In the darkness of the night, a woman clambered up some stairs supporting her injured companion. Her clothes smeared with blood seeping from his arms and leg. Upon reaching a door at the top of the stairs, she quickly punched in the safe house's access code. The automated door opened swiftly and silently.

"Come on you prick. You're not dying until you've been ordered to" mutter the woman as she struggled to move the man through the entrance.

When she made sure she'd dragged him in completely, the woman struck a nearby switch, allowing the door to close behind them.

I sat in front the table next to the window.

Before me was the data I had gathered on myself, obtained from breaching the Magi's security barriers.

There wasn't much.

Most of the information had been recently deleted by Ikari himself.

And only a few kilobytes worth of data could be recovered.

Most of which was data on my biology and genetics.

It didn't mean much to me, but there were hints of rather extensive genetic manipulation.

My knowledge of such matters was quite lacking. I knew things, but did not necessarily understand what they meant.

I decided that there was only one way to find out the truth.

Suddenly, I hear a sound behind me.

It is Shinji.

It also came to my attention that it is already dawn.

Shutting down my laptop, I got up and turned around to see if there was anything he needed.

Shinji groaned as he sat on the edge on a bed, nursing what felt like must have been the mother of all hangovers.

He lazily scanned around the room, looking for the sign of anything at all familiar to him, but could find none.

Then he heard the door creek open. He scarcely believed it when he saw Inanis at the doorway. He'd hoped that his memories had been but of a dream. But this proved otherwise.

He noticed the small smile on her face.

It felt… almost motherly for some odd reason…

Inanis approached him slowly and carefully sat down next to him.

"So it true then… everything you've told me last night… I'd hoped it to be all some sort of weird nightmare…"

The girl remained silent.

"My father… all this time, playing god under our noses, and Ayanami… Rei… created by father… like you…" he turned to look at her, "But now he wants to kill you? I thought I knew him. But in reality I never knew him at all. I've been such a fool to think that he cared…"

"I'm afraid you can't stop him Shinji… he will only cast you aside" she said.

For a moment, Shinji saw Inanis sway slightly from side to side, it seemed like she was about to faint.

"Are… are you alright?"

The girl reached up with her hand and held her head. It was obvious to Shinji then that she was very tired and was barely able to stay conscious as it is.

"It's nothing…" she said dryly.

But the heavy shade underneath her eyes told otherwise. Inanis had not slept properly for more than three days now. She'd always kept herself from falling asleep fully to guard herself against attacks such as the one, which occurred on her second night of freedom. The extreme mental exertion caused by yesterday's fight with the unknown agents did not help her any better.

"You need rest…" he stated worryingly, "You… you can rest now… I'll keep an eye out for you…"

She offered him another small and barely noticeable smile, "I will… later…"

He then noticed her newly re-bandaged shoulder.

"You're injured?"

She looked down and reached at her shoulder, "This? This was from before, it is a nuisance but nothing to be concerned about" she said.

"I… I see… I can't let you do this by yourself Inanis… You've been weakened… I'll help you get your answers… and… maybe I'll get some answers of my own too at the same time" he declared resolutely.

Inanis nodded at this, "But you must not endanger yourself. You cannot aid me against those who wish to harm me like yesterday."

"I understand… but who were those people anyway? They weren't my father's people, they can't be, or else they wouldn't have shot the surveillance agents."

"This I do not know. But what I know is that they were prepared for me. But not like the others were."

"What do you mean prepared?"

"Their minds. They have been reinforced. The memories tell of years of training in preparation. There is much faith, much dedication to a cause."

"Oh… Wait, what memories?"

"The man's memories."

"The man? What man?"

"It seems that sometimes, when I extinguish a soul, a fragment of their memories are retained by me. That is one of the reasons I have survived for so long. The knowledge of firearms, combat tactic, first aid…" she indicated to her injured shoulder, "Even small things about finding abandoned housings, which could provide shelter. They are all things which I have obtained through such mean."

"But your most of your everyday survival is still based on Ayanami's memories like you said from before right?"

"Correct…" she replied, but then suddenly cocked her head to a side, "you are disturbed by something" it was more of a statement than a question.

"Well… I…"

"You… wish to know how many I have killed…"

"…"

"Yes?"

"I… I guess so…"

"If they were all willing to kill me, would it matter how many?" he asked him.

"I… I don't know…"

Inanis refrained from pushing the subject. Though Shinji did come up with another question.

"What now?"

"I am not sure… I cannot leave the city. That option had been made unavailable by the imposed quarantine. I've have gone through the Magi but the information I extracted was… somewhat lacking. There is the choice of remaining concealed, but I fear that that will not be a viable consideration long-term."

"Damn it!" screamed Asuka as she kicked her trashcan over in frustration.

"What the hell has that idiot gotten himself into!"

She heard the door to the apartment open, hoping that it was Shinji, she rushed out to see, but it turned out to be simply Misato, returning from a headquarters.

"Anything?!" asked Asuka impatiently.

She should have guessed from Misato's down turned expression.

"Nothing… they won't even tell me what's going on"

"But you're a Major for crying out loud! There aren't that many more people who have higher rank than you at NERV!"

"You'd be surprised…"

"Come on… there were people who tried to kill us! They probably have Shinji in their hands right now for all we know!"

"The… Commander doesn't seem to be too worried about that…"

Asuka was shocked, "But… but… he's his son! Isn't he at the least worried at all?!"

"I… I guess not… they called off the people looking for him. It seems they are more concentrated on other matters for some reason."

"What could be more important that recovering one of their pilots?!"

Rei stood alone in the abandoned park.

A deadly silence prevailed around her, the area had been swept clean save for the occasional crimson stains which marked the earth.

The entranced to the park had been barred and marked as a police investigation site, but such trivial things never stopped her before.

Carefully, she examined the ground without disturbing any evidence of what had happened. Progressively, she began to piece together the events herself.

The events, which happened here yesterday did not surprise the Commander, yet, he had been worried about something, this was clear. She could tell.

It seems though, that he was not concerned with the current status of the 3rd child.

Rei on the other hand was quite concerned, which was something that surprised her.

Normally, if the Commander indicated a matter as being irrelevant, she would automatically follow suit. It was a question of trust, a matter of confidence in his judgement. But lately…

It hasn't been the same, there were things which felt out of place, such things as this other 'her' for example.

The very existence of this shadow entity was wrong.

Looking up, Rei suddenly sensed a surge of some sort. She became all too aware of a presence.

It became almost overwhelming, a choking sensation, she found it temporally almost too hard to breathe.

It was 'her', Rei was sure of it, she could feel it. Not by detecting her in a particular location but by a certain absence. However within the space of that absence, was a shiny spark, barely recognizable and weakening, but Rei could already tell who it was.

Shinji was with her and she will destroy him soon if nothing was done.

Inanis...

Emptiness...

Oblivion…

Bodies littered the road as flaming husks that were once NERV mobile field base spewed foul smoke into the air. The once well arm roadblock had been devastated in a matter of minutes by a small, but efficient task force. Their aim however was not smash the Toyko-3 quarantine but rather the quick and undetected insertion of the group known to them only as the IC.

This group comprised of only three individuals. Their objective classified.

The three figures walked past the rows of bodies unperturbed as the task force cleaned up their own dead, making sure that not a trace of them remained. After which they had been order to attack another roadblock as a distraction, allowing for the IC to infiltrate the city without delay.

Not long after they'd penetrated the perimeter, they reached an old bus depot, where they were met by two figures under the shadows of the shelter, hidden away from prying eyes. One of the figures was seated on a plastic chair. Heavily bandaged, he seemed to have been badly injured in a previous fight.

"Are you two the only survivors?" asked the man who seemed to be in charge of the trio.

"Yes sir" answered back Marina, who was standing over Fredrick.

"Where is it?" the man asked.

Marina seemed to falter a little bit, when she finally replied "Unknown."

The man stared at her, with his cold eyes, which seemed to bore into her very mind.

"Leave. We will take care of the situation now."

Marina bowed slightly before the man, whereupon she then proceeded to help her wounded companion up. Both then departed wordlessly from the scene.

"What is to been done with them?" asked the woman standing next to the leader of the group as soon as the two were out of earshot.

"We'll deal with them when we get back," said the man coldly.

"So where to now?"

The man closed his eyes seemingly in concentration, eventually he reopened then and turned around to face a new direction.

"This way" was all he said.

"Ikari" spoke the Commander as he lifted his phone to his ear.

"Father…" came a voice from the other end.

Gendo stiffened, he had expected that Inanis would try to make contact after he'd erased the files concerning the project, but he had not considered that she would do it through his son.

"Where are you?" he asked sternly, having already ordered a trace at the push of a button.

"10pm tonight, my school, the theater hall… I guess there's no point with asking you to come alone, but… I'll try anyway."

Click. The line went dead.

Gendo slowly placed the phone down. This would be interesting. Interesting indeed.

"Ikari" came Fuyutsuki's voice as the old man walked into his office.

"Yes?"

"We have a situation. Station 1-15 report they are under heavily fire from an unidentified force trying to break through the quarantine."

"Really? The old men must be getting very impatient to get to our escapee."

"If we send in reinforcements to the Station, that will seriously weaken our security perimeter within and around the city."

"Breaches would have occurred already. Send the reinforcements and check in with all Stations. I doubt that a frontal attack would be considered for insertion missions."

The Sub-Commander nodded and prepared to leave when Gendo suddenly spoke up, "You will handle any further problem tonight. I have other business to attend to."

Fuyutsuki turned around, almost not believing what he'd just heard, but he realized this was not the case, as Gendo withdrew a small pistol from his desk and slid it into his jacket.

"Are you sure this is going to work? I'm sure my father will have the school completely surrounded, that's if he even makes an appearance in the first place" said Shinji. The boy sat in front of a table, while waiting for Inanis who was changing in the other room.

"He will be there. He knows by now that I will be able to tell if he is present or not. He won't let this opportunity pass without trying" spoke Inanis as she finished putting on her coat.

"Yes. That may be true, but that still doesn't stop him from surrounding the area with agents either."

Inanis stepped lightly into the dinning room, her laptop in her hand.

"I've pulled up some old schematics of the Tokyo-3 plans. There are water ducts, which run through the bottom of the school. We can access them from the basement if it is required."

"Water ducts? Aren't they like… filled with water?"

"I can override the system and shut down the pumps in the area for a short while. Enough time to allow us to reach safety."

"Ah…"

Inanis placed the laptop onto the table and sat down next to him.

"Shinji. Are you sure you want to come with me?"

"I'm… I'm not sure. But I know I can't let you go by yourself."

"Thank you"

Shinji felt himself blush under Inanis' gratitude. But he also noticed something out of place with the way Inanis looked. Then he realized what it was.

"Emm… Inanis? Your eyes keep… changing from red to black over and over again…"

She blinked for a second, as if not understanding the question.

"Oh… I'm not wearing the contacts anymore. They… have proven to be a hindrance to me when I need to… release my mind."

"I… I don't mean to be rude. But people are going to notice them… maybe… maybe if you got some sunglasses instead? You can take them off easily when you need to right? Besides, the contacts didn't hide it when your whole pupil turned black, the sunglasses would."

She displayed a small smile at his strange insight, "Right" she nodded.

"Inanis…?" he regarded her.

"Yes?"

As she looked back at him, Shinji turned his eyes downwards, avoiding her gaze.

"Are… are you going to kill him?"

"I… don't know."

"I… I see…"

"All I want is to make sure that he stops hunting me."

"I know… it's just… he's… he's still my father…"

He tilted his head up slightly.

"I would please ask… that you try… not to kill… anyone else if possible… "

"… I see… "

There were to be no further comments from Shinji, even he knew, that he wasn't in any position to demand anything from Inanis. Having come to know her origins, he sympathized with her, but at the same time feared her for what she was capable of and for what she represented to him. She was the answer to the questions he'd been asking himself ever since he could remember.

But would the answer do him any good?

He knew as much as Inanis had told him, none of which he found in the least pleasant.

"Shinji… let me also ask you one more thing…" she almost whispered.

"Yes?"

"Take this with you" she handed him a pistol she'd kept, "It's a Beretta, the safety's on the side right there" she indicated.

Shinji stared down at it for a moment but then immediately tried to hand it back to her.

"No… I can't… you just asked you not to kill if you can and you're asking me to do it instead?" he protested.

"Shinji, although you are in no danger from you father's men, it doesn't stop the fact that there are still those like yesterday, who will not think twice to shoot you on sight."

"I can't fire a gun… I won't take another human being's life…"

Inanis lowered her gaze and slowly took the gun back from him. "Very well… I can't force you to do something you won't do. But remember Shinji, sometimes… you have to make a choice."

"A choice…?"

"Who lives or dies… You… or them."

The phone in Misato's apartment rang several times before a rather breathless and half-undressed Major rushed over to pick it.

"Hello?!"

"Misato? What kept you?"

"Oh sorry Ritsuko, I was about to take a shower" she replied whilst push her loose hair out of her face.

"What about Asuka? Why didn't she pick it up?"

"She's been… upset lately…"

"Never mind. Anyhow, I though you'd like to know that the Commander will be having a meeting with his son and the girl tonight."

"What?! How?!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Shhh…! I have my ways… I'm not suppose to be telling you this, but I just though it would be in our best interest if we got Unit-01's pilot back in one piece, and I'd imagine that you'd make sure of that won't you Major?"

"Bless you Ritsu. I own you one."

"You own me more than that dear, but I've got to warn you not to interfere with the Commander or the 'girl'. Your priority is Shinji's safety, and make sure you aren't seen unless you really have to. I'm sure the Commander will not be too appreciative of your interference in his affairs."

"I understand, but tell me one thing Ritsu… what's with the girl and yesterday's hit squad?"

On the other end of the line, Ritsuko sighed, "Misato… believe me… the less you know, the better… trust me on this…"

"…alright… where are they?"

"Oh and by the way Misato, before I tell you where…"

"Yes?"

"Can you please stop calling me Ritsu…"

Asuka leaned against the corridor as she listened carefully to the interesting conversation Misato was having with Ritsuko. It was obvious to her that Misato was not about to enlighten her about this piece of information, nor was she about to even consider taking her along for the ride.

Of course this would not do at all.

Although Asuka refused to feel in any way responsible for Shinji's current predicament, she did however feel a hint of shame at the fact that she'd been dragged off to safety whilst Shinji was left behind for dead.

She felt she owed it to him.

And if it's one thing Asuka Langley Sohryu hated the most, was owing anything to anyone.

Shinji sat staring silently at the empty stage. He was seemingly alone in the theater. He looked down at his watch, which told him that it was five to ten. It was apparent that his father was not going to make any appearance until the set time. There was nothing he could do now but wait.

At exactly 10pm, Gendo Ikari stepped into the small theater.

However, Shinji kept facing the stage, deliberately ignoring his father's entrance.

Gendo carefully begun walking over to his son, taking his steps in a set rhythmic pattern. Each step emphasized by the creaking timber floors. Soon, he came to a stop next to the boy, and settled down two seats away from him.

"Father" said Shinji in an uncharacteristic calmness by his part.

Neither Ikari were prepared though to look at each other, even in such circumstances. Both faced on straight ahead, as if waiting for the start of a school play on the stage before them.

"Shinji" spoke Gendo in a neutral tone.

With the pleasantries at an end, the Commander immediately went straight to the point.

"Where is she?" he asked, still facing forwards.

As much as Inanis had been helping Shinji prepare himself for this moment, it still did not stop that fact that in the end, Shinji was still essentially extremely intimidated by his father. His resolve was, to put it simply, melting as if it were butter before Gendo's presence.

"S… she's around…" Shinji muttered, his voice slowly fading along with his determination.

"If she is not here, then there is no reason for me to be here."

Gendo was about to get up and leave when he heard a voice echo through the hall, its point of origin is unclear, but by the sound of it, it was definitely Inanis.

"You will stay were you are."

Gendo tried to pinpoint her location, but it was to no avail, so he tried to get her to talk more, "Hello, Inanis."

"Why?"

"Why?" repeated Gendo.

"Why did you create me? What am I?" she went straight to the point.

Gendo turned slightly and watched Shinji out of the corner of his eyes. The boy was still facing the stage.

"Just how much did you tell Shinji?" he asked.

"As much as I know."

"Just how much is that?"

"That I am an artificial being. That Rei is too."

"I see…"

"So?"

He did not answer for a while, possibly considering any way to savage the situation. Shinji now knew about Rei, but he still did not know of the greater plan. The scenario could still go ahead.

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because it would be less trouble for you in the long run."

"And I'm supposed to take your word for that."

"No… although you should however consider that the two men you've brought along are currently now suffering from severe concussions and possible skull fractures. Do not worry though, they'll 'probably' live" said Inanis as she finally stepped out from behind the stage curtain in front of them.

Gendo barely suppressed a gasp when he saw her the first time in real life. He'd heard from the surviving agent who protected the 2nd child, that Inanis currently sported brown hair. But how he'd imagined her did not do justice at all. She was a splitting image of Yui save for her eyes and dark expression.

Then again… that's how Yui looked like when she was pissed off at something.

Recovering from the initial surprise, Gendo's mind finally registered the part about his men having already been disabled. This part didn't really come as a surprise to him, but it did impress him even more than he was already. He had truly created a powerful being… if only he had been able to control her…

"Shinji…" he called.

Shinji turned to face his father nervously, not knowing what to expect.

"Wait outside" Gendo commanded.

"But…" Shinji was about to protest.

"Go."

Shinji stared and his father and then at Inanis in turn.

"I will not answer any of her questions in your presence" added the Commander.

With a nod, Inanis signaled to Shinji that it was all right to do what his father said. Seeing that there was nothing he could do, without another word, Shinji stood up and hastily retreated to the chilling night air outside the theater hall.

When Gendo was sure Shinji had gone, he turned his attention back to Inanis.

"Again I repeat, what do I have to gain in exchange for this information?" he asked her.

"In truth I could extract the information forcefully from you mind… but I'm sure that you would not find that process enjoyable nor survive it for that matter… the only reason I'm giving you a chance to speak of your own free will is for Shinji's sake" she said.

Gendo watched her intently. He could tell she wasn't bluffing.

"If you must know…" he spoke quietly, "you were nothing but a side experiment by my part."

"For what?"

"A replacement body."

"…"

"You know exactly for who it was intended."

"But… but you did not count on the mind which would come with it."

"No. You were suppose to be a blank, just like the other replacement bodies… except you were made to be stronger, faster, tougher and better in every way."

"And my abilities?"

"I suspect they were spawned by my attempt to fix the 'downsides' which came along with Rei's previous bodies… as a living entity, Rei is always in danger from falling apart. Her AT-field may be stronger than humans, but it is also by far more unstable. If it were not for the LCL treatment tanks, she would probably have to be replaced constantly. You on the other hand were meant to be more… reliable."

"Or so you thought."

"Yes" he said with almost a grin.

Outside, Shinji kicked another pebble into the darkness. He stood leaning against the wall, a small lamp above him, spotlighting the boy. He was confused, nervous and eager for a closure. Within the building behind him, were two people who he was both intimidated by due to completely different reasons and different degrees. But at the same time they were both people who he would not see hurt.

"Shinji."

Shinji jumped, almost having a heart attack as he felt a hand graze his shoulder. Turning around, Shinji found himself staring straight into familiar crimson eyes.

"Rei?!" he exclaimed.

"Damned stupid car!" cried Misato in rage as she drove as fast as she could towards the school.

Frustrated and angered by the cruel blow fate had dealt her, Misato had actually been meaning to get to the theater before Ikari did. However it would be about five minutes from when she left her apartment when her batteries died. With no one out at this time due to a temporary curfew, she had to rely once again on her rather refined ability to 'borrow' car batteries. The task however took longer than expected and she was now, quite obviously late for the little rendezvous.

The doors to the theater hall slammed open drawing attention from both Gendo and Inanis. Rei strode in, determined look on her face, quickly followed by Shinji who seemed like he was going to have a mental breakdown.

"Rei!" shout Gendo in surprise.

Inanis however, simply stared coldly at her.

"Rei! Please stop!" pleaded Shinji.

But Rei kept on advancing towards Inanis, her eyes narrowed, eventually stopping but an arms length away from Inanis.

"Hello Rei…" almost sneered Inanis, tilting her head to a side, as if examining her.

"Inanis…" said Rei.

"Why are you here?" asked Inanis, who started pacing around her blue-haired counterpart.

"You are harming Shinji."

"I would do nothing of such a kind."

"It is not a matter if you would do it. It is a matter that you do it whether you wish it or not."

"No…! " denied Inanis, but by the sound of her voice, she didn't seem too sure of herself.

"You are a threat to Shinji and anyone else near you." Rei added.

"Rei! Stop this! Inanis wouldn't harm anyone unless they attacked her first!" defend Shinji.

Rei turned her head to face Shinji momentarily, staring him straight into his eyes, "It is her nature to destroy. Even now she smothers your soul."

"But… but she can control her nature… right Inanis?! " Shinji stared in disbelief at the two girls before him. Inanis however, remained silent, her eyes purposefully avoiding his.

"If so, she must maintain control every day, every moment in her life… I fear that she is not up to such as task" spoke Rei calmly.

"You can't judge her if you haven't given her chance!"

"I am sorry Shinji. I do what I must. She is not meant to be."

"If I am not meant to be then neither are you!" Inanis spat.

"That may be true, but I am not in control of my destiny."

"That is false! No mere mortal can control another's destiny."

"If I refuse, I will be replaced."

"Then join me… he cannot replace you if you are with me."

"No… I do what I must."

"Shinji step away!" quickly warned his father.

Before Shinji could understand the implication of Rei's words, he was pulled away by his father, just in time as the wooden planks that made up the floor beneath him splintered and the fold-up chairs were thrown back by some invisible force.

Inanis was also cast back forcefully, crying out in pain when she was slammed against a pile of stage props, but it did not effect her as much as the nearby objects, such as a metal bucket which was fully crushed before their very eyes.

"What!? What the hell?!" spluttered Shinji.

"It's Rei… she's going to destroy Inanis…" explained his father grimly as he held Shinji back.

"What?! NO!!" struggled Shinji to escape from his father's grips.

"Settle down child! There's no stopping them now!"

In the meantime, Inanis rose from the scattered pile, anger clearly visible in her eyes.

"Your AT-field isn't as effective against me Rei… you think you can still defeat me?" she said, tasting blood from her cut lips.

Rei was still staring back at her just as coldly, "Just because I cannot crush you with my field, does not mean that I cannot end you an alternative manner." Immediately, Rei gaze snapped upwards, targeting the beam above Inanis, which was suddenly crushed at each end and sent tumbling below.

Inanis barely noticed it in time, leaping forth whilst initiating her own attack towards Rei at the same time. As the beam crashed down behind her, Inanis already knew that she would not be able to attack Rei through her mind as with the others. To Inanis, Rei's soul shone brightly in comparison to the pale sparks with marked the other soul, a shining flare attesting to her superior strength of mind. However, as Gendo mentioned before, Inanis had several advantages over Rei. Inanis was by far stronger, tougher and considerably faster.

Inanis attacked Rei physically, sending a wide kick towards her waist. Although not as effective against Inanis, Rei's AT-field still offered some protection from her attacks. The field formed itself a few inches from her waist, but only served to dampen the blow rather than stop it. Normally able to stop bullets, Rei's AT-field was degraded by Inanis' own negative AT-field.

Crying out in pain, Rei was thrown on to the ground by the blow. Although in agony, Rei could not help but think that if her field had not dampened Inanis' kick, the force would have probably shattered all her ribs.

"NO!! REI! INANIS!!! STOP THIS PLEASE!!!" shouted Shinji.

But it was to no avail, to the two girls neither Shinji or Gendo existed anymore. Until one of them was dead.

Gendo watched intently, still holding the struggling Shinji firmly, trying to guess who would eventually turn out victorious from the fight.

Inanis was about to lash out again, when she was suddenly thrown off balance by Rei's AT-field, giving Rei enough time to recover and use her field again to slam Inanis backwards against the wall.

The plaster on the wall cracked and crumbled off as the girl was crushed against it, but in direct contact with Inanis' inverted field, Rei's AT-field could not maintain cohesion for long. So after a few seconds, the field collapsed and Inanis was released from the hold, falling to her knees on the ground. Groaning, Inanis quickly picked herself up on her feet and raced around towards her opponent again, narrowly avoiding another attack as Rei struck out and crushed the chairs next to her into a jumble of twisted metal and broken plastic.

Inanis grabbed a hold of one of the chairs and threw it towards Rei, which she easily brushed aside. But it was only a temporally distraction, allowing for Inanis to get closer. By the time Rei turn her attention back to her, she found Inanis' fist flying towards her face. Using the little martial arts she did know, Rei avoid the punch and backhanded Inanis across the face drawing blood from her nails. However, Inanis was only stunned for a second as she grabbed a hold of Rei's arm and threw her over the shoulder onto the ground. Rei screamed as she felt like she was going to dislocate her shoulder, and when the impact with the ground followed, she was sure that she'd snapped one or more of her ribs.

Gendo gritted his teeth in anger. This was the first time in years that he felt that a fight such as the one before him, was simply wrong. But to try and stop them now would be like trying to pull apart two enraged rhinos with your bare hands.

Sensing victory, Inanis drove for Rei's throat but her eyes snapped wide open in surprise, as she was struck in mid-air by a bullet, which ripped through her waist. She was thrown off her feet and fell heavily to the ground next to Rei cradling her wound as blood pooled out beneath her.

Gasping in surprise by this turn of evens, Shinji immediately broke from Gendo's grasp to rush to Inanis' side, only turning his head to find the source of the gunshot.

He was shocked by what she saw.

It was Misato.

Gun drawn and smoking, Misato had rushed into the theater after only arriving recently on the school's grounds, alerted by the sounds of the fight. She entered just in time to see Rei being slammed violently into the ground by another girl. Immediately recognizing Rei, she did not hesitated to shoot down the attacker in fear for Rei. But only now did she realize that she'd just shot a girl who seemed no older than Rei herself.

To add to her confusion, Shinji suddenly appeared, shouting out something. But what really got to her was that it appeared that he knew the fallen girl. Misato felt a large lump growing at the back of her throat. "What have I done…?" she choked out.

I lay groaning on the ground.

I felt weak as my blood, my life, drained slowly away from me.

Eventually I became aware of a voice. I recognized it as Shinji's. He seemed distant to me at that moment, yet close at the same time, comforting perhaps. Maybe it because of the shock, for normal thought became strenuous for me.

In truth I knew that the bullet had not damaged any of my vital organ, it had penetrated my waist and gone straight through. But the pain was still very real.

Physically, I was probably covered with bruises from Rei's attacks. Mentally, I had exerted myself close to my limit to break through her field.

It would have been so easy to surrender to the darkness that threatened to overwhelm me.

But I cannot. I didn't know exactly how, but I knew. I felt them, moving like the shades of the dead amongst the realm of the living. They were coming for me. And they would take anyone who knew me.

I could not abandon Shinji.

"Shi…ji…" Inanis managed to croak out.

"Inanis! Inanis! Please we got to get you to a hospital!" said Shinji.

Nearby, Rei managed to prop herself up with one hand, whilst hold her other against her broken rib. It pained her to see Shinji's lack of concern towards her. But in seeing Inanis now, bleeding profusely onto the stage, she could almost see herself in that position. Like her, Inanis had little choice in what she was, but unlike her, she chose to pursue her own destiny, rather than submitting to one selected for her. Perhaps part of her dislike towards Inanis came from the fact that she possessed the courage to do what she could not.

With the will to fight drained out of her, Rei turned her head to find the Commander watching with interest. The small frown on his face probably marked his displeasure in her original interference. It didn't matter anymore though. She, even if only in this reincarnation, would not care of what he thought anymore. He may have been her creator, but it still did not make his her god.

Snapping out of her daze Misato quickly rushed to her Shinji, who had been panic stricken at the sight of so much blood. Shinji found himself pushed aside, turning to watch as Misato quickly ripped a rag she'd found laying about into a long strip of cloth. The Major proceeded to wrap the strip around Inanis' waist, in an attempt to at lest slow down the flow of blood.

Shinji did not know what to feel at this point. On one hand, he was enraged beyond anything he'd ever felt before, even almost beyond reason. But if it weren't for Misato, then Inanis might have bled to death before his very eyes. He turned to see Rei not to far away, her eyes softened. Much unlike what they seemed during the violent fight before. He felt so powerless to the events happening around him.

He did notice for the first time the state of the theater hall though. Debris was scatter all across the floor. Walls were cracked and crumbling, the ceiling itself was barely staying together. Crushed remains of chairs, music stands and other items lay amongst the splintered wood like casualties in a surreal war between unearthly forces.

"Shin…ji…" Inanis called feebly again.

Her voice drew Shinji's attention back to her. His eyes filled with sorrow, all is anger fleeting from him like a bad dream.

"I'm here…" he said, holding on to one of her hands.

"Get… get away from here… leave me…"

"What? Why?!"

"They're coming… they… will kill you all…"

Upon hearing her words, Gendo snapped up to attention, immediately realizing the implication of what the wounded girl had just said.

"Major, grab Shinji and Rei. We're leaving… now…" Gendo said, hand reaching into his jacket, ready to draw his pistol.

"What?!" Misato finally noticed him, " What about the girl!?"

"Leave her…" he said coldly.

"But sir! She'll die! What is going on?!" Misato said with a frown.

"If we don't leave now they will kill her AND us!" Gendo shouted, loosing his patience.

But Misato was not to be convinced, she'd almost killed the girl and now the Commander was asking her to condemn the girl to whatever fate would come if she were abandoned. "Who will…?"

"Goddamn it Major! We don't have time for you silly games! If Inanis had been captured before then all this could have been avoided! But now it's too late! They're too close and she is too weak to fight them off!"

"You are right… it is too late…" came a new voice from the direction of the exit.

Etienne, the leader of the Inner circle glared coldly at the people before him. Behind him stood the another two agents, Dellar and Karin. He was easily able to identify all those present with just a quick glance. It was such a pity too, they were all such good pawns for SEELE. But it was his task, to make sure that none of them left this room alive.

Amongst them, he found their target, weakened. There had been fighting, for what reason he did not care, as all he was interested in was its elimination.

"Who are you?!" demanded Misato, already gun in hand and aimed at his forehead.

"They are Templars" Gendo eyed the three figures carefully.

"I see you are familiar with our group" said Etienne with a mischievous smile.

"Templars? I thought…" started Misato.

"These Templars are not the same ones in the history books Major, they a specialized modern organization founded for a very specific reason" interrupted Gendo.

Gendo knew about them as much as any outsider could without being dead and buried, which in reality was not all that much. It was not hard for him to uncover SEELE's own plans for a dummy plug project, which was akin to his. But his information on their actual base unit was lacking, in the process of seeking more detail information, he stumbled upon several reference to the Templars, a group of specially trained troops who safeguarded the project.

It was quite conceivable and typical that SEELE would be prepared for the worse scenario just in case their project was to go out of hand. Such foresight proved to be indeed valid with the development of the their first unit.

The unit had in fact refused them, what followed was unclear, but what he did know what that the unit had proceeded to throw itself into a rampage in an attempt to escape, massacring the entire staff of scientist before the Templars could be called upon.

To put it plainly, the Templars were trained eliminate Angel-Human hybrids like Rei. The question that gnawed at him though, had been why were they sent after Inanis especially? Inanis was unlike Rei, she did not have the same abilities, so why them? Was it possible that they were trained to handle even something like Inanis? If so, how did they know of such a being? Another part that worried him was that they were obviously sent to kill her, but that has proven to apply also to anyone else near her… for what reason, he did not know.

Had they been any other agents, he would not have been so troubled, but if these people could take down a being capable of projecting an AT-field for defense and attack…

"They are the same ones who attacked Shinji and Asuka yesterday," Gendo calmly stated as a matter of fact. "Though I believe that you three are the only true Templars, those others… were only cannon fodder to you."

"Very perceptive of you Ikari, you are correct again. It is for good reason we are known as the Inner circle" nodded Etienne, "But you intuition is not going to be enough to save you."

"Why are you doing this?!" Misato slowly nudged Shinji behind her whilst keeping her gun trained on the group.

"Oh but you see we are doing this all for the good of humanity. The Pariah cannot be allowed to exist, nor can anyone be trusted with the knowledge of their existence" strangely, the agents remained calm and composed, as if everything was within their control.

"The Pariah?" Misato stared at them in puzzlement.

Etienne turned his attention to the Commander, "You are a fool to think that you are the first to create such a creature. There have been several Pariahs in the last Millenium alone. A soulless is born for every couple of billion souls. They have existed since the time of Christ and thousands of years before that. Our Templars may be a modern organization, but we also perform a task as ancient as humanity."

"Why… why do you fear us so…" spoke Inanis weakly, who managed to stand on her own two feet with a little bit of Shinji help."

"Because you do not exist…" Etienne's eyes locked on to hers as he spoke, "Throughout history, prophets… sneers… soothsayers… have all been unable to warn the coming of a Pariah. Heroes, villains, disasters have been foretold, but as powerful as the Pariah are… not a single one was anticipated… you are the supreme heresy… you exist in defiance of the will of God."

He paused shortly to let his words sink in, "Perhaps the best example of what could happen if one such as you are allow to live would be the complete annihilation of the an ancient island kingdom and it's disappearance into the abyss."

"That was only a legend, nothing more" interrupted Gendo.

"So are meant to be Adam and Lilith… No, it existed. The old man himself owns the only surviving collection of genuine artifacts from that ancient kingdom. Should he eventually decide to reveal it to the world one day, then it might find a place in today's history books like it truly deserves. The true destiny of the island was to become one of the mightiest empires the world has ever known… it had already been seen and prophesized by many. But instead, the inhabitants were destroyed and empire were incinerated by the uncontrolled powers of a single Pariah."

"So that's it isn't it? Destiny…" Gendo gave a quick glance at Inanis.

"As much as we believe in our freedom, the truth is that mortals can only hope to change our destiny at certain points in the greater scheme of things, certain choices… which can lead them towards whatever fate has prepared for us. But them…" he indicated Inanis, " They are not bond by destiny… what is written, they can undo."

Gendo was laughing at himself inwardly, finally realizing what he had under his nose the whole time, "So that's what you really are… the ultimate wild card… no wonder I couldn't hope to control you." He turned back to face the Templars also understanding now, why they hunted down anyone who came into contact with Inanis "Let me guess, you are here to kill us also because we have already been effected by her… Our destinies have been change by her interference, so you cannot rely on controlling us through our nature anymore…"

"Enough talk…" Etienne interrupted, "I have indulged you more than I needed to, it is time."

Although Misato did not understand anything they were just talking about, her eyes widened in realization that even if she allowed them to open fire first, the agents had a clear shot at the children next to her. Wasting no time she fired a series of rapid shots at the Templars in order to distract them.

The trio quickly ducked aside and drew their own machine-pistols.

Outgunned, Misato decided wisely on a hasty retreat, "Kids! Get out of here!" she shouted, enticing Shinji to almost drag away Inanis. After only a few steps though, the boy realized he'd forgotten completely about Rei, so he quickly turned around to grab her along too. He was surprised however, when he saw her walking up next to Misato.

The Templars suddenly left their cover and sprayed several burst wildly towards the general direction of the stage. The hail of bullets would have certainly cut Misato and Rei down if they hadn't impacted on Rei's AT-field. Misato gasped shock, recognizing all to well, the familiar phase-shift as the bullets slammed themselves against an impenetrable force before her. She half turned, finding Rei staring coldly at their would-be assassins.

There was a glint of surprise in Etienne's eyes, but was present for only a fleeting moment. He turned to look at Dellar, who already knew what he was thinking and nodded.

"On to it."

Dellar reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol which seemed by far heavier than it really needed to be. Taking careful aim, he fired a round directly at Rei. Need to say, it was stopped dead in its tracks by her AT-field, but then something odd happened. The ceramic tipped round shattered, spilling what seemed like fine dust onto the invisible barrier. The dust, being heavily impregnated with the artificial version of the substance with which the Lance of Longinus was made of, reacted with presence of AT-field.

Shinji was deafened by Rei's shrieks of agony as she fell clutching her head, in futile attempt to ward off the icy sharp pain which was stabbing at her very soul.

In the meantime, the Templars patiently waited for the field to collapse.

Fortunately for the kids, Misato acted fast enough, rushing forth, she grabbed a hold of Rei and hauled her to the back of the stage. "Run!" she shouted at both Shinji and Inanis, at the same time sneaking a look back to where the Commander stood.

Of Gendo, there was no trace.

Apparently, somewhere along the way, he had cunningly managed to slip off unnoticed.

With Shinji and Inanis already running ahead of her, Misato carried Rei around into the backstage. Bullets poured through the wooden wall as the Templars resumed their firing. Dropping to the ground, Misato quickly gestured for the kids to hide behind some lighting equipment. Inanis though, suddenly rolled over to the other side of the stage, narrowly avoiding a few ricocheting bullets and disappeared behind some curtains.

"Inanis!? Where are…?!" cried Shinji, almost attempting to follow her. But his words died in his mouth as the high-velocity rounds tore down the wooden board concealing the backstage, ruling out any chance of going after her without being shot down.

Turning his attention back to those next to him, Shinji found that Misato had laid Rei down against the wall and was current looking around for a way out. It became apparent though that they had been cornered, the only possible exit was either on the other side of the stage or back where the Templars were standing. Both of which would require running straight into the open.

In the meantime, Shinji decided to try and see if he could do anything for Rei. The poor girl was still clutching her head in agony and breathing heavy, but the effects seemed to be fortunately only temporary and fading.

"Rei… are you alright?" he asked in between machine-pistol bursts.

"I… I think… I shall be fine…" she managed.

Reloading another clip, Etienne wordlessly motioned Dellar to maintain suppressing fire, whist he and Karin advanced. Sensing that their group had also separated, Etienne directed Karin to continue forth, saving for himself the task of hunting down the Pariah himself.

Silently, he slipped through the door leading to the dressing rooms, constantly cautious of any corner he turned.

I panted heavily, leaned myself against the frame of the door. It was obvious that the more I moved, the worse the bleeding became.

For the first time in my short existence, I felt afraid.

Since the beginning, I did not fear death… I couldn't… for I knew it too well, as it was my constant companion, I saw it every time I stare into empty minds of the reflections of myself.

At the same time, I knew that I was marked for death, and in escaping I had only really hoped to delay it.

Now…was different… I feared for the others… I feared for Shinji…

But I also feared for myself…

I could sense almost nothing of the Templars, they were far stronger than any other minds I had encountered. Yet their souls were wrapped, blanketed, hidden from my senses.

They stalked me as I have stalked…

Yet, until death claims me… I have still had a choice.

The Templar, Karin, smashed through the thin walls, grabbing a hold of Shinji who yelped in surprise. Misato promptly lunged at the woman, but was backhanded violently aside, her pistol flew from her hands to the other side of the room. Hastily getting back on her knees, Misato tasted the iron tinge of blood in her mouth. Karin simply stared down at her, restraining a struggling Shinji in a one armed stranglehold.

As with the other two Inner circle members, Karin had received genetic and some minor bionic augmentations, supported by additional mental conditioning. They were superior to a average human being in every aspect, similar to the way in which Inanis' body was designed to be superior to Rei's.

However, a blow to the back by Rei with a heavy lamp managed to stun her, allowing Shinji to pull free. Karin was then slammed forwards, rammed by Rei's still recovering field. The woman however did not stay down for long, reaching within her coat and drawing a pair of stilettos. Rei's eyes widened at the weapons, noting immediately their crimson organic makeup and the power they radiated. Like the ceramic tipped rounds used before, the blades were created to deal with the likes of her.

With inhuman speed the Templar lashed out with one blade, aiming high for Rei's face. Not daring to make use of her AT-field against such weapons, Rei settled on swing the lamp in a wide arc in front of her instead. Karin withdrew, easily dodging the clumsy swing and dived in immediately after. Karin however, did not count in Misato's interference, who delivered an accurate kick to the agent's waist.

"Bitch!" Karin shouted.

Reversing the Stilettos, Karin slashed upwards, the 12' blades cutting through Misato's sleeves and into her forearms. Ignoring the pain, Misato grabbed Karin's arm, using the momentum to push them upwards. The Major then shoved her knee into the woman's gut, knocking the wind out of her and at the same time causing her to drop one of the Stilettos.

Swinging to a side, Misato tried to throw Karin to the ground, but the Templar was too strong. Karin cocked her head back and head-butted the Major, downing her.

Summoning as much courage he could muster, Shinji jumped onto Karin, holding as hard as he could on the arm with which she still carried the Stiletto. Karin responded by swung her arm around angrily, lifting the boy up from his feet a slamming him painfully against a wall and then grabbing him by his throat. Rei attacked again, with a low swipe this time aimed at the Templar's leg, but the woman spun around a struck her down with a roundhouse kick.

With both Misato and Rei on the ground and Shinji in her grips, Karin grinned as she prepared to finish them off. Suddenly, a glint caught her eye, immediately causing her to shift her attention to the light fixings above them. The high-powered lamps flash on in full force, blinding Karin with their shear brightness. The next thing she noticed was a steel pipe striking her in full force at the side of the head. Genetically enhanced or not, a cracked skull would still cause her to go down like a sack of potatoes.

Gasping for breath and holding his bruised throat, Shinji looked up at their savior. At first, all he could see was a silhouette caused by the stage lights, but as his eyes adapted he came to recognize who it was.

"Asuka?!?!!!" Shinji shouted in surprise.

Groaning in pain, Misato begun pulling herself up, "Asuka?! How the bloody hell did you get in here?!".

Asuka merely grinned, whirling around with the steel pipe she was holding, "The window through the back room…" she replied as a matter of fact.

"Ok… then WHAT are you doing here?!!" asked Misato.

The red-head give a little smile, "I overhead your conversation with Dr. Akagi on he phone… so I sorta hid in your car before you came here…", she stuck out her tongue.

"Major…" Rei interrupted as she too got up, "I believe there were another two agents."

Misato immediately spun around looking for a gun or weapon of some sort. What she found was a machine-pistol aimed at them. Dellar, walked calmly towards them, stopping only momentarily to regard his fallen comrade. He turned to look at Asuka, aiming the pistol at her head, "Not too smart girl… now I got…"

"Not too smart yourself…" interrupted a voice, which was then punctuated by the sound of a gun going off.

Dellar fell into a heap, his lifeless hands dropping his machine-pistol onto the floor. Behind him stood a figure, holding a pistol with it's barrel still smoking…

It was Gendo Ikari.

The thin door buckled and smashed apart as Inanis crashed through it, struggling against Etienne, who had his hands around her coat's collar. They found themselves in the Kendo practice room, which was next to the theater hall. Wincing in pain from her previous injuries, she dug her nails into Etienne's arms until it bled. But there was no apparent reaction from him.

He confidently released his hold with one hand and gripped her arm instead. He begun to squeeze, and at that moment, Inanis felt as though her arm was going to break. She quickly leant forth into him, then spun around, and threw him off her, giving herself some breathing space.

That was when she sensed them together. They were still alive, and they had taken down the other two Templars.

"It seems… that you'll have to settle with only me… Shinji and the others… are still alive" she said with a forced grin.

Etienne sneered at her, "Not for long my dear… not for long…", with that, he lashed forwards with a fist, striking the girl's bandaged waist. Stumbling backwards in agony, Inanis spat out blood, feeling that she wasn't going to be able to fight much longer. She was tired… so much pain…

"After I kill you, I will only have to signal my other teams for them to fall upon your 'friends' and eliminate them, I will make sure they do not escape me" he taunted her.

"No…" she moaned weakly.

He was so much stronger, and his mind was too well defended.

But she could not let go…

He could not be allowed to leave here alive.

She knew what she had to do.

At that very moment, Rei stiffened and suddenly shivered as a stream of sensation washed over her. She opened her eyes again, finding the others staring at her in puzzlement.

"We have to depart…" Rei said.

"Why? What wrong now?" asked Asuka in annoyance.

The Commander looked at the blue-haired girl questioningly, "Rei?"

"Inanis…" the blue-haired girl looked up at the Commander nervously.

"What is it Rei?" Gendo asked her.

"She wishes to... temporarily open Gaf's room within this area…"

Shinji's head shot up "What?! What does that mean?"

Gendo immediately pulled a Comm set from inside his jacket and hastily spoke into it, "All teams… evacuate anyone within two hundred meters of the school's perimeter!"

Looking back up and pocking the Comm set, the Commander begun to make for the door, "Major, I suggest you join me if you wish to live. And bring the children too" almost adding that last bit as an afterthought.

"But… but what of that girl?!" Misato asked, able to tell by the Commander's tone that opening Gaf's room was not a good thing, whatever that meant.

"She will be the center of the incident Major…" he responded, not even stopping or turning back.

With a frown, Misato turn to face the children, "We have to go."

"But…" Shinji was about to protest.

"Shinji… we must go…" Rei said softly.

"But…"

"Baka… I'm not leaving you behind again" said Asuka. Who was prepared to knock him out and drag him back forcefully if she had to.

Shinji was torn by conflicting emotions, part of him wanted to go back for Inanis, as suicidal as that was, but the other half wanted to just leave and forget everything. He glanced from Rei, to Misato, then to Asuka, and then back at Rei.

But it wasn't really an option he soon realized. He would leave, but nothing would be forgotten.

Shinji hung his head in defeat, "Good luck… Inanis" was all he said.

Sensing that finally, Shinji had gotten away, Inanis began to laugh. Struggling to simply surviving under the onslaught of Etienne's vicious attacks. She currently suffered from several crack ribs, a broken collarbone and innumerable cuts and bruises across her body.

Etienne stared at her in puzzlement considering she'd been barely able to even land a good blow on him.

"Finally… they made it…" she whispered to herself.

Straightening up, and ignoring the pain, Inanis raised her arms. Her eyes began to shift. The air around her became charged, initiating powerful currents that whirled around the room.

"You may not want… to show me your soul Templar… but I certainly will show you mine!" she declared.

Etienne finally realized what was going on and leap forth to strike her down. From his fingers sprouted several talons, combat implants, made of organic crimson metal which by now was obviously the trademark of the Templars. With it he jabbed upwards and ran her through, feeling her warm lifeblood pulsing into his palm. But it was already too late, Inanis easily gripped his arm and tossed him aside.

"Neat trick… but not good enough" she said.

Dark energy surged through her, until the very atmosphere became saturated with raw power. Etienne picked himself up in time to witness beforehand an awe-inspiring sight. A vortex of swirling incandescent energy surrounded Inanis. Her eyes were now pitch black.

Unable to withstand the levels of energy, the structural integrity of the building began to decay. Then, it came. Gaf's room was opened, unsealed by Inanis' will. A sudden blast combined with an implosion, surged out for more than a hundred fifty meters from the epicenter. Every living organism, whether animal or plant were wiped out within the area of effect. All that was remained of them was a puddle of yellowish orange fluid relative to their previous bio-mass.

Even Etienne was unble to survive what was effectively a localized third impact. Of him, all that was left behind were his clothes and the implants he possessed. They were buried underneath the ruins of the building as it collapsed, prompted by the extreme structural degradation it suffered from exposure to such unnatural energies.

One Weeks Later.

Shinji walked slowly along the road. Contemplating life, present, future and the past.

Ever since Inanis had walked into his life, he had found it warped and changed in ways he did not think was possible. He was now more confident, more determined than he use to be. He vaguely remembered Inanis telling him about healing some scars in his mind, allowing him to move on.

The rest of the city returned to pretty much to its normal state. Life went on for the regular citizens of Toyko-3, totally oblivious of the events surrounding them in the past week.

With so many secrets now out in the open, the tension between him and his father had dimmed slightly. It was clear to him that there were still things, which his father would not tell him, but he accepted it. Shinji would still follow him, but rather than doing so blindly, he would be more cautious from now on.

Misato was about the same, though once she'd been told of truth about Rei and Inanis, she became more protective of him, Asuka, and even Rei. Unfortunately, such revelations placed her at bad terms with Dr. Akagi, who Misato suspected was bound to know about such things since the beginning, but as far as Shinji knew, the two were still friends.

After the incident at the theater hall, there hasn't been a single word about Inanis. Not a single trace remained of her or of the Templars. Any evidence was probably cleared away along with the rubble as the school quickly started to rebuild their demolished buildings, though he suspected that NERV would have dug out anything interesting, like say… the Templar's weapons. The official story was that the site was where they're cornered the terrorist responsible for the missile launch days earlier, wrapping up the whole issue nice and neat.

Misato said that the Commander indeed had the entire area surrounded that night, that even if Inanis were to survive the 'incident', they would have caught her trying to escape. As much as she regretted it, Misato had to ask him to consider that Inanis did not probably survive…

Rei had changed slightly in her behavior, maybe her contact with someone she could relate closely, finally drew her out of her shell. She was still following his father around, but he'd noticed smiles appearing here and there. Maybe Inanis' words did reach her eventually.

As for Asuka, she remained the same, pity that she didn't get a chance to talk with Inanis. Though he imagined that they'd probably killed each other.

Speaking of which… where was she anyway…? They were suppose to be walking to school together when she suddenly disappeared.

Upon reaching a busy intersection, Shinji spotted Rei.

"Morning Rei…" he called out to her.

Rei turned to meet his gaze, and gave him a little smile, "Good morning Shinji…" she replied.

"Rei… have you seen Asuka?" he asked her just in case.

"Yes…" she said.

"Really! Where'd she run off to this time?!"

"She… She was having a little talk with… a friend…"

"Oh…"

"There she comes now" Rei indicated as Asuka came running over towards them.

"Hey baka let's go! We're going to be late!"

Shinji quickly held his bag over his head, expecting her to smack him on the head like she so often did. Instead, she beamed him a smile and grabbed a hold of Rei, dragging her off.

"Leave him wonder girl! If he wants us then he'll have to chase us!"

"What the…?" he watched in confusion as the two rushed off weaving amongst groups of people, towards the direction of school. Before they got out of sight though, he noticed Rei shout out something to him and pointed to somewhere behind him, in the direction that Asuka had appeared from. Turning around, he scanned the crowd of numerous people making their own way to work. He came to find however, not too far away, a small area where people seemed to be walking around, almost as if they were avoiding something without even noticing it. At the center of the gap, stood a girl with black hair, half turned towards his direction. She was wearing a pair a shades, but from his angle he could still she her eyes… they shifted from red to black. He stared at her wordlessly in shock for a whole minute, at the same time, she stared right back at him with a small smile. Eventually, he saw her mouth something towards him… he could almost hear it… a whisper at the back of his mind. "Till will meet again…" With those parting words, she turned and disappeared into the crowd. Shinji could only stand there and watched as she faded from his sight. Then with a smile, he turned around and begun running after his two fellow pilots. "Till we meet again" he said to himself.

At the same time, deep within the Geofront

Gendo Ikari stands before a large transparent cylinder, a brilliant glow illuminates it from within. Floating gently in the cylinder is the naked form of a girl… or at least part thereof. Only the upper torso had had actually enough time to form. The rest would take some time still, even through accelerated growth. Her eyes were closed as if asleep. The Commander had been staring at her for a long time already, never taking his eye off her.

Suddenly, her eyes snap open for the very first time.

But there was no life behind those eyes, only emptiness. This one was a vessel… nothing else.

Gendo allowed himself a half smile. Thing would fall back into place soon he thought. He then turned around, avoiding its gaze altogether and begun walking straight out of the small room.

As he departs, the lights automatically switch off, effectively casting the girl back into perpetual darkness.

--------------------------

FIN

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OMAKE - By Seph Khan

"Major..." Rei interrupted as she too got up, "I believe there were another two agents."

Misato immediately spun around looking for a gun or weapon of some sort. What she found was a machine pistol aimed at them. Dellar, walked calmly towards them, stopping only momentarily to regard his fallen comrade. He turned to look at Asuka, aiming the pistol at her head, "Not too smart girl... now I got..."

He was interrupted by the sound of the gun going off, and silenced by the sound of the bullet going directly through his skull into his brain. Dellar fell into a heap, his lifeless hands dropping his machine pistol onto the floor. Behind him stood a figure, so small that it only came up to Rei's waist. The barrel of its gun was still smoking.

"I knew you would come for us!!!" Shinji yelled, jubilant.

"...Thank you..." Asuka whispered, shamed at having to thank anyone for anything. In response, their savior looked up at them and waddled into the light.

"Wark! Waark!!!"

"Good boy... We'll buy that extra expensive dhufish that you like so much tonight" Misato said "I'll even let Shinji cook it for you, instead of doing it myself"

"Waaaarrrrrkkkk!!!!!!!!" PenPen squawked happily.

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WARNING: AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS

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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry… I just needed to do that…

That was one of the longest pieces I'd ever writing in one go. All I can hope now is that I don't get lynched for all the fanciful stuff that I wrote.

The anti-AT-field weapons: the problem with them is that they aren't bad but it's just that too many authors have used them incorrectly, so by now they often seem wrong or just plain BS to most people.

It has also come to my attention that the characters were a tad bit out of character here and there. I must admit this probably my fault due to the fact that I was concentrating really on only specific characters, and looking back now, the others sometimes seem like they were thrown in as an afterthought rather messily.

Ok… added bits in case you didn't get it… The Templars are simply another 'branch' of SEELE as was NERV before Ikari decided that he'd be the one playing god.

Sequel?: Already have ideas… but maybe too over the top… hehehe… i.e. think Inanis beating the shit out off Kaoru for messing with Shinji's mind… then again it'll probably be one of those 'Angels are gone, people start blowing each other up with evas' kind of fic… I don't know… we'll have to see…

For those of you who play Warhammer 40,000 and can't already tell, this entire fic was prompted by a very specific source… One word: Culexus.

Many thanks to my pre-readers (even though some of which did not respond in time)

Axel Terizaki
Zoe Symons
Juan Luis Carrasco
Orac Otaku
Sayuri
and especially Seph Khan who did the Omake.

"That which is unknown and unseen always commands the greatest fear" Motto of the Culexus Temple.