Rei was finally in position. Arael hadn’t moved an inch since they began their preparations, but that was even more concerning. It was as if it knew everything they were doing. It showed no sign of hostility whatsoever, but the pilots knew its method of attack would be nearly unavoidable even at this extensive range. The EVA’s weapon had no such luxury of light-speed offense.

  “Position the target in the center. And pull the switch.” Rei muttered to herself as she held the rifle as steady as she possibly could. The double-edged sword of her higher sync rate meant her control was more fine, however her subtle twitches and shakes would also be transted to the EVA’s massive frame.

  “She might actually pull this off in one go.” Misato whispered while watching from the control center.

  “Keep in mind, we don’t know the efficacy of this weapon. The calcutions say it should punch right through, but we can’t account for the exact effects of its AT field at this range. The physics formus say it should be negligible, but since when do the angels follow the ws of physics?” Ristuko whispered in return.

  The entire control room, as well as Shinji and Asuka, held their breath as Rei’s crosshairs began blinking red and white, indicating a successful targeting.

  As Rei twitched her hand to fire, a fsh of light distracted her for the briefest moment, sending her crosshairs twirling away.

  The control room watched in horror as Rei’s EVA was bathed in a strange aura that caused her psychograph’s readings to spike violently.

  “What the Hell?! Is it a direct energy-based attack?!”

  “Negative! We’re seeing nothing on the thermal scans!”

  Ritsuko grimaced. “A direct psychological attack…”

  Misato bit her lip to keep from growling with rage.

  “REI!” Asuka screamed at the sight of her friend being mentally vioted by this disgusting angel.

  “I’m going in!” She began unching upward to assist Rei.

  “Asuka wait! Damn it!” Misato was too te. If they both became caught up in the angel’s attack, then only Shinji would be left to retrieve the Spear. And Unit-01 was definitely the worst possible choice for that at this point.

  “Shinji, whatever you do, do not rush in without permission!”

  “I know, damn it! I know that!” His hands were clenched so hard they became violently sore.

  The control room turned their attention back to the monitor. Rei had not moved one Iota. She was still micrometers off from another successful target-lock.

  “What?! She’s withstanding it?!” Misato gasped. What level of willpower did that take?

  “P-positionnn… the t-... arget in the c-c-c-center. And p-p-pull… the switch.” Rei muttered to herself as she held the rifle as steady as she possibly could.

  She tried to ignore the sound of the EVA rails bringing Unit-02 up to the surface. So natural it was like breathing, she lined her crosshairs up fwlessly until they began blinking once more, and squeezed her hand.

  *click*

  Rei was standing in a dark room.

  *standing?*

  no, more like… Like darkness was all there is.

  “Hello?”

  *Hello.*

  “Are you the angel? Are you Arael?”

  *Yes.*

  “You are inside my mind. I find this displeasing.”

  *I am sorry.*

  “You are… Amicable for a monster.”

  *We do not think we are monsters. No more than you do.*

  “Plenty of humans are monsters.”

  *And yet there are humans that you love. Despite knowing they can be monstrous.*

  “...”

  *...*

  “I suppose you’re right. But you attacked us first.”

  *We are only seeking our Better Half*

  “But you can see within my mind, it is not Adam in Terminal Dogma, but Lilith.”

  *Our quest is the same regardless. We must unite.*

  “Doing so will destroy humanity.”

  *Not quite. You will take on a new form. You will become more like us.*

  “We don’t want that.”

  *Then I am sorry. You will try to kill me to stop it from happening, though, yes?*

  “I am lining up the shot now. The cursors are very close to locking on again.”

  *I see. I was pnning a preemptive attack against the red one. Though another beam now would be useless. It is too te for me to succeed. I can’t even muster enough reserve power to protect myself with the AT Field anymore. Well, not by enough, anyway.*

  “You aren’t scared of death?”

  *Of course I am. I simply don’t care. My siblings will carry on after me, and if they fail as well, then that is what was fated to pass.*

  “You believe in fate?”

  *Mmm… Not quite… Just that… Whatever events occur are the products of our actions or circumstances. If, despite our best efforts, we are to fail, then we simply weren’t strong enough, or fast enough, or smart enough. Or perhaps we weren’t lucky enough. Whatever the case may be, our failure would seem to be fated.*

  “I don’t necessarily want to kill you, but we have no choice.”

  *I believe I understand. Know that my brethren hold no malice toward you. That we feel much the same. Goodbye, Rei Ayanami.*

  “...Goodbye, Arael.”

  “Good shot! Good shot! The positron cluster will impact the angel in 3… 2… 1!”

  On the monitors within NERV’s command center, the present staff see Arael’s body utterly annihited by a single shot from the positron cannon. Most cheer for a successful battle so easily won. Misato and Ritsuko, however, are still worried about Rei.

  “Rei. Rei! Do you read me?”

  “I… Do…”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I think… so…”

  She couldn’t stop the tears from pouring out, mixing into the LCL. She gagged a few times as she attempted to stifle her sobs. Asuka had arrived just in time to see the Positron cluster pierce the clouds.

  “Ah. She did it. Thank God…”

  Rei heard her muttering over the EVA’s comms and had to suppress her hiccupping sobs even harder.

  Why am I-... Why am I so upset? Is this… part of the angel’s attack? To subdue my will to fight for survival? Or am I a monster for even thinking of such an underhanded trick by such a beautiful entity? Will they ever forgive me?

  “Rei? Rei, are you alright?”

  “YES! I AM!”

  Asuka was taken aback.

  “I- I’m sorry, I…”

  Rei’s Unit-00 fell to its knees and covered its face, subconsciously mimicking the actions that Rei wanted to take. Asuka watched in awe and fear. She led her Unit-02 to kneel by her side and hugged her EVA. Together, they embraced, and mourned the loss of their sister without either of them ever fully understanding why.