Chapter 56

"C'mon, Asuka." The voice said in a happy tone. " Let's go."

She walked onto the grass and looked all around her. She was dressed differently and she felt that she was different, as she felt lighter.

She was wearing a yellow sundress, her favorite sundress. The sky was a bright blue, the sun was shining and a gentle wind blew.

She looked around and then suddenly she saw something red go past her. "What the…." Asuka's eyes widened as she looked at her hands in front of her and gasped. "Oh my God! I'm…. I'm…Wait a sec…" Asuka said as she raised her eyebrow. "Wow, I'm… not old anymore."

"Asuka."

She looked out into the field and she looked back to the person who smiled back at her. She breathed in and placed her hand over her chest. A tear fell from her eye.

He was standing in a grassy field underneath a large tree, it looked like the tree that was back home in Japan, the tree that they used to sit under, kiss under, make love under and play under. He couldn't stop smiling at her as he leaned against the tree with his arms crossed.

He wore a simple white shirt and blue jeans, his hair was not gray but the brown he had when he was younger. In fact, he looked the same way he did when he was younger.

He dropped his hands to the side and came out from under the tree. He walked slowly as he saw her. He breathed in deeply as he looked at her.

"C'mon, Asuka. I've been waiting for you."

"SHINJI!" She called out happily, laughing.

He took off running to her.

She smiled wider as she took off running towards him and as she picked up speed, she was calling out to him. "Shinji! You're here!"

She had the largest smile that he had ever seen on her face before. She ran straight to him and leaped into his arms, calling out. "Shinji!" .

He caught her and they both laughed loudly.

"My Asuka." He said happily as he closed his eyes, held her tight, lifted her off the ground and started spinning her around while she hung onto his neck. He stopped as he looked into her face and smiled at her. "Hi." He said to her.

"Baka Shinji!" She said happily as she kissed him. "I've missed you so much!" She said as she kissed him all over his face.

"Asuka!" He laughed from the affections he hadn't had in so long. "I love you!"

"Oh, you idiot! I love you!" She said with another kiss. "Baka! I love you!"

"Asuka…." He said in a breath as he looked back at her and smiled. He shut his eyes as he bought his lips to hers kissing her with everything he was as he held her in his arms. She smiled through their kiss as she hung onto him and stroked his hair.

"Shinji, what's going on? Am I dreaming?"

"No, Asuka. This isn't a dream."

He kissed her again as he held her. She enjoyed the kiss that she missed having in her life. She held onto him tight and then she pinched his nose.

He made a noise as he parted from her lips with a laugh and looked back at with her a smirk and wide eyes. "Why did you do that? Was that for old times sake?"

"It is real!" She said happily. "You're really here and all of this is real, isn't it?"

"Yes, its real." He told her with a smile.

"What is this? Shinji, do you know?" She asked.

He looked into her face and said. "It's a bit of a shock, isn't it?"

Then, she touched her face saying. "My face…. its…Shinji…. I'm…"

"Young again." He finished for her as he set her down and wrapped his arms around her. "You're young again, Asuka!"

"So, are you!" She said as she looked into his face and lightly placed her palm against his cheek, running it through his hair. "I wondered how I could run like that!" Then taking a glance downward, she said. "YES! THEY'RE BACK WHERE THEY SHOULD BE! They're not down to my knees!"

"You never…. really had that problem." Shinji said with a smirk. "They were always…." Looking at her chest for a minute, he chuckled as he said. "…. just right."

"Pervert." She told him with a smile. "Oh my God, this is great! We're both young! You look like you're eighteen again, Shinji. Wait! Whoa, what's the catch?" She asked. "Wait…. Shinji, this means that I'm ….I'm…"

Quickly, Asuka turned around and she saw in the distance what appeared to be an oval window and through this window, she saw an old woman lying in a recliner in a house. .

The old woman had a throw over her, her eyes were shut and a smile was across her lips. She was not moving nor breathing but she looked so peaceful and happy.

Asuka's eyes were wide as she looked back to him. "I'm dead now, aren't I?"

Shinji nodded his head as he smiled at her lightly cupping her cheek with his palm. "Its your time now, Asuka. You kept your promise to me. You lived wonderfully. I've seen them all, Asuka. Our grandchildren. I've watched them grow. I'm so proud of our family."

"What happens now?" She asked as she looked into his face.

"Now, we're together forever. We're soul mates, Asuka. We can never be separated."

"Never?" Asuka asked.

"Never." He told her with a smile.

"Idiot!" Asuka growled with a scowl as she grabbed his shirt and looked into his eyes.

Shinji gulped as he looked at her.

"Do you mean to tell me that I'm stuck with you for all of eternity? All of eternity, Shinji?" As she looked into his face with a scowl, her features started to soften and then she smiled back at him, saying. "That's just the way I want it, Idiot."

Shinji smiled at her as his arms came around her, holding her close saying with a laugh. "I love it when you call me an idiot. I haven't heard you say that in so long."

"I've missed you." Asuka said softly with a smile.

"I've missed you too." He said to her as his lips pressed against hers and he held her tight. Both of their eyes shut as they held onto one another and allowed the wind to blow over them. He was giving her the type of kiss that would always make her knees shake and butterflies flutter in her stomach. For her, it was doing just that and more.

As she parted from his lips and opened her eyes she looked into his eyes as he put his forehead against hers and held her.

"Oh, Shinji." Asuka whispered smiling up at him. "I can't believe I'm here now."

"I know." He told her happily as he held onto her hands. "Its true though. We're together now. We can never be torn apart from each other again."

"Are we still…you know…. are we still married?" Asuka asked.

Shinji chuckled at her and cupped her cheek saying gently. "Of course we are! When I married you the first time and when we renewed our vows, we said now and forever, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did."

"So we're still married, Asuka." Shinji said to her.

"I never wanted anyone else except for you. You know that, don't you? There hasn't been anybody since you died. I only wanted you." Asuka said to him gently. "Oh, Shinji, I've wanted to see you so many times. I would have done anything to have you hold me again or kiss me again or just be with me for a minute."

"I'm here with you now and forever." He told her with a smile. "That is if you'll have me still."

"Of course I will." Asuka said to him. "Idiot, don't you know? Forever is how long I signed up for."

He held her in his arms and breathed in deeply as he held her. "I've missed you so much." He told her.

"Me too."

"C'mon, Asuka. Let's go." He said with a smile.

"Where do we go?" Asuka asked.

"C'mon." Shinji said to her with a smile as he took her hand into his and began to walk with her.

Asuka smiled as she followed, walking side by side with him, her hand holding onto his. "What's it like, Shinji?"

"Huh?" he asked. "I don't know what its like really. I mean you hear stories about it but I've never been there."

"You haven't?" She asked as she stopped and looked at him..

"No but don't worry we got in. We're allowed in…. I checked." He told her.

"No, Baka! I meant, why didn't you go?" Asuka asked.

He stopped as he turned to her and then placing his hands on her waist he said gently. "Because if I went in, I couldn't come out. I wanted to be here when you arrived, if I went in there I wouldn't be allowed out. Asuka, it's a one-way ticket when you go in there and you can't come out. You go in of your own choosing. If I went in. We'd have to search to find each other and then you may never have gone in at all. Sometimes people who don't want to die, they wait around or they hang around their family.. I wanted to be here waiting for you so when you arrived so we could go together and never be separated. From what I know, when we go together, we'll be together forever and our family will be able to find us later."

"You've waited for me?" Asuka asked him as she looked at him. "You didn't go there so you could wait for me?"

Stopping for a moment, he looked back at her as his hand slipped around her waist and then bought his finger underneath her chin as he kissed her tenderly. He looked back into her face and he whispered to her. "I've been waiting for you, Asuka. I've been waiting for you so we could go together."

"You've been here all this time?" Asuka asked.

"Not exactly." Shinji told her. "I could also leave this place and go back to Earth sometimes to see you or the kids. I was at Hope's wedding you know. She looked so beautiful and I was so proud of Souke for walking her down the aisle. Then, I saw all of our grandchildren be born. I was sitting right beside you the whole time."

"Could you have….reached out to me?" Asuka asked."

"I tried to." He said to her. "It was only when you slept that I could talk to you."

"Shinji…you didn't go because of me?" She asked. "You've been hanging around with me all this time?"

"That's where I've been, Asuka. I've never left you You, Hope, Souke, Reina. I just wanted to check up on all of you to make sure you were okay. I stayed…. to protect you if I needed to."

"Protect us?" Asuka asked as she looked into his face. "Shinji, when Hope fought Angel 20…were you there? Was that you?"

He nodded. "It was me, Asuka. I did it to help her. I was with her during the battle watching her and when she was hurt, I had to help her, Asuka.".

"Oh, Shinji." Asuka said as her eyes welled up with tears. "You gave her strength."

Shinji smiled at her and told her. "I wanted to keep her safe. I wanted to keep you all safe."

"The energy that beat Harris up too? Was that you too?"

Shinji nodded as he looked at her with a laugh. "I loved the look on your face when you caught that fat jerk and arrested him."

"I knew it was you!" Asuka said. "They tried to tell us it was a…a…harmonic…. echo, I think. I knew otherwise! It was you, Shinji! I knew you were there with her! I knew you saved her! It had to be you! It could only have been you!"

Shinji nodded. "I was there, Asuka. After what SEELE did to us, I'm glad that they got what they deserved."

"You know what SEELE did to you, don't you? Shinji, do you know that I kept the truth from you too?"

Shinji nodded at her. "Asuka, you've never lied to me. You did tell me once but I didn't want to believe it. You were right to hold it back. I would have been scared for our kids all my life. You did it out of love for me. I could never resent you for that."

"Shinji…." Asuka said as she stared up into his face.

"Asuka, nothing you have ever done has ever made me mad…well, one thing did…. but Souke helped you and made you see…. and now, you have lived a rich, full life and did so many things. Asuka, I could never be angry at you." Shinji told her with a smile as he held onto her hand.

"So, you've been around looking after us? You've been watching over us?"

He smiled at her and nodded. "You couldn't follow me into death but I could be with you as you lived life. Sometimes, I'd be here, with you, or with Hope, or Souke or Reina. There was only one thing I wanted though more then anything. I only wished for one more day with you"

"I wanted to be with you so much." Asuka told him as she looked into his face.

"I did too." He said with a smile. "There were times I saw you walk around and I'd talk to you and sometimes, it would be like you could hear me just for a minute because you'd answer me back and all I wanted to do at that point was just hold you and tell you that I loved you."

"I always felt you near me. I thought I was crazy when I heard it but I always answered you back."

"I know you did." He told her.

"Its why I always wore that sweater. I felt so connected to you whenever I wore that." She said as she pointed to the old woman in the chair. "Why am I still seeing myself like that?" Asuka asked as she looked at him.

Shinji bowed his head for a minute and then looked into her eyes saying sadly. "Everyone has the choice to return if they want to."

"I could go back?" Asuka asked wide-eyed.

He nodded at her sadly. "I wanted to come back when I died. I tried to but I couldn't. My body wouldn't allow itself to live anymore. As long as your body accepts your soul, you could live again, Asuka. If your body can't exist anymore, you have to come here.."

"I could go back?" Asuka asked as she looked back to the old woman in the chair. She shut her eyes, and then she looked back to Shinji with a small tear in her eye saying softly. "I just…. I think about Amanda…. and …all of our grandchildren…. our children." Asuka said as she looked back. "I love them so much, Shinji. I am going to miss them. They make me smile everyday. They talk to me over the computer or call me on the phone. Once a week Hope and Sawyer fly out to see me. Souke comes by with his boys and his wife. Reina comes out from New York with Phil and the girls when she can. I would miss them so much. They make me feel wonderful. Shinji, is this right? Should I stay here? Should I go back to them? What should I do?"

"I'll be honest, I want to be selfish and tell you to stay." He said with a smile. "but, if you think that they need you, then I would understand if you wanted to go back."

Asuka looked back at the old woman lying in the recliner and then turned to Shinji's face. "Do you think I should go back?" Asuka asked.

Shinji breathed in with sadness in his eyes as he said. "If you feel that they really need you and you're worried about how they'll be without you, then I think you should go back. You could if you want to. You can go back. I'll wait until you come back here." He paused for a minute as he bowed his head and then looked back at her with a tear in his eye saying. "Maybe, I'll go down with you and hang around for a while. Maybe, you'll be able to see me and maybe…. we could be together for a while down there. You know I do that sometimes. I love to hang around and watch you do stuff. I was happy when you came back to Germany. We had a great time there. Do you remember?"

"I remember." Asuka said happily.

"You could go back to living, Asuka." He told her as the tear came down his face. "If you want to, I'll still wait for you. I'll still hang around. I won't be angry. I got to see you one more time. I got to hold you and touch you. I had the kiss from you that I've missed so much that it's made my heart ache." He sniffled as he looked away for a moment.

"Shinji." Asuka said softly as he touched his cheek and watched as his eyes shut. "Oh, Shinji…. I don't know what to do. I want to be with you but I love them so much." Tears came out of her eyes as she looked at him.

He reached for her hand and covered it with his hand as he gently turned his face and held her hand as he kissed her palm while he tried not to sob.

Opening his eyes slowly, he looked back at her while the tears kept flowing. He reached for her and held her tight as he said through small sobs.

"If you want, you can go back. I'll be here when you get back. I promise you that I'll wait for you as long as it takes. I won't go in without you, Asuka. I can't follow you back there to live but I can be with you in spirit. Where you go is where I go. I love you, Asuka. You're my heart and soul. I'd wait forever for you. If you want to live a little more, you can if you want. I'll even walk you back there and send you back myself. Just…give me one thing before you go back?"

She looked into his eyes and smiled as she heard him. "Anything." She responded.

"Asuka, kiss me one last time before you go."

Asuka looked back to the old woman in the chair. She sighed and then looked back at him.

She looked into his face and thought of her family.

She saw the tears in his eyes and it made her heart ache.

As she thought of her family and then looking into those eyes, she smiled and said softly.. "I don't want to go back."

"Are you sure, Asuka?" he asked her gently. "Life is a lot of fun. A lot of people are going to miss you. You could go back. I'd understand."

"I lived my life well and long, just like you told me to do. The kids are okay. Our grandchildren are fine. I'm ready just to be with you, now and forever." Asuka said gently with a smile. "Sure, they'll miss me but they'll know I am happy where I am because now I'm with you."

"Are you sure?" he asked her with a smile as a tear came out of his eye.

"I am more sure about this then anything ever before in my life." Asuka told him as she looked at him. "I love you and I want to be with you forever."

Shinji smiled and said. "I want that too."

"Will you have me?" Asuka asked with a smile as she looked up at him.

"You know the answer to that." He smiled widely at her as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers. Her arms went around his neck as they both smiled through their kiss and held onto each other.

He kissed her sweetly and tenderly, holding her tight, never wanting to let her go for a second.

The image of the old woman in the recliner faded away.

Asuka held onto him tight as the two of them continued to kiss each other as the wind blew through their hair.

The two of them felt like their heads were spinning and their hearts were beating rapidly for each other.

Parting from each other's lips, they both smiled at each other. As Shinji looked back at her, he took her hand and together they began to walk. She put her arm around his abdomen as his arm slipped around her back. She moved closer into his body and leaned on him as they walked.

As they walked they stopped as they both smiled looking out into something that they had never seen before. "Look," Shinji said to her as he stared at it with wonder. "Do you see it?"

"Yes." Asuka said with a wide smile. "It's more beautiful then I could ever imagine. I've never seen anything so beautiful before."

"Let's go, Asuka." He said happily to her as they both walked forward.

They walked forward to a white light that was bright but not harsh to look at. It was inviting and warm.

As they walked in, they felt so much love in their hearts and they smiled at one another. Gently, they kissed each other as they both walked in further and then went inside of the light, disappearing into it.

From that moment on, they were together forever never to be separated again.

END.

A/N: Well, there's your sequel to After Impact. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading & reviewing. All of your comments and all of your emails were great and I have appreciated every single one of them. Just to let you know if you want to be notified when the After Impact & Destiny of One sections on JPonline will be available, just send us an email. We'll put you on the mailing list and when the new sections are up. We're also looking for fan art too so if you loved the stories, do a pic and if we like it, we'll put it up.. . Thanks to you all. Most especially, thank you Nic2951. You by the far have been After Impact & Destiny of One's biggest reader and reviewer and I can't thank you enough. Also big thanks to BigDave. SteamedDumpling. Dar Sel'La also big thanks to my J&P Crew Pac, Rich, Yoko, Jonny, Nausicaa, DSD, Ice & Lulu. You have guys have been great thank you for helping me to write this story and inspiring me to complete it. I am so glad I did this story and I am so glad that you all loved it.

Lastly, I have to say thank you to Hideki Anno who created Evangelion and made it great all though I think that he needs to go forward after End of Eva. Come on, Hideki. We need a sequel. LOL.

Take care everyone and thanks.

Okay, roll credits.