood in the doorway, leaning against it and smiling. Gendou put down the gun.

"I was wondering when you'd find this place." Gendou said, sitting down in his chair again.

"It wasn't what I had expected. I didn't even know there were catacombs directly underneath your dead wife's grave." Tenshi said. "It's time to come home, Ikari."

"My dear boy, there's more to this than you understand." Gendou stated.

"And what do you mean by that?" Tenshi inquired.

"Tenshi, I think you should take a look at this!" a voice cried out from the other end of the underground catacombs.

Tenshi calmly walked out and walked back over to Shinji and Rei, who were with an entire assault battalion from SYNAPSE. They were all looking in shock at something, but Tenshi couldn't see it until he was right next to them. He turned his head to what they were looking at, and he gasped in shock and surprise.

It was Lillith.

Tenshi growled and ran back to Gendou, who was still in the chair, looking over at data charts.

"You son of a bitch!" he shouted.

Shinji and Rei followed soon after, with Shinji scowling at his father.

"How did you do it? How the hell is that thing here?!" Tenshi demanded.

"Through Rei. I cloned Lillith using the DNA from her that was stored in Rei. You see, despite what you may think, I am not your enemy." Gendou says, facing them.

"Then you'd better have one damn good explanation before I blow you and that clone straight to hell!" Tenshi exclaimed.

"SEELE is and always has been alive." Gendou stated.

The three were all taken aback.

"What?" Rei said.

"Must I repeat myself? The organization known as SEELE still exists. They've been working secretly underground ever since their first defeat by you all. SEELE didn't just come back into existence recently; they've been working behind the scenes since over a year ago. They've designed a new group of Evangelions with dummy plugs designed to initiate Third Impact. They forced me to clone Lillith for that purpose. However, Third Impact isn't and never has been my goal." He explains.

"Then what is? Why all the secrecy? Why have you been doing this?!" Shinji demanded.

"FOR YOUR MOTHER!" Gendou shouted back at him.

Shinji was tired of looking surprised, so he merely raised an eyebrow at his father.

"I don't care about the survival or evolution of the human race, I care about Yui Ikari. I want my family back. You alone weren't enough for me, Shinji. I want my entire family back the way it was." He explains.

"You idiot!" Tenshi exclaimed at Gendou.

"What do you mean?" Gendou asks.

"If you wanted to meet your wife, all you had to do was tell me! I may not be an Angel anymore, but I still do have connections up there. I can arrange a meeting easily!" Tenshi explains.

Gendou blinked. "Oh. Didn't know that." He says.

Tenshi rolls his eyes. "Obviously."

No sooner than that had Asuka pulled out her cell phone and dialed Misato. "Misato, we're going to need all of the EVAs over here. We've got a much bigger problem than we thought."

"We'll be lowered down directly into the EVAs' entry plugs. We don't have time to go back to SYNAPSE and do it the safe and easy way. We've already gotten word that SEELE's EVA-06 series is on its way here to claim Lillith!" Asuka states to the others while they floated above the area in a helicopter.

The four pilots could see five planes coming their way, each one carrying an Evangelion.

"Five Evangelions? Who's the fifth pilot?" Shinji asks.

"Touji." Tenshi suddenly says.

"What?!" Rei, Asuka, and Shinji say at the same time.

"Ever since he was in enough shape to leave the hospital, he's been training in the rebuilt Unit 03. Since the 13th Angel was destroyed, it was completely safe. And Rei, Unit 00 was just recently rebuilt. I of course will be piloting Unit 04." Tenshi explains.

"Geez, I leave for six months and you're still keeping secrets, Tenshi!" Shinji shouts.

"My capability to keep secrets is one of my finer qualities, Ikari. Speaking of which, your father should be back at the HQ by now. He'll coordinate us in the defense against the 06 Series." Tenshi says.

A short minute later, the five EVAs landed on the cemetery where Yui Ikari slept. Each of the pilots were brought down into their EVAs, taking station and loading the Entry plugs back into the necks of all of the Evangelions.

"Unit 00 is online."

"Unit 01 reporting, all systems functional."

"Maßeinheit 02 betriebsbereit und fähig."

"Touji reporting, Unit 03 is ready."

"Unit 04 ready."

The five EVAs took position, seeing in the distance nine Evangelions. These nine looked exactly the same, like a repainted version of the 05 Series they had faced over a year and a half ago. They had the same reptilian head, and the bird-like wings, but now they were colored a silver color. Each had some kind of lance in their hand. The five pilots prepared themselves.

"Hey, Touji?" Shinji asks.

"Yeah?" Touji replies, looking at Shinji through the vid-screen monitor.

"Every Evangelion is supposed to have a soul residing within it. Usually, the soul is the loved one of the pilot. Who's the soul in yours?" Shinji inquired.

Touji closed his eyes. "My sister." He said.

"What?!" Shinji yelled.

"When SEELE initially attacked NERV, the Evangelion trying to get to Lillith fired a beam cannon down into NERV HQ. The beam disintegrated half of the hospital district. My sister was one of the casualties." Touji explains.

"I- I'm sorry..."

"It's alright. Tenshi arranged for her soul to be placed within Unit 13. As long as I know my sister is all right wherever she is, I'm happy. Now, let's kick SEELE's ass."

Shinji smiled.

The nine Evangelions flew down twenty meters away from the SYNAPSE EVAs. Their wings retracted into their backs, and they grinned at them in a horrifying way.

"LET'S GET IT ON!" Asuka shouted, immediately charging at the nearest 06 EVA.

Unit 02's progressive knife slashed at the 06 EVA, but the 06 blocked with its lance. Unit 02 responded with punching the EVA in the face.

"Gendou, any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated." Misato said, observing the battle from the main center of SYNAPSE. Gendou calmly walked over to where Maya sat, observing the readings coming from the 06 EVAs. He smiled and turned back to Misato.

"These EVAs are not being powered internally. I do not think they have S2 engines." Gendou states.

"Are you saying they're being piloted by people?" Misato asks.

"No. They have no heat signatures from the entry plugs. I think they're using some kind of power transmission signal to power them so that our EVAs cannot disable them by just ripping out the engine." Gendou explains.

"Of course! And we can use their own power signal to trace them back to SEELE and then alert the military! Shigeru!"

"Already on it, General!" Shigeru replies, fast at work on accessing the transmission beam.

"Mam, there's an extreme risk of a feedback into our own EVAs if we trace the beam!" Maya points out.

"It's a risk we're going to have to take! Shigeru, do you have it?" Misato asks.

"Yes, mam. Beginning trace... now!"

Several seconds afterwards, an electrical explosion occurred at several consoles, but then the coordinates were relayed to Shigeru's console.

"I have them, General!"

"Relay them to UN militia and tell them to haul ass! Shinji! Tenshi! Asuka! Report!"

And the reply Misato got was screams.

Screens flashed on, showing camera images of the five pilots recoiling in pain. A few were curling up into balls like they were sick.

"What's happening to them!?" Misato demanded.

"I'm not sure! All vital signs show perfect health!" Makato shouted.

"It's the feedback! It's penetrated into their very souls!" Gendou exclaimed.

"SON OF A BITCH!"

The group quickly saw Tenshi breathing deeply, in a cold sweat. He looked into the cameras and said, "Okay, what the hell was that?!"

"Feedback from tracing SEELE's location. Will the others make as swift as recovery as you?" Misato asks.

"I only managed to do it by summoning up every bit of my strength and willpower against it. I'm going to go help them!" Tenshi shouted.

Tenshi activated the emergency hatch on Unit 04, and jumped out of it. He then jumped out into the sky, his flight capabilities taking effect. He let the wind guide him, taking him down over to Unit 01. Even through all the armor, he could hear the screams from Shinji inside. He opened a small compartment and pulled the lever inside of it. The entry plug quickly ejected out, sticking out of the back of Unit 01's neck. He opened the hatch on the plug to see Shinji staring straight ahead of him, veins over his head and his eyes wide open as he continually screamed.

"Snap out of it, Ikari!" Tenshi shouted.

He jumped inside as Shinji continued to yell, stopping only to breathe every few seconds. Tenshi slapped Shinji hard, but it did not quell his screams. He rolled his eyes and then grabbed Shinji's face.

"Our minds are merging..."

Shinji slowly opened his eyes. It was nighttime, wherever he was. He was sitting beneath a tree overlooking an ocean. Thoughts and memories flooded through him. Memories of rejection, angst, and fear. He curled up into a ball and began to cry lightly. Tenshi suddenly walked up to him. He looked down at Shinji.

"Hey, Ikari? Life's a song, and you don't get to rehearse. Get on up and snap out of it." He stated.

"I- I can't... Too much pain..." he sobbed.

"What was the last year and a half to you? Did nothing I try to show you get through, truly? Our minds are as one, Ikari. You know my heart that's full of song, and I know your heart full of chagrin. We know each other, Shinji. We are the same." Tenshi stated.

Suddenly, a piano and small orchestra began to play, the music coming from nowhere as Shinji and Tenshi began to sing to the song "No More," from Stephen Sondheim's music score from the musical "Into the Woods."

"`No More questions, please. No more tests. Comes the day you say what for? Please... No more!'" Shinji sang.

Tenshi glared at Shinji for a moment, then turned away.

"`They disappoint, they disappear, they die but they don't.'" he murmured.

"What?" Shinji asks, sitting up.

Tenshi looked down at Shinji again, still glaring.

"`They disappoint, in turn I fear, forgive though they won't.'" Tenshi sang.

Shinji looked up at him in sorrowful eyes.

"`No more riddles. No more jests. No more curses you can't undo left by fathers you never knew! No more quests! No more feelings. Time to shut the door. Just... No more.'" Shinji said, holding his legs in his arms as he looked out at the ocean.

Tenshi walked over and sat down next to him, putting on a smile.

"`Running away... Let's do it. Free from the ties that bind. No more despair, or burdens to bear, out there in the yonder!'" Tenshi sang.

Tenshi looked over at Shinji, who still looked out at the ocean.

"`Running away... Go to it. Where did you have in mind? Have to take care, unless there's a where, you'll only be wandering blind. Just more questions, different kinds. Where are we to go? Where are we ever to go?'"

"`Running away... We'll do it. Why sit around resigned? The trouble with some, the farther you run, the more you feel undefined for what you have left undone. And more, what you've left behind!'"

Tenshi then stood up, looking out at the ocean.

"`We disappoint, we leave a mess, we die but we don't.'" Tenshi stated.

Shinji then sang. "`We disappoint, in turn I guess, forget though we won't.'"

And after that, they both sang the same thing, "`Like father, like son.'"

There was a pause then as Shinji stood up. Images flashed through his mind of fighting the Angels and enemy Evangelions. "`No more giants waging war.'"

He then turned to Tenshi and held onto his shirt in a pleading matter. "`Can't we just pursue our lives, with our fathers and their wives? `Till that happy day arrives, how do you ignore... All the witches. All the curses. All the wolves, all the lies, the false hopes, the goodbyes, the reverses. All the wondering what even worse is still in store!?'"

Tenshi gave no answer. He merely stared at him sympathetically.

"`All the children... All the giants... No more...'"

Shinji collapsed again, going into a fetal position. Tenshi's face turned into a glare, and he kneeled down to Shinji.

"Shinji, you have to snap out of this. You're stronger than this!" he exclaimed.

"No I'm not... I hear the voice of SEELE over and over in my mind... It orders me to obey..."

"Then resist it!" Tenshi shouts.

"I can't! I don't know how!" Shinji yells back.

Tenshi bites his lip, thinking for a moment. He then gets it.

"Shinji, you just have to say, `No I won't' one more time than they can say, `Yes, you will.'"

Shinji blinks for a moment, he closes his eyes...

Tenshi falls back, releasing his grip on Shinji's face. He looked up at the monitors, seeing that Asuka and Touji were gritting their teeth and breaking out of the feedback. However, Rei was still screaming. Immediately, Tenshi jumped up and Shinji placed the entry plug back into Unit 01 as Tenshi cleared it. He immediately used all his flight strength to get himself over to Unit 00, and pulled open the compartment over the entry plug. He pulled on the lever inside, ejecting the entry plug and he opened the hatch to see Rei screaming.

Not being in the mood to sing again, Tenshi merely put his hand over her mouth and she stopped screaming, looking at him in sadness and pain. He let go of her mouth, which was shivering in fear.

"Ayanami, you have to snap out of this!" Tenshi shouts.

"I- I can't! I'm just a doll, Tenshi! I know I've been saying otherwise, but I'm just a doll to be used and discarded!" Rei exclaimed.

"No, you're not! You are a girl that is loved and cherished by everyone you know! You have a soul!" Tenshi replies.

"SOUL!? How can I have a soul?! I'm piloting Unit 00! My own soul went out of my body for me to pilot it! I CAN'T BE PILOTING IT IF I HAVE A SOUL!" Ayanami yelled at him.

"Yes you can! Something else is powering it! Love!" Tenshi says, his own face filled with fear of losing Rei.

"Love?! I don't know love! No one loves me truly and purely!"

"Yes, someone does!"

"Oh yeah, who?!"

"ME!"

Rei looked at Tenshi, who was beginning to cry. He fell into her lap, sobbing.

"I love you, Rei! I've loved you since I first saw you, even as an Angel! You're beautiful, Ayanami! You're the one thing I truly love! I want to be with you, Rei! I LOVE YOU!"

Rei blinked, and then hugged him. Tenshi slowly stopped crying, and he looked at Rei. The two's heads came closer, and their lips met in a passionate, loving kiss. The romantic moment, however, was broken by the irritating voice of one hotheaded red-haired girl.

"WOOO! Wonder Girl's getting' it on with the Angel!" Asuka laughed.

Tenshi's eyes narrowed at Asuka. "I hate my life." He sighed.

"This is Misato to EVA pilots! Do you read me?" Misato's voice said, a video link suddenly being established.

"We read you, Misato. What's up?" Shinji asks.

"We have a new problem. The tracking signal we used to locate SEELE disrupted the power flow to the enemy EVAs. However, it seems that as a backup precaution, SEELE did in fact install S2 Engines into the 06 series. They're powering up now." Misato states.

"Well, we'll just smash `em apart before they can charge!" Asuka says.

"Not possible. We've scanned the 06s; their armoring is made of a polymer unlike anything we've encountered. None of your weapons will be able to penetrate it." Gendou says.

"Then might I suggest we do something different?" Tenshi asks.

"Like what?" Touji inquires.

"Like draining the battery." Tenshi suggests.

"Are you sure you can handle this much power?" Shinji asks.

"For the ninth time, NO! However, none of you have the kind of divine necessities in order to take in this much raw power without killing yourselves. With luck, I can take in the power and then give to Unit 04 to consume. Are we ready?" Tenshi asks.

"Ready as we'll ever be. Start it up, Tenshi." Misato commands.

"Okay, everyone, BEGIN!" Tenshi shouts.

The five Evangelion Units held each other's hands, Unit 04 being in the center. Inside each entry plug, the pilot was focusing on using their own minds to burrow deep inside for the inner power of each EVA, the souls within them, if you will. They all gritted their teeth as they search the very fiber of their being, and finally, in a small, dark corner of the EVAs' cores, they found what they were looking for.

Out of Unit 00's head came a ghostly figure looking like Rei Ayanami.

Out of Unit 01's head came a ghostly figure looking like Yui Ikari.

Out of Unit 02's head came a ghostly figure looking like Mrs. Langley.

Out of Unit 03's head came a ghostly figure looking like Touji's sister.

And out of Unit 04's head came a ghostly figure looking like Tenshi.

The five `souls' wrapped themselves all around the EVA 06 series. The lights and power in the EVAs slowed to a stop, killing them by draining the S2 engines of power completely. The souls slowly retracted back into the EVAs, but they were not through there. The power they possessed was too much for them to handle, and so, the power was all transferred into the pilot of Unit 04: Tenshi.

Tenshi screamed for a moment as a white light enveloped his body. Suddenly, the light disappeared, and his eyes began glowing white. He merely stared up at the roof of his EVA.

"Tenshi?! Tenshi, can you hear me?!" Rei shouted.

"It's no use, Ayanami. He's doing what needs to be done now." Gendou states.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asks.

"All of you have had some form of mental vision in a dark realm where you confronted your demons." Gendou says.

"So?" Asuka asks.

"Has Tenshi ever done that before?"

Tenshi opened his eyes. He looked around himself, seeing only blackness outside of the light that shined down over him. He was sitting in a metal folding chair, so he stood up. For what seemed like an infinite amount of time, nothing happened. He then spoke, saying the words that millions have wondered by seeing this dark and black place.

"Why the hell is it so dark in here?"

There was no reply to his joke question. He then decided he was sick of waiting.

"Where are you?! Show yourselves! I know you're here!"

"Of course you have. We have always been here."

Another light shined down, showing Asuka in her plug suit.

"The others are a disease. Why do you help them?" she asks.

"Because they are my friends. I believe in them."

"Do you believe in yourself?"

Tenshi gave no answer.

"Do you believe in yourself?"

"I refuse to answer."

"You're afraid to answer."

Another light shined down, now showing Shinji as the light with Asuka disappeared.

"What does it matter if I am?"

"Because you need to believe in yourself." The apparition of Shinji said.

"I do."

"Then why did you evade the question?"

"Because no one truly believes in themselves."

The light with Shinji disappeared, being replaced by another light that had Rei in it.

"Shinji does." She states.

"How do you know?"

The light disappeared, leaving Tenshi alone again. It gave no answer.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Tenshi was given no answer.

"Why are you here? Where are you going?"

Still no answer.

"How DARE you lecture me about believing in myself when you don't even know the answers to MY questions?! You don't know who you are, you don't know what you want, you don't know why you're here, and you don't know where you're going!" Tenshi shouted out.

Still nothing came.

"ANSWER ME!" he exclaimed.

And he was answered.

One light shined down, right in front of Tenshi. The figure standing before him wore a white robe, and her hair was at shoulder length and a light brown color. Her eyes were sweet and innocent. Tenshi's pupils dilated as he recognized her from his own past as a human.

"Amelia?!" he asked.

"Yes, my Angel." She said. "You must let go of the others. Join me, John."

Amelia held out her hand to Tenshi. He smiled and put his own hand out, taking hers. Amelia was going to lead Tenshi into her light, when suddenly Tenshi's smile turned into a glare and he pulled her hard into his light, twisting her around and he snapped his arm very fast, breaking Amelia's arm. She yelped in pain as Tenshi held her arms back.

"Did you really think I could be bought so easily?!" he demanded.

Amelia glared back at him.

"I lost any love I had for you when you made the wrong choice in Purgatory!" he shouts, throwing her back into her own circle.

"I love Ayanami now. And not you or anyone else can change that. And so I say, LET THERE BE LIGHT!"

And the darkness all around him shattered like glass, leaving him sitting down in the entry plug of Unit 04. He took in a deep breath as he saw the power draining from himself into Unit 04.

"Tenshi?! Tenshi, are you already?!" Rei asked.

"I'm fine, Ayanami. I'm fine."

"All the SEELE members have been tried and sentenced to life imprisonment." Misato says, sitting down at the especially large table at the restaurant where Tenshi worked.

"Alls well that ends well, Misato." Kaji says, embracing her briefly.

"Frankly, I don't know why you people spend so much time in this place. The critics say the food isn't that good." Ritsuko states.

"Food can be supplemented by entertainment, Dr." Gendou rebuts.

"Where are Tenshi and Rei, anyway?" Maya asks.

"Probably giving each other some good ol' sex before they do their song together." Asuka suggests.

"Is that all you ever think about? Sex?" Makato asks.

"Nah, I think about other things. Shinji, nakedness, hot sweaty bodies..." Asuka grins.

"You're a very sick girl, Asuka." Touji says.

"Not anymore sick than you, you improper little-" Hikari starts to say.

"Hey, hey, we're not here to fight. We're here to enjoy ourselves." Kensuke states.

"Yeah, and I enjoy pointing out how rude and insensitive my boyfriend is. And that's why I love him." Hikari replies.

"Isn't the show going to start soon?" Shigeru asks.

"And where's our waiter?" Shinji inquires.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight shined down on Rei and Tenshi. Tenshi wore an elegant tuxedo whereas Rei wore a glittering red dress.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we'd like to dedicate this next song to the saviors of the world and for not letting us all get put into a cheap-ass version of the Borg collective, AKA Third Impact, those people down there!" Tenshi shouted.

Five lights shine down from the ceiling and encompass the group of people, who all stand up and bow.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's all enjoy the singing talents of my lovely associate Rei Ayanami!" Tenshi says into the microphone, and he moves away.

Rei moves up to the microphone. The music begins playing to the theme of Evangelion, "Cruel Angel's Thesis."

"`Like an Angel with no sense of mercy... Rise, young boy, to the heavens, like a legend!'" she sings.

All of a sudden, when they stay on one note, Tenshi shouts, "ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!"

The music changes entirely, changing into Smash Mouth's "I'm a believer!"

"`I thought love was only true in fairy tales, meant for someone else, but not for me! Love was out to get me. That's the way it seems. Disappointment haunted all my dreams...'" he sang.

"`And then I saw her face! Now I'm a believer! And not a trace... Of doubt in my mind! I'm in love! I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried!'"

Then, Rei began to sing. "`I thought love was more or less a given thing. But the more I gave, the less I got, oh yeah. What's the use of trying? All I get is pain. When I wanted sunshine I got rain...'"

"`And then I saw her face!'" Tenshi shouted.

"`Now I'm a believer! And not a trace... Of doubt in my mind! I'm in love! I'm a believer, I couldn't leave him/her if I tried!'" they sang together.

After that, there was a brief musical solo.

"`What's the use of trying? All I get is pain. When I wanted sunshine I got rain...'" Tenshi sang.

"`And then I saw her face! Now I'm a believer! And not a trace... Of doubt it in my mind! I'm in love! I'm a believer, I couldn't leave her if I tried!'"

There was another solo for a moment.

"`Then I saw her fa-ace! Now I'm a believer! Not a trace... Of doubt in my mind! Now I'm a believer! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Ye-ah! I'm a believer! I'm a believer! I'M A BELIEVER, I couldn't leave her if I triiiiieeed.'"

And with that, the song ended, and the entire restaurant exploded into applause and cheers. Tenshi and Rei embraced and kissed happily.

The cities were rebuilt, and the peace restored. And giant, mechanical, artificially evolved human beings known as Evangelions were never needed again. The souls within them went to the Heaven that greeted them with open arms. And now, Tenshi has prepared his own ending phrase for this story you have witnessed.

"There must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forth in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine." Tenshi says.

THE-

"Hey, wait a second!" Shinji exclaimed. "You stole that from Doctor Who!"

"No I didn't!" Tenshi shouts.

"Yes, you did! William Hartnell said it!" Shinji shouted.

And they all lived happily ever after.

"AHEM." Asuka said.

Well, sort of...

"That's better." Asuka smiled.

THE END.