MY WHITE TIGRESS
by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Eva or it's characters.

Summary: Gendo and SEELE track down Shinji and Rei, and meet their final stand against the Adam and his children.

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Chapter 4

While Onicohu gave Misato a tour of the village, and explained everything that Shinji and Rei had left out, Rei was at the front desk of the hotel checking in a new couple.

However, she felt a chill go up her spine when a new figure stepped into the lobby. Looking up she froze as a dark and brooding man with red-tinted glasses and a dark suit walked up to the desk.

"May I help you.... commander?" Rei said, not looking up at the man.

"That was what you were always meant to do, Rei." the man said darkly. "And then... you were gone. I demand an explanation for this betrayal."

Rei looked up at the man, and for the first time in her life, felt fear.

"You were going to use me to destroy the world." Rei said. "You were planning on having me die, so that you could have been reunited with your wife. You thought nothing of me, as though I were expendable."

"You are expendable, Rei. Your entire existence, was meant to serve my will, my purpose. You had no right to do this!" he hissed.

"I had every right, commander. Because I have found a reason to exist." she said.

"What reason other than my will could you have to betray me, after everything I have done for you?"

Rei looked at him like he was crazy.

"You created me, to die for you. You gave me no choice, no happiness, no reason to live. But I have found one on my own. And it is thanks to your son."

"What?" he hissed. "What could that spineless, worthless boy-child possibly have given you that would make you rebel against me?"

"Love." she said simply.

"I gave you love! I gave you everything! I... Made.... You!"

"You made me a doll. Shinji-kun... made me human."

"You are not human, you insignificant bitch! You never will be!"

Rei looked up at him. "I am human, thanks to Lilith."

Gendo froze as Rei said that. Lilith was here? Were the other Angels here as well? It would explain how Adam had vanished from his hand shortly after the 14th Angel's attack.

"They're here?" he said, far evident in his voice.

"Yes. Whatever your plans are, they will fail. They know all about you, and they will not become your pawns, or SEELE's pawns, ever again." Rei said.

Gendo snarled like a rabid dog, barely able to keep his anger in check. Everything was going wrong and he had his miserable excuse of a son to thank for that.

"We will finish this later, Rei." Gendo said as he trudged his way out of the hotel.

Releasing the breath she didn't know she was holding, Rei found her hand shaking slightly as her heart continued to pound hard in her chest.

I... I must find Shinji-kun. Rei thought as she left the check-in desk.

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"Did he hurt you, Rei-chan?" Shinji asked as he hugged his wife tightly.

"No, Shinji-kun. But... I was worried he would have." Rei said, burying her face in his neck.

"He won't, Rei-chan. I promise you!" he said as he held her close and kissed her forehead to try and comfort her.

"I... I have never felt fear before. I... do not like it." Rei said, almost sobbing.

"Very soon, you will not have any reason to worry, my child." Lilith said as she entered the kitchen.

Shinji and Rei looked at the woman, acknowledging her presence.

"Are you sure?" Shinji asked.

"Yes. We sensed that Gendo was here. But we have sensed the presence of others as well." Lilith said to the pair.

"Others? You mean... SEELE?" Shinji gasped.

"Yes. And someone else from your past." she said with a mischievous smile.

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Misato and Onicohu were walking down the street just talking.

"I am still confused, Ms Katsuragi." the elder said.

"About what, elder?" the woman asked.

"About you. I do not doubt that you care for these children, I am however confused as to why your organization would allow you to come here."

"My organization was disbanded months ago. Which was for the best, I assure you."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Basically, our commander was deceiving everyone, including his command staff, as to the real reason that NERV actually existed. When our super-computer, The Magi, revealed everything to the UN and the world.... well.... let's just say it was better that the world knows. Now the commander is a fugitive and so are those SEELE bastards. I'd be out hunting them myself, if I wasn't so worried about the boy I failed."

"Failed?"

"Shinji... was my responsibility. I choose to take him in, because I wanted to help him. Though my ulterior motive was to use him to get revenge for the death of my father, I found myself more and more pained by every battle he fought. I hated myself for putting him in that position. If anything I wanted him to have a normal childhood and... maybe undo the things I've done in my past."

"Hmm. So... he is a means of redemption, is he?"

Misato sighed, emotionally wounded that she was using Shinji yet again for her own purposes.

"It hurts me to say it... but yes. I need Shinji back in my life, because without him, it just seems so empty."

"You were in love with him." the elder stated.

"What? No! I.... I mean I...... I wouldn't have minded if we had become more than just guardian and ward, but... it just wouldn't have been right. That kind of relationship would have been... wrong on so many levels and..." she paused as she noticed the older woman was laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You are, my dear." Onicohu said. "You care for the boy, though you obviously cannot find it in yourself to tell him that. In this way you are honest about everything but your inner feelings."

"I can't be with him." she said. "He has Rei now. He doesn't need me."

"You are wrong." the elder said. "Shinji needs love to survive. It has been Rei's love that kept him going, and he would not be averse to having more love from people he cares for."

"Shinji could care for a lot of people. He should care for people who are deserving of it. Not me."

"That is for Shinji to decide."

Onicohu suddenly stopped when she saw Misato freeze in mid-step and stare straight ahead. She followed the line of sight, until it came to a very upset looking individual.

"A-Asuka?" Misato gasped.

"Why Didn't You Tell Me, Misato!" Asuka Langley Sohryu shouted.

"Tell you what, Asuka?"

"That you found Baka-Shinji and Wondergirl?" the redhead shouted. "I had to find out from Commander Ikari that they were...

"WHAT?!!! COMMANDER IKARI IS HERE?" Misato gasped, and then bolted in a dead run to the hotel.

"What's with her?" Asuka asked. "I wasn't done yelling!"

Onicohu just huffed, clearly believing the stories that Shinji and Rei had told her about Asuka.

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"Oh, Rei, are you sure you're alright?" Misato asked as she hugged the poor girl.

"I am... finding it.... difficult.... to breath.... Misato....-san..." the blue-haired girl gasped out.

"Oh, sorry." she said as she released the girl. "But... Gendo is here? And SEELE?"

"Probably." Shinji said as he sat down next to his wife on her bed.

"But why? I mean... why now? After everything that happened back at NERV, why would Gendo risk showing his face anywhere?" she asked.

"I do not know. He did not ask me any questions... aside from why I betrayed him." Rei said.

"Why did you betray him, Rei?" Misato asked.

"I found a reason to live." she said, her hand tightening around Shinji's. "I found love."

Misato smiled at that.

Just then, Asuka burst into the room.

"MISATO! BAKA-SHINJI! WONDERGIRL!!!" the redhead roared.

The two teenagers looked over at Misato, as if confused why she didn't tell them about this.

"I ran here as soon as I found out Gendo was here." Misato explained. "Sorry."

Someone from else from your past. Shinji thought, replaying Lilith's message. Of all the people, why her? He mentally groaned.

"Don't look so happy to see me, baka." Asuka snapped.

"Why would I want to see someone who hates my guts?"

"You never said that when we kissed." she snipped.

"You mean the kiss that nearly suffocated Shinji-kun?" Rei asked. "The one you tricked him in to, and then proceeded to rinse with mouthwash shortly after?"

Asuka looked at Shinji. "You told her?"

"I don't keep any secrets from my wife." Shinji said.

Asuka's eyes twitched a second, right before...

"YOUR WHAT?!!!"

"Rei and I got married a year ago. We've been living here in this village ever since we left." Shinji said, as if it was plain as day.

"And we've got a bigger problem, kids." Misato said. "If Gendo and SEELE are here... we need to stop them!"

"That problem.... is being taken care of." a beautiful woman in a blue kimono said as she stood in the entranceway of the room.

"Who the heck are you?" Asuka asked.

"I am Lilith, the second Angel, and mother to all Angels." the woman said with a bow, resulting in both Misato and Asuka gasping.

"Pick up your jaws, ladies. This conflict will soon be resolved." she said with a smirk.

"Resolved? How?" Misato asked.

Lilith's smile was mysterious, yet gave no comfort as they had no idea what she was planning.

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Gendo walked out of the village and met a group of men in the forest just beyond the village. There were a half-dozen other older men present, surrounded by a more than a dozen men in black with machine guns.

"Well? Is she there?" Keel asked.

"Yes. But we have another complication." Gendo said.

"What complication?" SEELE 2, a man named Von Chord, asked.

"The Angels are here as well." Gendo said.

"What?!" SEELE 3, a tall man named Smythe, gasped.

"Are you sure?" SEELE 5, a portly man named Denims, asked.

"Yes. Rei said so." Gendo said.

"And you believe her?" Keel asked.

"What if she's bluffing?" SEELE 4, a pale man named Warricks, asked.

"I created her. It's not in her nature to bluff." Gendo said.

"It wasn't in her nature to run away either." Von Chord said.

Gendo frowned at that.

"Time is short, Ikari." Keel said. "It was at your suggestion that we come here to retrieve her because you said she was important to our plans. We need to get her and go before we are discovered."

"I'm afraid you have already been discovered." a new voice said.

The men looked up and saw a mid-forties man, white streaks in his brown hair, in a black suit standing before them as if out of nowhere.

"Who the hell are you?" Keel asked.

"My name is... Adam." he said with a smile.

Gendo and Keel turned pale, as did the others.

"Ah. You know me. Well then, allow me to introduce my children to you." Adam said.

"Hello, gentlemen." a teenager with pale skin, red eyes and gray hair said as he appeared behind Adam. "It is... unpleasant to see you again."

"TABRIS?!!" Keel gasped.

"And I'm not the only one." he said in a sing-song voice.

Just then, the forest erupted into a battle as a dozen new people appeared from the trees and forests around them.

"I am Sachiel, Controller of Storms!" a man in a green dark green outfit said as he leapt from a tree branch and impaled one of the black-garbed men with a strange lance.

"Call me Shamshel, Protector of Eden!" a man in a dull-orangish outfit said, appearing from behind a tree with two whips in his hands, using the weapons to snare one of the gunmen.

"Name's Ramiel, Thunder Controller!" a camouflaged man with a large bazooka said, aiming it at one of the guards.

"I'm the Master of Fish, Gaghiel!" a large man in a wetsuit said, aiming a spear gun at another guard.

"Double your pleasure with Israfel, Angel of Music!" a pair of brown-haired female twins with different colored eyes said, jumping out of a tree and landing on one of the guards.

"Angel of Glory, Prayer, and Embryos: Sandalphon!" a man with spiky fire-red hair shouted as he emerged from one of the trees and grabbed the nearest guard and slammed him against the tree.

"I'll rain on your parade, for I am Matriel!" a spidery young man said as he jumped down from the tree and landed on a guard.

"I fall from the sky to crush you. I'm Sahaquiel!" a large sumo-wrestler type guy said as he dropped from a tree and flattened two of the guards in one strike.

"Fear comes in many forms, and so do I. I'm Ireul!" a young techno-geek said as he appeared from behind a tree and zapped one of the guards with a tazer.

"Beware the night, for that is where Leliel lives!" a dark-skinned female in a zebra-striped outfit said as she appeared from behind a tree and leg-swept one of the guards down.

"Hail and lightning are the weapons of Bardiel!" a dark-garbed man said as he appeared from behind another tree and shot his arms outward to take down one of the guards.

"They don't call Zeruel the angel of might for nothing." a young man in a dark suit said as he grabbed one of the guards, lifted him up with ease, and slammed him against the nearest tree.

"Don't think Ariel, the angel of birds, is out of this fight." a young woman in the trees said as he fired a beam of light from her hands, causing one of the guards to convulse and then faint.

"And I'm sure that I, Armisael of the womb, would be underestimated as well." the lithe woman in a spandex outfit said as she appeared and wrapped herself around the last guard, squeezing him into unconsciousness like a boa constrictor.

"And I'm sure you remember me, as Tabris, the angel of free will!" the gray-haired boy said as he wrapped Keel and the members of SEELE in a force-bubble.

"And as for you, Gendo Ikari." Adam said as he stepped up to the bearded man, who pulled out a gun from the waistband in the back of his pants.

"I will shoot!" Gendo shouted.

"You can try, but do you really think that will do you any good now?" Adam asked.

Gendo balked for a second, giving Adam enough time to pull back and punch Gendo hard in the face. The bearded man fell to the ground, not even seeing the irony that had just passed. Adam had struck Gendo with his right hand, the same hand that Gendo had once surgically implanted Adam into when he was just an embryo.

"Well... that's everyone." Sachiel said.

"I have to say, that was easier than I thought it would be." Zeruel said.

"You were expecting a fight, weren't you?" Leliel said.

"Yes. I was." the angel of might said simply.

"At any rate, these bastards will be spending the rest of their lives in prison." Bardiel said.

"Too good for them, really." Sachiel said.

"Maybe. But with the world governments against them, it'll be easier to put them away and have them slowly suffer." Gaghiel said.

"And now, children, we need to get back to the village." Adam said, grabbing Gendo by the back of his collar. "Mother will be worried about us."

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The military police were quick to arrive and take the members of SEELE into custody, along with their men, and the man called Gendo Ikari.

Shinji and Rei merely watched from one of the empty rooms of the hotel as the men, including Gendo, were loaded up into the vans. They held each other tightly for comfort, even after the men were locked in the vans and were driven out of the village.

No one had any idea that the people responsible for their capture, as odd as they were, were more than they appeared to be.

Misato, Asuka, Adam and Lilith were off to the sides just watching them go.

"I can't believe it's finally over." Misato said.

"I can't believe it was so easy to catch them." Adam said.

"I can't believe we're standing next to a pair of Angels." Asuka said, not taking her eyes of the various Angels in human form.

"Get used to it, Asuka. Gendo and SEELE were the real enemies, not the Angels." Misato said.

"But how do we know they won't attack us?" Asuka whispered to the woman.

"If that was their plan, they would have already done that. Am I right?" Misato asked.

"Our children attacked you because you were holding us prisoner." Adam said.

"We have no intention of doing battle with our own kind, at any rate." Lilith said.

"Your own kind?" Asuka gasped.

"Yes. You humans, which we call Lilium, are the 18th Angel, and so, are part of our family." Lilith explained.

"We... what?" the redhead gasped.

"It's a long story, my dear. Come and I will tell you everything." Lilith said as she lead the redheaded girl back into the hotel.

"What about the others?" Misato asked.

"They each have their own jobs and purposes to attend to." Adam said.

"Guess I need to find one as well." Misato huffed.

"We do not have a constable." Onicohu said, appearing next to the woman.

"You don't? Not even a sheriff or deputy?" the purple-haired woman asked.

"No." the elder said. "Though we are accepting applications." she said with a smile.

While the pair talked, Shinji and Rei finally breathed a sigh of relief as the military vans were now out of sight.

"Are you alright, Rei-chan?" Shinji asked, still holding his wife tightly.

"I am now, Shinji-kun." Rei said, her head nestled in the crook of his neck, but her body still shaking slightly. "I am... still shaken by what has happened."

"What can I do to make you feel better, Rei-chan?" Shinji asked.

Rei looked up at her husband and gave him a sad, scared look. "I need comfort, my love." she said. "I need you.... to take me to our bed.... and hold me close."

Shinji gave her a soft smile and leaned in to kiss her forehead gently.

"Anything, my white tigress." he whispered softly to her.

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Shinji did as his wife asked of him, doing everything he could to comfort his distressed lady. Come morning Rei was feeling better and once again much happier as the memory of meeting Gendo again softened from her mind.

Misato eventually became the new village constable, her military training making her more than qualified for the job.

Asuka didn't stay in the village, but visited from time to time. Especially during the White Lotus Festival where she unconsciously tried to get herself a husband. Her most repetitive candidate was one Ryoji Kaji, for rather obvious reasons.

The Angels hung around the village, and Japan, for a while before eventually leaving for other worlds in 2390.

As for Shinji and Rei, they were eventually blessed with three children of their own. Twin girls and a boy, which for some reason seemed fitting, given their former occupation in that Rei and Asuka were the first and second children, and Shinji had been the third.

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Authors Notes:

I'm not sure if I should stop here, or go on. I pretty much decided that this would be an ending chapter a while back, but I wasn't sure if that's what I created. Ideas/suggestions are welcome.

At any rate, here's the update a lot of people have been waiting for. Please leave me lots of reviews if you would.