text: Rei cries. She tried to protect Asuka, but she failed. Her friend will die. Shinji will never recover; Rei won't either. Why must others suffer in pain? It is not right. Shinji weeps into Asuka's shoulder, but Rei does not know how to comfort him, not now.
  
  The door opens. Gendo Ikari walks inside while two guards stand outside. His presence suffocates the girl. His black coat covers his body like shadows wrapping a vampire. His glasses hide his eyes, the window to his soul. Rei glares at the demon, hate seething from her eyes. He ignores her.
  
  "Shinji Ikari," the man states in a stoic voice. "Go pilot Unit 01."
  
  The boy looks up at his father. His face twists into revulsion. He charges the man, and punches his head. Gendo's glasses break, but he makes no sound.
  
  "I hate you!" Tears steam down his face. "You took Asuka from me."
  "Pilot Ikari," says Gendo as if nothing happened, "You are needed to fight the enemy. All twelve of the Eva series are coming to cause the Third Impact. You must buy me time to kill them." Blood trickles down his nose.
  "No!" The Third Child throws another punch, but Gendo grabs his hand. "Asuka is dying!"
  "Son, I will save Asuka if you buy me enough time."
  
  Shinji stands in front of his father, fists clenched and arms shaking. He glares into Gendo's eyes. Then, he nods. "Shinji." Rei hands him his normal clothing. Fighting in a hospital gown would be ineffective. Shinji gives a small smile. He throws on the clothing and runs out the door. For his entire life, running off has been a sign of fear, hiding from all that hurts him. Now, he runs to his Eva, the very thing which has hurt him time and time again.
  
  Gendo turns to Rei. "Rei Ayanami, you will save Asuka."
  "Tell me how." She glances at the dying redhead.
  
  The First Child wipes the tears from her face. She stands straight, like a soldier prepared for battle.
  
  Instead of answering her, the commander asks, "Why did Shinji just agree to pilot Unit 01?" Why is he asking me a question that he already knows the answer to?
  "Love. Love for Asuka and love for me," says Rei. "But, I hate you."
  "I do everything for love."
  "Clarify."
  "Yui Ikari, my wife and Shinji's mother, was absorbed into Unit 01 in an accident. It's how he syncs so well with his Eva."
  
  Rei sits. She tries to understand what he's saying, but it makes no sense.
  
  "Rei, you are a mixture of Lilith and Yui's DNA. You are her clone."
  She looks down feeling empty inside. "What am I?" she asks. My human parts are not even my own. They were stolen from Shinji's mother. Would he ever forgive me?
  "You are Shinji's family and my door to reuniting with Yui."
  
  He pulls out something from his pocket. It looks like a giant lizard embryo with a massive eye. Power seeps from the creature. It feels wrong, like an Angel. No, it can't be...
  
  "Is that Adam?" she asks.
  "Yes, the same one who caused the Second Impact. He reverted to this form but still has all the power."
  "What does he have to do with me?"
  
  Rei pulls up her A.T. field. Gendo could do anything, and she will not fall victim to him, not again. For her entire life, Rei was his little doll, a useful tool waiting to be discarded at any moment. She may not know what she is, but Rei Ayanami is not Gendo's doll.
  
  "Simple, you are an Angel in Lilin form. All you need is unlimited energy from an S2 core or Adam."
  "Adam and Lilith are not meant to unite."
  "Uniting would cause Instrumentality and a god to be born. I have been working a decade for this moment, Rei. All you need to do is allow Adam and me to become a part of you. Then, I will unite with Unit 01. Shinji and Asuka would revert to LCL, forever freed of pain and loneliness."
  "They would lose themselves, their identity."
  "But find happiness. I find that to be a fair trade. If not, Shinji and Asuka will die."
  
  Rei does not respond. She sees what he has done. He knows of her hate and her free will. Now, she desires to save her friends, but how can she do that without following Gendo's orders? Do I even have free will? It doesn't matter. I must save Shinji and Asuka.
  
  Gendo presses Adam's embryo into his palm. The two become one as his hand grays like a corpse. This is why she needs both Gendo and Adam. They are one now. The embryo is embedded into his palm.
  
  "You must take me to save them." He does not show emotion, assuming he ever had any.
  "I do not want you to become a part of me." She takes a step back.
  "Then they will both die."
  
  Rei wants to kill this man. She could use her A.T. field to rip off his head. His neck would shoot out blood like a water fountain; however, she cannot. He could save Asuka.
  
  "What is my purpose?" asks Rei.
  "You are Lilith, so you will start the Human Instrumentality Project. Humans have an A.T. field, but it keeps their souls separate. You would become a god to reverse those fields reverting all into LCL. One mind, one form, many souls. That is Instrumentality. SEELE wishes for this as well, but they wish to become twelve gods by using their Evangelions. I wish to reunite with Yui."
  "You pushed away your own son."
  "Now, I will save him from death, but only if you allow it."
  
  He extends his hand forward to her body, towards her womb. It pierces through her A.T. field. Rei looks past Gendo and to Asuka.
  
  "I am sorry," she whispers.
  
  > submit to Gendo
  Rei nods. "I will submit to you to save my friends."
  Gendo smiles. "Then do not resist."
  
  He pushes his hand through her body as if it was water. She does not resist, so she ceases to have a will. Gendo has gained his godhood. The girl becomes a passive observer in the ensuing horror. The entirety of all souls cease their individuality. Gendo laughs as he finds his wife. He screams when she rejects him. Gendo wishes to end his pain, but he ends all life in the process for he controls Instrumentality. Rei cannot help the billions of souls that perish before her eyes including Shinji and Asuka's.
  
  Rei has one thought in her head when she becomes nothingness. That was a very foolish decision.