Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion…

Just a note, I know I changed some things around. Gimme a break, eh? This is also a very strange chapter.

Story Title: Masochistic

Author: Mosher-24

Chapter 19: End of the World Part Two

Shinji tried to open his eyes, but the bright light that poured in burned his retinas, so he closed them tight again. His face contorted with the silent agony, but his ground his teeth together and forced them open again. By squinting, he slowly became used to the brightness and could eventually, after several minutes, open them fully. He blinked once. Twice. And sat up.

"Whoa," he said, falling back over. For some reason, his equilibrium was off. His voice echoed as if he were in Terminal Dogma again. 'Oh God… not that place…' he thought, shuddering at everything he had experienced within Terminal Dogma's depths.

Shinji took a deep breath, letting the air come in through his nose and out his mouth, then closed his eyes and sat up again, feeling considerably less dizzy. When he was finally stable, he opened his eyes and looked around. Where he was, he didn't know, but everything was blank. There was an endless expanse of white and nothing more. It was like he had met eternity… it was like he had…

Died.

'I'm dead?' Shinji thought, less anxious then he had thought. "If this is death… it's not that bad. I'll miss my friends though," Shinji said to himself, sure that he'd be all the company he'd ever have again. It was strange how non-chalant he felt about it, for if it had only been months before, he would have freaked out about being alone… but in the expanse of a month, he had lost everything he had known and he hated it. It was better to know none but himself…

"What are you fretting about?" said an angelic female voice. Shinji stood up straight, his joints aching slightly, and spun around to find a nude figure staring at him with a smile. He didn't recognize her at first, but she came closer and her features came to view. Even though he had only been little last time he saw her, he knew her…

"Mom?" Shinji asked, a single tear finding its way to his eye. The joy of finding his mother again shuddered through him and he felt it grow in his chest like a balloon that could burst at any second. Shinji couldn't even be embarrassed at her nakedness, or his own, for he had no clothes on either.

"Yes, son… it's been a while," she whispered, taking her son into her arms. Shinji closed his eyes and smiled, feeling warmth pass through him. At that moment, Shinji didn't care about anything else.

"I've missed you, mother," Shinji whispered as her hands rubbed his back, bringing back memories he didn't know he had. Being in the park… feeling her rub his back and say she loved him… seeing…. 'Dad?'

"Mom! What's happening? Where are we?" Shinji asked, the thought of his father bringing him back to reality. He had no idea what had happened, or what was going on and that suddenly meant everything to him. 'Rei! Dad! What the hell is going on!?'

"Sh, be still Shinji. This is heaven, in a sense. You're father's dream come true: Third Impact," Yui said, smiling. Shinji backed away from her, feeling a slight sadness build in his chest. 'Father's dream?'

"I-I don't understand!" Shinji said, looking around frantically. He felt very claustrophobic all of a sudden and had to find a way out. Yui gently touched his cheek though and he felt the anxiousness melt away. He smiled and waited for an explanation with calm.

"When your father and I were separated, he wanted to finish my ideas and be reunited," Yui started, running her hands through Shinji's hair. "I know he didn't do everything like a father should… but this was all for love, Shinji. Your father loves you," she finished, smiling gently at him.

Shinji frowned. "Love me? He treated me like vermin… I hate him," Shinji whispered, clenching his fists. The peace that had been in him was now slowly leaking out and he knew that his mother could not restore it. He had to find out what was going on.

"That's your choice, son, but he does love you," Yui said, her smile disappearing. Her hand fell from his face, but she continued to stroke his hair with her other. "What is third impact?" Shinji asked after a long silence. A silence that had seemed to take hours.

"Third Impact is the beginning of new life. When Adam meets Lilith and makes everyone unite," Yui said, trying to be simplistic, but the concept of Third Impact was a difficult thing to put into one sentence.

"I still don't understand…" Shinji said quietly, feeling stupid. Deep down he knew that he would be extraordinary if he did know the stuff, but he didn't want to acknowledge that he might be a bright, ordinary boy.

"When Adam meets Lilith, all the children of Lilith are combined into a single being. Like… a pool of LCL. We are all combined, with no boundaries around our hearts," Yui explained further, a smile returning to her face.

"You mean? I am no longer… me?" Shinji asked, still a bit confused. He furrowed his brow, trying hard to comprehend just what a huge thing Third Impact was.

"No… you are you. There still is a certain… individuality to each person, but we can all see each other for what we are. There are no boundaries around hearts… or minds. Call it… heaven. In this state, you can make your own world of anything you want," Ikari stated, her hands falling from Shinji's hair. They were getting slightly tired and so was her brain. Shinji sat there for a long time, then looked up.

"I don't want to make my own world, I want reality back. Are Rei and Asuka and everyone here?" Shinji asked, looking into his mother's eyes. They were beautiful hazel eyes that brought back feelings that had hidden so long inside him. 'I can be beautiful…' he thought, not quite knowing where the random musing came from. It was like someone else speaking with his voice.

"Yes, everyone is here. You may see them if you wish, but I warn you, you may see things you are not quite willing to see," Yui told him, her face becoming serious. She had explored everything within the phenomenon that she could, and she had found quite unpleasant things.

"How do I see them?" Shinji asked, determination setting in his mind. 'I must finish this through… I mustn't run away… I mustn't run away!' he thought with forceful adamancy.

"You just have to reach out with your heart. But I cannot go with you. Just remember… When the end is come, death is one. Only mother and offspring with raise the sun," Yui said, bowing shortly. "I love you Shinji," she said before disappearing into the white beyond. Shinji stared, feeling a mixture of emotions.

"I love you too mom," he whispered. His determination was now a mixture of doubt and fear. He had no clue what she had meant and that scared him, because it obviously had a great deal of importance.

'Who should I see first?' Shinji thought, closing his eyes. Rei… was not his choice. He didn't know if he could handle her not knowing their relationship anymore, especially after everything they had been through.

"Toji," Shinji said out loud, envisioning his friend in his thoughts. The boy had a smile on his face, no injuries and he was calling Shinji. In an instant, Shinji felt happy and called out, feeling his body lift into the air. A strange warm feeling passed through his body like an electric discharge and he was on the ground, clothes on his back.

"Oof," came a muffled voice. Shinji stood up quickly and smiled down at the boy he had landed on. They were in some sort of park with benches of wood and foliage galore. The trees were all lush green and beautiful, the sky completely clear. The grass was just the perfect height with no weeds and bushes and flowers growing around every corner. On the ground was a stone walkway up to the benches, which were on a hill.

"Shinji?" Toji asked in disbelief, staring at the boy who had fallen on him. Both the friends were dressed in their school uniforms and looked as they had at the beginning of the entire NERV experience. "Toji!" Shinji said, his face refusing to stop the smile that had appeared. The friends hugged each other, before someone tapped their shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I don't appreciate you two leaving me out," Kensuke said, pushing his glasses back onto his face. He grinned at them and the three laughed for what seemed like years, rejoicing in the sudden reunion.

"What the hell is happening?" Toji asked after the laughter died, a smile still lingering on his face. Kensuke shrugged and they both looked to Shinji, who sighed, still smiling. "If I understood it all, I'd give you all the details. As far as I know, we're in 'heaven'," he told them, furrowing his brow once more. His two friends mirrored the expression.

"Heaven?" Toji asked, looking down at his body. He stared for a while, then looked up. "I guess… maybe it makes sense. I mean… I'm no longer injured," he sighed and ran a hand through his perfect hair.

"I just remember that I was sleeping… then I woke up here," Kensuke said, fixing the bridge of his glasses again. Toji nodded and Shinji kept quiet, knowing he would just make an idiot of himself if he tried to explain further.

"Hey… who's that?" Toji asked, pointing to a figure standing on the hill. Whoever it was had appeared from no where and was standing in shadow, even though it was perfectly bright outside with no clouds. The figure was beckoning to them now and Shinji felt irresistibly drawn because it looked a lot like…

"Come on," Shinji said, taking the hill at a run. "Hey, wait up!" Toji yelled, running after his friend with Kensuke following closely behind. As Shinji neared the top, the figure became clearer, but turned around and walked out of sight, further up the hill. Shinji huffed harder and took the incline faster. As he leveled out at the top, however, no one was in sight.

"Hey, crazy bastard, what the hell is going on?" Toji asked, reaching the top and placing his hand on Shinji's shoulder. Kensuke reached the top shortly after and all three stood, catching their breath and staring at what was in front of them.

"What the hell?.." Kensuke gasped, blinking three times to make sure he saw correctly. In front of them was a giant sea of LCL, stretching as far as the eye could see. The orange liquid was glittering in the brilliant sun as if it were an earthly ocean. The breeze was playing off the scene like gentle background music and all the three friends could do was stare.

"What is it?" Toji asked, moving closer. The benches were close to a cliff, which dropped several feet to a beach. The LCL washed up the beach in tides, carrying with it what looked like silvery outlines of… people.

"That would be the entrance," a voice said closely behind. The three friends spun around only to see a tall boy staring back at them with crimson eyes. His platinum hair had grown and was now falling in his eyes, which were devoid of any negative emotion. A gentle smile had spread across his angelic face. Shinji knew him…

"Kaoru!" Shinji yelled, feeling a mix of happiness and anger flood him. The emotions threatened to overtake him, but he held off and settled for clenching his fist. Toji looked from Kensuke to Shinji to the newcomer.

"Who are you?" Kensuke asked, trying to recall if he'd seen him before. Kaoru ignored Toji and Kensuke and continued to stare at Shinji with a piercing gaze. Shinji stared back, silently thinking of what he should do.

"You betrayed me…" Shinji whispered, looking at the ground. A tear fell down his cheek and hit the perfect grass, setting one of the blades afire. "What the hell?" Toji asked, backing up.

"I'm sorry, my friend. It was necessary to get here," Kaoru said, bowing in apology. Shinji looked up at him, his face contorting in furry. The young Ikari gave into his anger at Kaoru for making him think he was his friend… for making him trust.

"What if I don't want to be here!" Shinji spat, feeling a flow of tears overtake him. Agony and rage were washing over him, drowning him… seizing his mind. 'Calm down…' Shinji thought, but it wasn't his voice. It was Rei's.

"No! I don't want to be here! I want it how it was!" Shinji screamed, turning and running towards the cliff. It suddenly appeared much farther back then it had just a few minutes ago.

"Shinji, stop!" Kaoru, Toji, and Kensuke yelled in unison, reaching out to grab him, but Shinji was past. He jumped and flew off the cliff at a high speed, heading straight for the sea.

The orange angel blood got closer and Shinji plunged into it, instantly freezing. It was so cold that it appeared to burn, but he just let himself sink. As he got farther down, the pressure got worse and eventually, he felt like he was to the point where he would implode.

"What do you think you're doing?" Misato asked, and suddenly Shinji was back at the apartment. Misato wasn't talking to Shinji, however, she was talking to Kaji, who was standing there in the flesh. He took a hold of the Major and planted a kiss onto her lips that would have made her fall to her knees had he not been holding her.

"Kaji?" Misato whispered as their lips parted, keeping hers only inches away from his. "I love you," he whispered in response, before kissing her again and laying her out on the couch, right there in the living room.

"Oh my God," Shinji whispered, retreating to his room. It was bare, even his cello was gone. The only thing in the room was his bed, which had a single white sheet on it. Shinji looked around frantically, hearing the moans from the other rooms grow.

On the middle of the bed, perfectly sharpened and polished, was a knife. Shinji felt the familiar pull of his attention and couldn't help but pick the knife up. With it as his retribution, he slashed his arms like he never had before.

The blood stained the white sheets with a tainted reminder that he couldn't change the way things were. He couldn't have yesterday back and he'd never be able to take back the past. When he couldn't hold the knife anymore through the pain, he dropped it to the bed, which now had large red splotches. The moans from the living room died out and he heard laughing and eventually, snoring.

The blood ran down his arm in a crimson testimony to how he felt. It was strange, because it didn't bring him anything more than pain; no pleasure. The searing was almost too much, so he hurried out to the bathroom, where he washed his wounds and gritted his teeth to bear the pain.

"You're so weak," was whispered into his ear. Shinji looked around slowly to find Asuka staring at him, her eyes oddly vacant. Her hair was mopped with sweat and Shinji could sense that there was something very wrong.

"Asuka…" Shinji didn't even know what to say, but he turned to her and looked into her eyes, searching for the strong person she was, or the strong person he thought she was. For moments he saw it and she ran to him, throwing her arms around him. She sobbed into his shoulder.

"Shinji… I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm caught in these flashes of anger," she cried, holding him tight against her. Shinji didn't know what to do or say, so he settled for holding her there in that moment, feeling sorry for her but crying no tears.

"I just wanted to be better. I just wanted to be loved more than a doll… more than they loved me," Asuka said, her crying stopping. She pulled away and turned to the wall. The bathroom was very simple with only a sink, toilet, and shower. The walls were white tile, along with the floor. There were tiny flecks of blood on the floor from the remnant dripping on Shinji's arm.

"But even you love the doll more," Asuka said quietly, fading away once more. She lay on the ground and pulled herself into as tight a ball as possible. "Momma," she whimpered, sniffling like a little child.

"Asuka… You're stronger than this. You're better than this, get up," Shinji said, finally feeling the emotions hit him. It was like a delayed reaction that would have been better had it not happened at all. The emotion got caught back in his throat, causing him to choke up.

"Shut up… you don't know me, do you? No… you can't," Asuka said, as if trying to convince herself otherwise. She sat up and looked at Shinji with desperate eyes. Tears were now flowing from those beautiful ice blue eyes and Shinji could do nothing.

"I loved you Shinji… I loved you with all my heart and you betrayed me like you have everyone else," she said, getting up and walking toward him. In a second, she was apologetic, then aggressive again. 'Oh my God… you really have broken, Asuka…' Shinji thought, feeling that if someone like Asuka could break, then there was little hope.

"Just yell at me…" Shinji begged quietly, looking at the ground. Asuka didn't respond verbally, but smacked him across the face. "Pathetic," she muttered, turning away. 'Pathetic? I love you… I hate you,' Shinji's thoughts were so confused that he became drastically frustrated and spun Asuka around forcefully, seizing her throat in his hands.

He began to squeeze. He didn't let loose until she was turning purple, her veins popping out and her mouth open frantically trying to gasp in air. Her hands were flailing about, as were her limbs. Shinji realized what he had done and let go, staring in disbelief at her. She had marks on her neck already appearing.

"No…. Asuka, I'm so sorry," Shinji whispered, running past her. When he reached the door, he felt his feet being tugged and someone whisper in his ear for him to hush.

It was like being dragged on a nylon surface for miles, it never seemed to end. He began to get dizzy, because it was like he was being sucked through LCL and a constant feeling of disorientation played with his brain. When he finally stopped he was in a large theater.

Shinji had appeared on the stage, which had a wooden floor and navy curtains to either side. Past the stage was a large room with many cushioned seats for the audience. The shear size took him by surprise, for it was easily over three hundred feet tall and just as long back, if not more.

"I made it," came a small voice that was so familiar. Shinji didn't even turn around, he couldn't bear it. Knowing exactly who was there made it bad enough, but seeing her would push him off the edge. His arms hurt horribly, the skin beginning to form horrid scars.

"Why do you not speak, Ikari-kun?" Rei asked, coming closer. He sensed her body near his and turned to see her beautiful crimson eyes staring into his. Those same crimson eyes he had stared in while he told her how much he loved her. 'Well… not the exact same eyes' he thought as a bitter joke, but it only brought tears to his eyes.

"Because yesterday will never come back and I will have to live with the fact that I lost you everyday," Shinji said, biting his lips to try and hold back the sobs. He turned back away from her and stared blankly at the seats.

"Lost me? How can you lose me, Ikari-kun, I am right here," Rei said, feeling a slight bit confused. Her voice was soft and unemotional, as always. With a feeling of anxious fear, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She had seen it done before, plus… it was somehow comforting to her. Shinji, however, broke down and sobbed again. He felt he had been crying so much that he'd drown in his own tears.

Rei withdrew her hand and stared at the ground, wondering what to do. Feeling she had never felt before had been awakening within her every time she even thought of Shinji, but it was so overwhelming she didn't know how to deal with it. Instead of acting, she had decided to stay neutral.

"I thought you might like this place… Ikari-kun. That is why I created it," Rei said quietly, looking around. 'Am I inadequate?' she asked herself internally, feeling slightly embarrassed. She clasped her left arm in her right hand, across her school uniform.

"It's a lovely theater, Rei… It's just that…" Shinji began, but cut off and put his head in his hand. Rei stared at him, feeling a stirring of emotion inside her but not acting on it. Even deeper then the emotion, she felt like something was trying to emerge. Something rather… powerful. "It is just that what, Ikari-kun?" Rei asked, wishing to know more. To feel more.

"Rei, I love you and I have loved you and you don't even know what it is," Shinji said, sitting down. His tears had stopped for a spell, enabling him to sit and breathe. He wanted nothing more than to be away from her, but no matter how hard he tried, it was like he was locked in the theater.

"I do not… but I-" Rei wasn't sure what to finish the statement with. Shinji looked up at her with a pain-stained face and pleading eyes, so, against her will, she finished. "I think that what you make me feel is love…" she whispered, which, for Rei, was rather quiet. Shinji didn't want to believe what he had heard.

In an instant, Shinji had the first child in his arms, her lips drawn to his. He felt that familiar spark of energy flash through him and put everything he had into it. Even as their lips parted, he began crying again, missing her so much.

"Ikari-kun?" Rei whispered, her eyes closed. Her voice was still quiet and stoic, though she felt nothing like those normal emotions. An energy was pulsing through her, a strange energy.

"Yes, Rei?" Shinji asked, caressing her cheek with his hand, despite his promise not to let himself touch her. She stared at him and said, "kiss me again, please?" And kiss her, he did. He brought her lips to his in a kiss of as much passion and love as the previous; which was worthy of an encore.

"Ungh," Rei groaned as she pulled away and curled up. She curled into a ball and began to dry heave, her face becoming even paler than usual. "Rei!" Shinji yelled, making his way for her side. Before he got there, however, a glow began to emanate off of Rei.

"Rei?.." Shinji stared as she opened her mouth and the outline of a gigantic being floated out and dissipated into the air. Rei sat up, a little bit of sweat on her brow. She looked at Shinji for the longest time, who stared back, wondering what the hell had happened.

"Shinji…" she whispered after a few moments of silence and Shinji cried more, this time tears of joy. She was back… he didn't know how, when, where, or why, but she was and that was all that mattered at the moment. The joy that was surging through him gave him enough energy to take her into his arms and kiss her again and again and again.

"What the hell just happened?" Shinji asked between kisses. Rei smiled softly in response and kissed him back with as much fervor as he had been offering. "That was Lilith's soul, which was been residing within me," she said calmly. Shinji only nodded, not caring what it was, just glad that Rei was back.

"I love you," she whispered to him. Shinji only nodded through the tears, hearing the words he had so longed for. Somehow, Shinji found the strength to make love to her, right there and then. Through it all, Shinji couldn't stop thinking about how much he loved her, or how much he wanted her.

When they finally stopped, Shinji lay next to Ayanami and held her close, running his fingers through her blue hair. It felt amazing to be doing it again, even though it, in a sense, was not real. Rei rested her head in the crook of his neck and the couple fell asleep there on the stage, even though it was not entirely comfortable.

Shinji stayed in the theater for longer then he could count. He visited Toji and Kensuke and occasionally Asuka. Misato was also a frequent guest and Shinji was happy with Rei, lying with her and catching up on all the time they had lost and all the pain endured. Many a day they just held each other, no words spoken between them. But not everything can stay perfect…

Shinji eventually became unhappy, because it wasn't real. He wasn't with Rei in Tokyo-3, where he belonged. The more he understood it, the more he hated the theory of Third Impact. The third child couldn't stand the thought of essentially being someone else, or completely accessible. He liked the way things had been.

"Rei… can't we go back?" he finally asked, summoning all the courage he had built up. It was a tough question, because he knew Rei liked it there. She stared at him with those passive eyes and quietly asked him why.

"Because… I like it how it used to be," Shinji said, feeling stupid.

"You may go back if you wish, Shinji," Rei told him, coming to his side. She kissed him softly on the lips and looked into his eyes.

"Will you marry me then, Rei Ayanami?" Shinji asked, taking her hand in his. It was a spur of the moment thing, and Shinji had no time to think about it before he asked. There was a long silence in which Shinji felt like there was less and less of a chance, but the answer came in only a minute.

"Yes."

"Really?" Shinji asked, feeling rather elated. He was going to get to go back with Rei and they would be married and raise a family. It would be the perfect, corny ending for the tainted love story.

"If you really wish to go back, you must find your mother and unite with Soryu to escape," Rei said, hiding the sadness in her voice. She had not told him she could not follow and did not plan to, not until he was out.

"My mother?" Shinji asked, but before he could say another word, or even blink, Rei had disappeared along with the theater. He was standing next to Unit-01, who was just as gigantic as ever.

"Rei! REI!" Shinji called, looking around. He looked up at 01 and it clicked. "Mother… in 01, but… why?" he whispered, making his way to the elevator that led to the entry plug. It was a quick ride up and when he reached the top, his plug suit was ready.

Quickly changing, he pressurized the suit and it sucked into a skin-tight fit. The room he was in was another completely white expanse stretching forever. 01's purple jaws were opened maliciously. The third child entered the entry plug, which inserted itself into the Eva automatically. The plug filled with LCL and Shinji felt the all-too-familiar disorientation of being synched.

It was strange, being back in one of those things. It had been months… or had it? Shinji had no idea how long he'd been in this little world. But he couldn't wait to get away with Rei and move into the country.

"Shinji? Is that you?" Shinji's communications link crackled to life and a video of Asuka came on screen, her face still troubled. She had a smile though, and he could see her mother behind her. She looked just like Asuka, except with brown hair. It was strange.

"I see you have your mother with you too," she said to him. Shinji stared at the screen, and then spun around to see his mother, Yui Ikari, behind him. She smiled and stroked his hair, her touch soothing once more. She then pointed to the screen, which was now showing the Lance of Longinus.

"Remember what I said earlier sun… When death is come…" Yui whispered to him, kissing his cheek and indicating to the lance.

"The Lance?.." Shinji asked, willing 01 to move forward. It did without any resistance of any kind and 02 came into view also, perfectly repaired into red glory. It stared at Shinji and an Audio only link came through.

"Together?" Asuka asked. Shinji somehow knew what she was talking about. He willed Unit-01 to grab the Lance with one hand, as 02 did the same. Shinji could feel his mother's hand with his and in that moment, 02 and 01 synched and drew the lance back and threw it through the air. It cut through the white expanse like a butcher knife, slicing up the false reality to reveal a ruined Tokyo-3 and a real sea of LCL.

Suddenly, Shinji's stomach felt as if it had bottomed out and he was falling with 01. He screamed and landed with a hard thump on the beach, no longer in Unit-01. The Evangelion was gone and there was nothing around but a Lake of LCL and city ruins. Shinji stared around, feeling slightly desperate.

"Rei? Rei!" he called over and over, running down the beach and wading into the LCL. She was no where to be found and he broke down and cried again. 'Just when I found her… I lost her again,' he thought in pain. A digging in his thigh signaled something sharp in his pocket.

He reached in and pulled out a knife by its smooth wooden hilt. The blade glittered in the sun, which was blazing overhead. A desperate shudder ran through him and he slowly brought the knife to his skin, which was free of any scars. A tingling then ran through him, but he did not cut.

"It'd be better if I just died…"

"Do not say that, Shinji." The voice was like beautiful music and Shinji searched frantically for his lover. She was still no where around, however and he looked to the sky for an answer and saw only blue sky.

"My love, I am sorry, but I had to trick you. You did not want to be here, but I cannot leave. I am bound here until every soul decides for sure what they are going to do. Now that you have ripped a hole to reality, many will follow, but many will stay. I am sorry to say, I will be quite a while, maybe more than a couple years. Please do not forget that I love you and remember my promise. I will marry you, Shinji Ikari," Rei's voice spoke to his ear. It sent trickles of an unidentified emotion down his spine.

"I love you, Rei," Shinji whispered, wiping his eyes dry. He should have suspected it. But, he would see her again and he would marry her. Until then, Shinji turned and looked at the horizon, just down the beach, where three figures where just standing up. They looked like Misato, Toji, and Kensuke.

"I will wait for you…" Shinji said, before turning around and walking off down the beach to rebuild his life. He had to forget his father, NERV, Kaoru, and everything that had caused him to live like he had. He had to prepare for his future family. To bring from the ruins of his life a successful legacy of love and happiness.

And he started with throwing the knife as far into the Lake of LCL as possible.

THE END.

Author's Comments: I really hoped you enjoyed the ride. If you did not, I am deeply sorry and I wish you many great stories in the future. Until next story, thank you very much for reading.

Mosher-24

P.S. There will be no epilogue. I believe it is effectively done at that.