As the end credits roll from Episode XXV, we fade back in to replay the last moment.
Akio and Utena are fighting the Duel Named Revolution.. Close up on Utena as she lunges at Akio, attacking furiously now. The Dios ghost momentarily overlaps Utena.
Akio: Dios? Impossible!
Ritsuko hears this, and is momentarily distracted. Gendo pulls out a pistol and shoots her. The shot hits her collarbone. She screams and shoots him, hitting him squarely in the chest. Gendo falls. Ritsuko falls against the wall, sliding down. She is still alive, but a trail of blood followed her down. As Gendo hits the floor, his pistol discharges one final time. The bullet flies by Utena's ear, and she is startled. Akio's sword impales her through the gut. Utena gasps and drops her sword, falling to the ground.
Rei: Utena-sama!
Switch to Unit 00. Picking up the weapon of an MP Eva, Unit 00 is attacking the reactivating Eva series. Juri is bleeding profusely through the nose and mouth, yet she continues to fight on. Unit 00 cuts the leg off one MP Eva, makes a huge gash in another, and pauses.
In the dormant Unit 01:
Wakaba to Shinji: Look at her go.
Shinji nods.
Juri is breathing heavily.
Switch to NERV control.
Maya: Heart rate is over 130, blood pressure exceeding 250.
Quick flash of Unit 01's Entry Plug. Shinji is listening.
Maya (off): Harmonics pattern erratic.
Misato to Juri: Juri-kun, remove your power plug and reactivate Unit 01. Let Shinji finish this.
Juri (off): No.
Misato: No? That's an order, Fifth Children!
Shinji (off): Stop, Juri-sempai! You don't have to kill yourself for me.
In Unit 00, Juri is still breathing heavy. Unit 00 resumes combat, clashing blades with an MP Eva several times, eventually slicing it open at the waist.
Juri: If I let up, we're all going to die!
In NERV Control:
Misato (desperate): You're going to die before that ever happens!
In Unit 00, Juri looks down at herself. The LCL in the Plug is getting red with her blood. Very red.
Switch scenes to Terminal Dogma. Akio withdraws the Sword of Dios from Utena. It is red with her blood as well. He bends over, picking up her fallen spirit sword. Utena is on the ground, holding her wound.
Akio to Utena: I am sorry. I never wanted to see you harmed like this. If I could, I would have turned you into a noble Princess. It is unfortunate that-
Ritsuko to Akio: Akio-san! We're out of time!
Akio takes one last look at Utena, and then walks back towards Ritsuko. When he reaches her, he bends over, looking at her. She has lost a lot of blood, and is losing more of it. His free hand gently strokes her cheek.
Ritsuko to Akio: It's starting...the Revolutionary Project...go...hurry...
Akio to Ritsuko: I-
Ritsuko to Akio: No words...just do it...
She places her bloody hand over his. They look at each other for a moment, and then Ritsuko pulls his hand off of her cheek.
Akio stands straight, turning to Lilith. As he approaches the pool of LCL, a walkway seemingly appears, splitting the pool into two equal halves. At the end of the walkway, at Lilith's feet, is the vine-covered pair of locked doors that make up the Rose Gate.
Standing between him and the walkway, however, is Rei. Shaking, still in pain, but standing there nonetheless.
Switch scenes back to the Geo Front. Juri is looking at the reddening LCL in her Entry Plug. Her vision is staring to blur.
In NERV Control: Misato and the three technicians are hovered around Maya's terminal.
Misato: Juri-kun! Don't throw your life away needlessly!
Juri turns her head, seeing the distorted form of Unit 01 in the distance. Slowly, her vision begins to clear up. Unit 00 begins moving towards Unit 01. The MP Evas have not remained idle while Juri blanked out, and are all beginning to move again. Most of them are in shambles, with huge, bloody wounds, some of them missing limbs, but nonetheless they are still moving. Unit 00 makes it to Unit 01. It reaches back behind itself, disengaging the power socket. The countdown from five minutes begins on Juri's display. Just as Unit 00 is about to plug the umbilical cable into the back of Unit 01, the MP Evas are upon it. One blade takes a huge slice out of Unit 00's leg, another out of its arm. Unit 00 falls to the ground.
In Unit 01:
Shinji: No!
Juri hasn't given up. Desperately, she is reaching skyward, trying to make Unit 00 put the plug into Unit 01. It almost succeeds when an MP Eva severs the power cord several meters back.
In NERV Control:
Maya: Umbilical cabling-
In Unit 00:
Maya (off): destroyed...
In Unit 01: Shinji and Wakaba watch in terror as the MP Evas are moving in. In Unit 00, Juri's vision begins fading again as Unit 00's arm falls to the ground with the useless power plug.
Switch back to Terminal Dogma. Rei is between the Rose Gate and Akio.
Akio moves to within two steps of Rei.
Akio to Rei: You know what must happen now.
Rei looks at him emotionlessly.
Akio to Rei: Don't look at me that way. You knew this might happen from the moment the first duel occurred.
Rei continues to look at him blankly. Slowly, she turns her head to where Utena is sprawled upon the ground, unmoving. She looks back to Akio.
Akio to Rei: Yes, your friend was hurt. Only one of us could walk away and change the world. Would it have satisfied you if she were the one standing before you now? Does it matter whose blood was spilled?
Rei looks at Gendo's fallen form, then back to Akio.
Akio to Rei: Would you be so quick to judge her had she felled me?
Rei to Akio: Such sacrifices are always needed...
Akio to Rei: Yes. You do understand.
Rei steps aside. Akio walks past her. Rei begins walking towards Gendo, Akio towards the Rose Gate. As Akio gets closer, the pool of LCL begins shifting. The liquid ripples, slowly at first, then, as he nears the Gate, violently. What appear to be the tips of sword blades peek out of the surface of the LCL. The swords, seemingly millions of them, burst out of the LCL and fly into the air. Rei, standing near Gendo's still form, suddenly loses the gown and stands naked. The swords shoot up, swirling around Akio as he approaches the Rose Gate, and them zoom towards Rei.
Switch scenes back to the Geo Front. Juri has all of a minute of power remaining. Unit 00 is upon the ground, however, damaged and motionless, as Juri sits in the Entry Plug on the tip of unconsciousness. The MP Evas quickly surround Unit 00, ignoring the dormant Unit 01. They take to the air and then descend upon Unit 00 like carrion birds.
In NERV Control, all eyes go wide as the MP Evas tear Unit 00 apart. Maya turns away, holding her mouth in revulsion.
Misato: Juri-kun, eject the Entry Plug! Juri!
Misato forces Maya back to the terminal.
Misato to Maya: Get her out of there!
Maya concentrates on the keys only, typing out the necessary commands.
At the Geo Front, the access panel blows off and Unit 00's Entry Plug ejects...straight into the ground. The propulsion jets burrow it several meters backward.
In Unit 01, Shinji is clutching the controls. Wakaba is watching him, concerned in a terrified manner.
Wakaba to Shinji: What are you-
Shinji: Move! Come on, move! If you don't move we're all going to die! Move!
Nothing happens.
Outside, the Entry Plug of Unit 00 comes to rest half-buried in the earth about half a kilometer away, right at the base of NERV headquarters.
In NERV:
Maya: Faint life signs still detected from the pilot of Unit 00.
Misato to Shinji (off): Shinji-kun, eject the Plug from Unit 01. There's nothing more you can do.
In Unit 01, Shinji continues to grip the controls. Outside, the MP Evas have finished ripping Unit 00 apart. All that's left of Unit 00 is a fleshy carcass. They turn to Unit 01.
Wakaba to Shinji: Shinji-kun, we have to-
As the MP Evas take hold of Unit 01 again, Unit 01's eyes light up.
Shinji and Wakaba both look in shock as Unit 01 activates.
In NERV:
Hyuga: Evangelion Unit 01 reactivating?
Maya: But the power socket was...oh my god...
Hyuga: It's berserking!
Outside, Unit 01 roars to life, moving from MP Eva to MP Eva, crushing jaws, breaking necks, and effectively crippling them in turn. The final one, however, is the one that Juri cut open its gut, and that one Unit 01 tackles to the ground...and begins eating.
In NERV:
Shigeru: What?
Maya turns away again. Misato and the others crowd closer.
Misato: The Sē engine?
Hyuga: It's consuming the Sē engine...taking it into itself...
Outside, while the MP Evas again start coming back to life, Unit 01 continues to feast upon the fallen MP Eva. When it finishes, it stands, roaring to the heavens primally. The binders pop off of it, just like when it berserked in Episode XXII. Wings of energy explode out of its back.
Switch scenes back to Terminal Dogma. The Swords of the World's Hate zoom in towards Rei, whose AT-Field suddenly manifests. It keeps them at bay, just inches from her flesh, but more and more and more of them continue to join the others, and she begins to fade from view. It's also obvious, that she can't keep them out forever. The will she is exerting to prevent them from touching her is enormous.
Akio has reached the Rose Gate, using Utena's spirit sword to slash at the gates. They hold firm, repelling every strike.
Rei bends over Gendo's body, taking the hand that merged with the Adam embryo in hers. Gendo, who hasn't yet died, opens his eyes.
Gendo to Rei: Rei?
Gendo's hand merges with Rei's. He gasps in shock.
Gendo to Rei: What are you doing?
Rei to Gendo: Granting your wish.
Gendo to Rei: You-
Rei to Gendo: There is no difference between the two of you. Any sacrifice needed to obtain your desires is deemed necessary.
Ritsuko turns her attention from Akio to Rei. Rei's body absorbs Gendo's hand, and then severs it from his arm, as though his arm never had anything above the wrist to begin with.
Rei to Gendo: This is the legacy of the AT-Field. The fear of others, and the singular nature to think of others as separate, and expendable.
Gendo to Rei: But-
Rei to Gendo: But life is life, not some mathematical value, and no one life has more value than another life.
Akio, meanwhile, is still trying desperately to slash open the Rose Gate, to no avail. The sword shatters. Akio looks at in disbelief.
Akio: After all this time, even this prince's sword fails? Why? Did I not act nobly? Was this not a selfless enough pursuit?
Rei lifts off into the air, the Swords of the World's Hate following her. Gendo lies there, unable to say or move now. Ritsuko is terrified now.
Ritsuko to Akio: Akio!
Akio looks up, seeing the shadow of Rei suddenly moving towards him. He sees Rei floating towards Lilith, and looks resigned to his fate now.
Akio to Ritsuko: It no longer matters...let her decide the world...this is after all, what she was created for.
Rei hovers before Lilith, the Swords completely surrounding her AT-Field. She merges into Lilith. Lilith begins moving, sliding off the nails and falls into the pool of LCL. The SEELE mask on Lilith's face falls off, and Lilith's face is now Rei's. The waves of LCL splash out over Akio, Ritsuko, Gendo, and Utena. Utena begins stirring, and looks over in time to see Rei's face on Lilith as the growing giant leaves Terminal Dogma.
Utena (quiet): Ayanami?
Lilith now begins growing and glowing. She passes through the many levels of NERV. The Swords of the World's Hate are impaling Lilith over and over again. No AT-Field is keeping them at bay. But her size continues to grow, and there aren't enough of them to consume her.
Switch scenes to the Geo Front. As Unit 01 roars skyward, the MP Evas painfully take flight. Four of them bite onto the wings of Unit 01, restraining it. All the Evas begin moving into the air.
Inside Unit 01, Shinji is staring ahead blankly while Wakaba panics.
Wakaba to Shinji: What is happening?
Shinji to Wakaba: I don't know...
Unit 01 doesn't respond as he works the controls. Shinji grits his teeth and manually ejects the Entry Plug.
Switch scenes to NERV.
Misato: Unit 01 captured...no...
Maya: Pilot has ejected.
Hyuga: Eva series climbing, 12,000 meters and still rising.
Misato: It's beginning...just like 15 years ago...
Switch scenes to outside the Geo Front. The Evangelions are now mere dots in the sky. The AT-Fields of the MP Evas all begin to shine in circular patterns.
Back to NERV.
Hyuga: Eva series have opened their Sē systems! AT-Fields inverting!
Misato: An Anti AT-Field...
Shigeru and Hyuga both look at her in horror. Maya is looking at something else, just as terrified.
Maya: Energy reading coming from Terminal Dogma!
Misato: What?
At that point, the massive form of Lilith moves through the Control Center. Everything comes to a screeching halt as all four of them stand up, watching Lilith move beyond them and into the sky. She is still growing, and still being impaled by the Swords of the World's Hate.
Switch scenes: the JSSDF commander and his aides watch the Evas climb higher.
1st officer: Sē systems reaching critical levels...it will no longer be possible to maintain molecular attraction.
JSSDF commander: Mission...failed.
We see Lilith growing out from the Geo Front now, growing even more gargantuan as she expands into the sky. The JSSDF watch in horror. As Lilith continues to grow, she passes through the descending Entry Plug of Unit 01. Inside, Shinji and Wakaba get wide-eyed in fright. Wakaba screams.
Switch to NERV, where Misato and the three technicians are doing the same. All that they can see are Lilith's massive legs as she eventually grows so tall that no part of her is in the room any more. Misato looks down, then looks to the others.
Misato: It seems there is nothing else for us to do here.
Misato heads for the lift that Ritsuko and Gendo used to exit. The three technicians look at other, nod, and follow her. Maya takes the laptop with her. They descend into NERV.
Switch scenes into Terminal Dogma. Gendo, unbeknownst to either Ritsuko or Akio, has managed to pick up his pistol with his one remaining hand. Akio turns from where Lilith used to be and walks towards Ritsuko, As Akio passes by Gendo, Gendo pulls the trigger. The bullet catches Akio dead on in the stomach. Akio's eyes get wide as he slowly looks at Gendo. Ritsuko cries out, but she is too weak at this point to move. Akio falls to his knees, then collapses next to Gendo.
Ritsuko: Akio! Akio!
Utena, meanwhile, has gotten to her knees, shaking in pain and drenched in LCL. She begins crawling towards the Rose Gate.
Akio looks at Gendo across from him. Gendo's face is still now, his hand slack on the pistol.
Utena collapses on the floor again, in too much pain to move. She looks up, eyes focusing on the unopened Rose Gate. She begins crawling again.
Switch scenes to outside the Geo Front. Lilith has caught up to the MP Evas and Unit 01. The ground beneath NERV headquarters begins to shake. It begins to break apart. And then, impossibly, the large form of the black moon, the true shape of the Geo Front, breaks free of the ground and begins moving into the air.
Switch to Misato and the three technicians as they move towards Terminal Dogma. Everything shakes. A brief flash of Utena collapsing on the floor again as Terminal Dogma shakes. Maya looks at the laptop.
Maya: Outer hull is exposed. It's just like 15 years ago in Antarctica...
Switch scenes to the SEELE Monoliths:
SEELE 03: The Geo Front has been returned to its true form. The Black Moon. The Egg of Lilith, the birthplace of the Lilim.
(with a shot of Earth and the black moon rising, we see just how big it actually is. It is moving up towards Lilith's extended hands)
SEELE 09: The shell of the world is cracking, just as we have always wished for.
Shot of the black moon/Geo Front moving up to Lilith.
SEELE 11 (off): If the chick does not break free of its shell, it will die without being born.
Shot of Misato and the three technicians approaching Terminal Dogma.
SEELE 08 (off): We are the chick.
Shot of Shinji and Wakaba. The Entry plug is on the surface of the Black Moon. They have gotten out of the plug, and are holding each other as the black moon nears Lilith.
SEELE 04 (off): The world is our egg.
At the base of NERV headquarters, Juri is halfway out of the Entry Plug. She is covered in blood. She is looking directly at the eyes of Lilith/Rei as the black moon stops moving.
Juri (softly): Rei?
SEELE 12 (off): If we don't smash the shell of the world,
Akio is looking at Gendo's dead body. He is softly uttering the same words to himself.
Akio and SEELE 12 (off): then we will die without truly being born.
He laughs sadly. Utena is still crawling towards the Rose Gate.
Focus directly on Keel's monolith. As he speaks, there is an abrupt zoom so that only SEELE 01 is visible.
Keel: SMASH THE WORLD'S SHELL!
Pull back and show all the monoliths.
SEELE (all): FOR THE REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD!
Lilith places her hands around the black moon. The few remaining Swords are still impaling themselves into her flesh.
Switch back to Terminal Dogma. Utena is crawling painfully still toward the Rose Gate. She is at the base of the Rose Gate, a long trail of blood along the walkway across the LCL pool. Misato, Shigeru, Maya, and Hyuga walk into Terminal Dogma. The first thing they see is Gendo's body, Akio laying still and bleeding, and Ritsuko bleeding against the wall.
Shigeru: Commander!
He walks over to Gendo and checks for a pulse.
Maya gives her laptop to Hyuga and moves immediately to Ritsuko's side. Maya is already shaken up by the events of the past day, seeing Ritsuko like this brings tears to her.
Maya to Ritsuko: Sempai!
Ritsuko smiles faintly at Maya.
Ritsuko: Maya...
Shigeru to Misato: He's dead...
Misato is watching Utena. Hyuga is standing next to her, holding Maya's laptop.
Hyuga (quietly) to Misato: What happened here?
Misato (quietly) to Hyuga: Our last chance.
They both watch Utena right herself, taking hold of the handles on the Rose Gate's doors. They don't budge.
Shigeru is now kneeling over Akio.
Shigeru: This one is alive, whoever he is.
Utena grimaces in both pain and determination as she pulls, but the doors don't move.
Hyuga to Misato: Should we help her?
Misato shakes her head.
Misato to Hyuga: We can't. She has to do it alone. The fate of the world rests in her hands.
Switch to Lilith and the black moon. The last of the Swords pierce her flesh. Lilith begins to glow brightly, radiating enough light that Juri, Shinji, and Wakaba have to look away. At this point, Lilith is high enough in the atmosphere and large enough that she appears to be standing over the planet. Were it not for the LCL still in their lungs, the three of them would be suffocating.
On the ground, we see a family in China step out of their home to see the giant figure in the distance. Many others join them outside. We see the same scene in Hawaii, and several other nearby locales.
The MP Evas' AT-Fields continue to resonate with each other. They shift positions around Lilith, forming an eight-pointed pattern with Unit 01 in the center.
Back to Terminal Dogma. Hyuga looks down at the laptop. His face is solemn. He looks over at Misato.
Hyuga to Misato: The Anti AT-Field is spreading...almost ready to materialize. The one generated by Lilith is magnifying that of the Eva series by an immeasurable factor.
They both look at Utena, who is still struggling with Rose Gate.
Utena rests her head against the gates, exhausted and in agony.
Slow fade out, then fade back into Utena's dorm room. Rei and Utena are together. Rei is reading, and Utena is watching her.
Utena: Say, Ayanami?
Rei looks up from her book.
Utena to Rei: When this is all over, I mean, when you and I don't have to be part of NERV any longer, what do you think we will do?
Rei to Utena: You don't care about the outcome of the duels?
Utena to Rei: Well, no. Even if one of the others happens to beat me, we'll still be good friends, right?
Rei doesn't answer immediately. Utena continues talking.
Utena to Rei: I mean, Juri-sempai and Ikari-kun are both very good people. I don't think they'd be cruel to you if they beat me. I don't know about Soryu-san, but I've already managed to best her once. I don't know if I can defeat Ikari or Juri. But it doesn't matter, because even if I lose, I'm still your friend. No silly contest can change that.
Rei: Tenjou-sama...
Fade back into the present. Utena is crying as she grips the handles again.
Utena: Ayanami...
Misato looks away, walking over to Ritsuko and kneeling down on the opposite side of Maya.
Shigeru: Major!
All eyes turn towards Utena. The Rose Gate has vanished; it has been replaced by a cylinder of LCL with a sleeping Rei inside. This is the Rei we saw in Episode XXIV, and Rei is punctured by thousands of needles, just like Lilith is currently impaled by a million swords. Utena's hands are clutching at the seam of the plexiglass, trying to force it open.
Misato: Amazing...she did it...
Ritsuko to Misato: No...not yet...
The plexiglass seam begins to budge, LCL spraying out all over Utena. She continues to pull at the door.
Utena: Ayanami...
Hyuga looks solemnly at the laptop.
Hyuga (quietly): Anti AT-Field critical limit...exceeded...
Outside, Lilith continues to shine brightly. Juri is looking into the blinding light weakly, one hand protecting her eyes. She looks down at her locket once, and then her body bursts into LCL. The locket falls next to the Entry Plug.
Shinji and Wakaba are holding each other tightly. Neither of them look at the brilliant Rei. Their lips both say "I love you," but we can't hear the words. They burst into LCL together.
In Terminal Dogma, Utena is sprayed by LCL as the door opens just slightly more.
Maya is leaning against Ritsuko, resigned to her fate.
Maya: No one's AT-Field can hold its shape any longer...
Elsewhere, Miki is looking out his window at the giant Rei. He looks back to Kozue, only to find empty bandages and a mess of LCL in the bed.
Miki: Kozue?
He bursts into LCL immediately after.
Elsewhere, Kensuke is looking at a picture of him, Shinji, Toji, and Miki at Ohtori. He bursts into LCL, the picture falling to the ground.
Elsewhere, Toji is talking with someone on the phone.
Toji: No, no you can't see it from here, what are you talking about? Hello? Hello?
He bursts into LCL, the phone clattering against the floor.
Elsewhere, Kaji and Saionji are standing together, watching the giant Rei.
Kaji: The merging of all souls into one. The forced evolution of man into a single, unflawed entity.
Saionji: Third Impact.
They burst into LCL.
In Terminal Dogma, Ritsuko bursts into LCL. Maya screams in terror as this happens, drawing everyone's attention away from Utena. Maya goes next, followed by Hyuga. The laptop falls to the floor.
Utena is being sprayed by an impossible amount of LCL as she continues to budge the door.
Utena: Ayanami!
The sleeping Rei's eyes open slightly. Utena sees this through squinting eyes, and pushes harder.
Utena: Ayanami!
Rei: Tenjou...?
Outside, the expression of Lilith/Rei changes to one of hesitation.
Shigeru: No...not yet...not yet...
He bursts into LCL.
Misato looks around at what used to be her comrades.
Misato: Kaji...
She bursts into LCL.
Akio's eyes indicate a profound amusement that he is going to survive to be part of instrumentality. He smiles wryly as the camera begins a slow zoom towards his face, and then he bursts into LCL as well.
Outside, all across the planet, a red wave of energy is enveloping the land as the Anti AT-Field dissolves everyone into LCL. Thousands of crosses, the souls of those dissolved, begin ascending to the giant black moon.
Inside, Utena is reaching her hand to Rei.
Utena to Rei: Ayanami, take my hand!
Rei to Utena: Tenjou-sama...?
Utena to Rei: Take my hand!
The camera is beginning a slow zoom to Utena from behind. When it is almost upon her, we see only Utena's hand reaching into the cylinder. Rei's needle-ridden arm reaches for Utena's, and when their fingers touch...
The hands both burst into LCL.
The swords impaling Lilith are all absorbed into her. The Spear of Longinus zooms back from lunar orbit and merges into Evangelion Unit 01. The Spear/Eva float softly into Lilith as well. Souls continue to zoom from earth into the Black Moon, and from the black moon, into Lilith.
Slow fade to white, then black screen.
Fade to a medieval countryside. There are scores of people with pitchforks, torches, and farm-type weapons. They are standing in front of a locked door, crying out for help.
Villagers: Come out, Prince! We need you!
Behind the locked door, Dios is laying upon the ground, a young Anthy kneeling next to him. The cries can be heard from outside the door. Dios is breathing hard, looking exhausted.
Anthy: No, don't leave. Stay here and rest.
Dios: But they are calling to me. I must go to them.
Anthy: You'll die if you go!
Villagers: Come out, Prince! You must fight and save our daughter!
Anthy: No more fighting...rest here.
Outside the doors, Anthy is standing defiantly before the crowd. Her arms are spread out as though she is blocking the doors.
Villagers: Where is the Prince? Where is Dios?
Anthy: Dios is gone. I've sealed him where your hands can never again reach him.
Villagers: Infernal witch! Witch!
They move in, and Anthy is impaled upon the weapons of the villagers.
Utena (off): What is this?
Rei (off): This is how the Bride of the Rose came to be. This is what happened to the Prince.
The silhouette of Anthy is still being impaled.
Utena (off): This is the pain you have felt?
Rei (off): She sacrificed herself for the Prince. For that, it is she who must carry the burden of the hate of the world.
Utena (off): How she suffered...
Rei (off): That is also the legacy of the AT Field. While the Lilim cherish their individuality, the fear of insignificance, of powerless in the face of stronger individuals, causes them to rely on others. The Prince was a symbol of hope, and as such, the Lilim would depend upon him instead of themselves.
Utena (off): It is not right to make any one person shoulder such a responsibility.
Juri (off): But isn't that exactly the burden we all accepted?
We now see Shinji and Gendo from Episode III.
Gendo's conference room. Shinji is standing awkwardly before Gendo.
Shinji: Um...uh...father...
Gendo: What do you want?
Shinji: Well...it's been two years...since...uh...we've seen each other...
Gendo: I don't have time for this. Is there something you need?
Shinji begins to get frustrated.
Shinji: Is the only reason you called me here to pilot Eva?
Gendo: I called you here because I have need of you.
Shinji: To pilot Eva?
Gendo: What other reason would there be?
Shinji: Why me?
Gendo: Because no one else can.
That's it for Shinji, he screams.
Shinji: I HATE YOU!
Shinji storms out.
We now see Shinji crying alone in the cooling cages of NERV.
Kensuke (off): I had no idea that is what it was like for you.
Shinji (off): I didn't think I had a choice. I was told I was the only one who could do it.
Utena (off): As was I.
Juri (off): As was I.
Miki (off): As was I.
Kozue (off): As was I.
Asuka (off): As was I.
We now see large, panning shots of Unit 00, then Unit 02, and finally Unit 01.
Miki (off): But you refused to do it.
Kozue (off): I knew there were others that were willing to. I was ready to depend on you.
Juri (off): But nonetheless, you agreed to pilot Eva, too.
Kozue (off): I didn't want my brother to be harmed.
Wakaba (off): Is that the only reason?
Kozue (off): No...I knew that if Miki could get hurt, then anyone could get hurt.
Rei (off): You felt the burden of responsibility. The Swords of the World's Hate pointed at you for not agreeing to be a prince.
Akio (off): Either way, you could not win. You become dependant if you do not act, yet you become trapped if you do.
Ritsuko (off): And it is far easier to not act, to be one who is rescued rather than one who rescues.
Kensuke (off): Yet, those who can only be rescued long to be the rescuer.
Shinji (off): But they never realize how difficult it is to bear up to that responsibility.
Asuka (off): And those that are the rescuer learn to fear being rescued, as they do not wish to be thought of as weak.
Kaji (off): Facades of ineffability become necessary for those who cannot experience both sides.
We see several scenes of "life as normal" at the Ohtori Academy.
Keel (off): This is one of many reasons the AT-Field was removed from all. Without it, there's no difference between the rescuer and the one rescued. All are equal.
Misato (off): That is not the only reason you felt mankind needed redemption.
Ritsuko (off): What if I am not worthy of being rescued?
Juri (off): What if I am resented by the ones I save?
Shinji (off): Why bother saving those who would hate me?
Utena (off): A prince doesn't require acceptance or acknowledgement.
Akio (off): A prince who isn't allowed to desire such things becomes nothing more than a machine.
Rei (off): And so the division continues.
Shinji (off): But...nobility is being selfless. To rescue others without expectation.
Asuka (off): But a truly noble being doesn't understand the other side of things. Having never experienced both halves of the whole-
Juri (off): -they assume that everyone is like them, or aspires to the same morality. And even those that have-
Touga (off): come to believe that everyone can change, and desires to change in the same manner in which they have.
Akio (off): But the brutal truth of the world is that most do not wish to change.
Nanami (off): They are comfortable with the side they are accustomed to.
Shinji (off): But does of this matter? In the end, we were the only ones who could do it. The burden placed upon us was real.
Juri (off): Yes. Everything was dependant upon us. Whether or not we were noble doesn't matter.
Utena (off): Was it fair that this role was forced upon us?
Miki (off): We all accepted it in one fashion or another.
Kensuke (off): You, unlike most others, embraced this burden as an honor.
Asuka (off) That is the mark of nobility. The willingness to sacrifice your own well-being for that of others.
Toji (off): Most people, though, do not possess this quality.
Now, whenever someone speaks, we actually see them speaking.
Misato looks at Kaji before the crucified Lilith.
Misato to Kaji: We either justified our actions in the name of the greater good, all the while thinking only of the goal at hand.
Kaji to Misato: Or, alternatively, were suspicious of the motives of others and sought to uncover the darkness behind them.
Saionji speaks with Touga on the Student Council balcony.
Saionji to Touga: The matter at hand was always trust, or rather, a lack of trust.
Touga to Saionji: In many cases, this mistrust was justified.
Asuka speaks to Juri in the fencing gym.
Asuka to Juri: And in other cases, it was not.
Juri to Asuka: The validity of these suspicions is not the point, simply that they existed is.
Ritsuko speaks with Akio in the Chairman's tower.
Ritusko to Akio: The noble and innocent are always trusting until the truth of a betrayal becomes known.
Akio to Ritsuko: And then, nobility turns into hatred. And then, with that hatred, they look to a prince to set things right again.
We now see the young Misato, curled up in her padded room, aphasiac after witnessing the Second Impact. She stares off blankly. Utena stands in there, looking at her. "Normal" Misato stands next to Utena.
Utena: Misato...
Misato to Utena: There was no prince for me then. I was trapped within my coffin, and no one lifted the lid. I had to open it myself, and then find the courage to step out of it. And though it was difficult, and took me years, eventually I did.
Misato and Utena now stand before the coffin where little Utena hid. The lid is open and they are looking in at little Utena.
Misato to Utena: You would have eventually found the strength to leave your coffin as well. It wouldn't have been an easy road, but you would have done so.
Utena to Misato: Would I be the same person?
Misato to Utena: As a child, a Prince rescued you. You then vowed to be the Prince, and never to need rescuing again.
Akio now stands there with them.
Akio to Utena: You became noble because someone set you on that path. But the seeds of that nobility always resided within you. It's possible that you would have found them without anyone's intervention.
We now see Asuka and Juri standing before the battle with the Sixteenth Angel. They watch as Unit 00 and Unit 02 struggle to overcome the Angel.
Asuka to Juri: Most people accept the sacrifice of others when the cause is great enough. The history of our people was written in such sacrifice.
Juri to Asuka: But the truly noble do not feel this way. To the noble heart, no sacrifice is acceptable, except that which is given freely.
Asuka to Juri: The sacrifice of one's own life so that another may live is viewed as the highest nobility.
Juri to Asuka: But this is the only sacrifice the truly noble will tolerate, since no one is harmed in the process except one's own self.
Akio now appears behind them.
Akio to Juri: But it is exactly this quality that is the downfall of all princes. The world looks to them for help, and will continue to look to them for help, because they know the prince will never stop as long as they are able.
Unit 02 traps the Angel inside itself and self-destructs.
Asuka to Juri: And eventually, someone will realize how the prince is suffering, even if the prince does not realize it. That someone will be touched by their nobility, and will sacrifice their own life for that of the prince.
Akio to Juri: The sacrifice of another for their sake is more than most princes can take.
We now see Kozue standing before a hospital bed where a bandaged Miki rests.
Kozue: Most princes never understand the hands that manipulate them. They look at the world and see only those who need help. But the world looks at the prince as sees only a resource to be exploited, often forgetting that behind the quick sword and noble air, a flesh and blood person exists.
The positions reverse, now Miki is standing before the bandaged Kozue.
Miki: But the prince cannot save them all. Even if there are ten princes, the world will only come to depend on them even more. The world doesn't want to save itself, it wants others to do the work so that it may reap the rewards.
Keel (off): All the more reason to eliminate the AT-Field which separates the hearts of each individual. The more separate we are, the more flawed we become.
We now see Keel standing with Akio and Gendo in front of Lilith in Terminal Dogma.
Keel: As the flaws of each individual become known by all, so are those flaws eliminated by the strengths of others. This is how the species will be revolutionized.
Akio: But that, in itself, is flawed. Combining the impurities of others into one will not result in a single pure being.
Gendo: Since every individual is unique, the strengths and weaknesses of others should balance themselves. Each flaw is a hole and each strength a peg, and combining them should create a seamless whole.
Akio: The helpless would understand what life is like for the prince, and the prince in turn, come to understand how his nobility affects those he rescues.
Ritsuko now stands behind them.
Ritsuko: Is this not an excuse? Nothing is revolutionized by having others solve your problems for you. All that you've managed to do is prove that if you wait long enough, a prince will make things right.
Keel: It doesn't matter how the flaws of the species are eliminated, so long as they are.
Misato now stands beside Ritsuko.
Misato: Is this not a false rationale? No one evolves without the desire to become something else. All that you've managed to do is give justification to all those who hide within their coffins. A prince might lift the lid for the one inside, but leaving the coffin must be a choice.
Gendo: Sometimes, the only way to free someone is to smash the shell that one hides within.
Kaji now stands with Ritsuko and Misato.
Kaji: Nothing is accomplished simply by smashing the coffin to powder around the one inside it. All you've provided to them is a bigger coffin.
Akio: Better to smash the coffin and show them the world.
Now, Maya, Shigeru, and Hyuga stand with Misato, Kaji, and Ritsuko.
Shigeru: Not everyone can be a prince. That doesn't mean they are helpless.
Hyuga: We could not pilot Evangelion, but that doesn't mean we were helpless.
Maya: Each of us contributed what we could, according to our talents, so that the pilots could succeed where we could not.
Maya & Shigeru & Hyuga: Had we truly understood what we were advancing, we would not have been a part of it.
Gendo: You would have stood aside and allowed the Angels to eliminate us?
Shigeru: That was not your only goal. We were deceived so that what you desired could be obtained.
Hyuga: Such sacrifices are always necessary.
Maya: This is the behavior that the noble hearted abhors.
Mikage now appears between the two groups.
Mikage: Life cannot simply be divided amongst those noble of heart and those who aren't. Choices must be made, often difficult ones, to determine the greater good. Is it wrong that five may die so that a thousand may live?
Saionji now appears next to Mikage. The location has shifted to the Arena of Duels, the castle above everyone.
Saionji: Were those five given a choice?
Mikage: We are not always afforded the luxury of self-sacrifice.
Saionji: Or were they manipulated, and kept in the dark so long as they were useful?
Brief flash of the fire that killed 100 students at Ohtori.
Mikage: Only the self-righteous assume such things can be judged.
Brief flash of the Second Impact.
Saionji: And only the arrogant assume it is theirs to decide them.
Keel: All the more reason to eliminate the AT-Field. Both sides insist a line cannot or should not be drawn, and yet draw it anyway. Without the AT-Field, the line doesn't exist to begin with.
Toji and Kensuke appear with Mikage and Saionji.
Toji: If the AT-Field is removed from everyone, then there can be no divisions anywhere. All is one.
Kensuke: One is all. All boundaries become illusions. Even those of the mind are insubstantial, since everyone is everyone else.
Finally, Wakaba is inserted straight in the middle. This completes the group, so that there are no longer any sides. It is a single whole.
Wakaba: But...if everyone is everyone else, then there is nothing. No nobility. No prince, and no one in need of rescue. No one to love, and no one in need of love. Would anyone truly be anything anymore?
All of them look towards the "camera." And all of them dissolve into LCL, leaving only a pool of LCL that envelopes the screen. All is silent.
Wee see Lilith and the black moon. The last of the souls have entered her. The MP Evas around her go lifeless.
Utena (off): So that's it, then? All that anyone can ever do is lift the lid of the coffin. No good ever comes by forcing the one inside out.
Rei (off): Except seeing the brutal truth of things. Most find another coffin immediately after.
Utena (off): So, if I lift the lid-
Rei (off): Can you do only that?
Fade into an image of Rei in class at Ohtori. This is before Utena came there, before the Angels began attacking. She is sitting alone, as she always did, looking out the window.
Classmate (off): Doesn't she ever speak to anyone?
2nd Classmate (off): Only when she has to.
Classmate (off): What a snob. Does she think she's better than us?
2nd Classmate (off): She must. Why else does she remain alone all the time?
Rei is looking out the window. We see what she is looking at: Juri, sitting alone, gazing at her locket.
Juri moves in behind Rei, placing a hand on her shoulder just as Rei did for her. They are both looking at the Juri outside the window now.
Juri: That's why you accepted me. We are the same. You saw me in you. That's why I was the first.
Rei and Juri now stand in the cooling cages looking at Unit 01. They are wearing Plug Suits.
Juri: Both of us given a purpose, and then denied it.
They are now in Juri's apartment. Juri is on the sofa, curled into a ball, while Rei places a hand on Juri's shoulder.
Juri: Both of us unable to relate our emotions to others. You thought by understanding me, you might understand yourself.
Juri turns, holding Rei's hands.
Juri to Rei: That's why you made everyone's hearts become one. Not so that everyone would understand each other, but so that you would at last understand everyone else, and in doing so, find who you were.
Rei to Juri: Tenjou kept saying that no one life is more valuable than the other.
Juri to Rei: And so you looked at what was happening-
(Image of Gendo's shot body, Ritsuko's shot form, Utena's stabbed form, and Akio's shot form)
Rei to Juri: If all life is equal, it does not matter what form that life takes, so long as it continues to live.
Juri to Rei: And do you still feel that way? Do you feel needed now? Do you feel as though you belong now?
Rei to Juri: No...
Juri to Rei: You wanted to be the Bride of the Rose because it gave others a reason to need you. But something happened you weren't prepared for.
Flash of a black screen. A triangle of white begins slowly appearing in the upper left corner.
We see Utena lose to Juri in Episode XIX. Rei, in the gown of the Rose Bride, looks away from the duel. Juri, in her Student Council/Duelist uniform, stands behind Rei now.
Juri to Rei: You never understood why Utena dueled for you. She never cared about the power to revolutionize the world.
Rei to Juri: But I wanted her to care.
Juri to Rei: Of course. You were afraid she was dueling for some abstract concept of honor and nobility. You clung so tightly to the idea of being the Rose Bride that you wanted her to be the One Engaged because you wanted to see your purpose fulfilled. Being the Rose Bride gave you a destiny that, unlike piloting Evangelion, you could see to fruition. You would be necessary.
Rei and Juri now watch Utena and Touga sitting together being social.
Juri to Rei: You feared after she had lost, that she had simply replaced you, as you had been in so many other ways.
Rei to Juri: That might have been it...
Juri to Rei: But that wasn't the truth.
Rei to Juri: No...
Juri to Rei: Abstract honor and nobility only goes so far. Utena might be the Prince everyone assumed her to be, but like the world, we often forget that there is a flesh and blood person behind the quick sword and noble air.
Flash of Episode XX, where Juri is sitting on her floor sobbing after being slapped by Asuka. Rei watches distantly.
Rei to Juri: You were always so strong, so immovable. You too, are a Prince, but you shattered then.
Juri to Rei: Nonetheless, simply flesh and blood.
They watch as Rei (in episode XXIII) walks by Touga and Utena. Utena looks like she wants to say something and doesn't.
Juri to Rei: Utena didn't care about the power to revolutionize the world. But she did care about you.
The black screen returns, the white triangle in the corner growing, as though as lid is being opened.
Rei to Juri: How could anyone need me if I wasn't the Bride of the Rose?
They are now standing before Fuyutsuki Kozo and Ikari Yui at the oceanside. Yui has a young Shinji with her.
Fuyutsuki: We have created Evangelion to copy God...is this our true goal?
Yui is smiling at the young Shinji.
Yui: Yes. We may be able to live only on this planet, but Evangelion, and the human soul that is inside it, can live forever. In billions of years, long after the Sun and Earth and Moon have vanished, Evangelion will live on. A lonely existence, to be sure, but so long as that one person still continues on.
Fuyutsuki: It will be the eternal proof that we existed.
Juri to Rei: You have lived in the shadow of this woman.
Rei to Juri: I was created to replace her.
Ritsuko (from Episode XXV): She was only a tool to you. A key to unlocking the door to Yui.
Juri to Rei: And now that this purpose has been served?
They now watch Anthy blocking the doors from the angry villagers.
Juri to Rei: You have also lived in the shadow of this girl.
Rei to Juri: I was created to replace her.
Mikage (from Episode XXI): Without the Rose Bride, the Gates of Night cannot open to return the light to the world.
Juri to Rei: And now that this purpose has been served?
Rei to Juri: I have no purpose. No reason to be needed.
Juri to Rei: But nonetheless, you are needed.
They watch Shinji speaking with Utena in episode XXIII.
Shinji to Utena: You? You challenged Juri to a duel?
Utena nods.
Shinji to Utena: I thought you didn't want us dueling anymore. Do you still think Ayanami needs to be protected from the rest of us?
Utena shakes her head.
Utena to Shinji: Not protected, no. It's...I think I want to be the One Engaged, now.
Shinji smirks.
Shinji to Utena: After all of your lecturing, you actually want the power of miracles?
Utena shakes her head again, looking somberly at Shinji.
Utena to Shinji: I don't care about the power to revolutionize the world, Ikari-kun.
Shinji to Utena: Then why...
He pauses.
Shinji to Utena: Oh.
The black screen returns, the white triangle almost 2/3's of the screen now.
Juri holds Rei's hands.
Juri to Rei: You are not Himemiya Anthy. You are not Ikari Yui. You are not the key to unlocking the Gates of Night. Nor are you the key to releasing the barrier of the AT-Fields of all life.
Rei to Juri: Then what am I?
Shinji appears.
Shinji to Rei: You are the same as me. Both gifted and flawed. But regardless of either, loved by someone.
Wakaba appears in Shinji's arms.
Wakaba to Rei: And that makes you, regardless of how you came to be, more important than anyone else in this world, if only for a handful of seconds.
Kozue appears.
Kozue to Rei: Because even if life cannot be assigned a value, each life cannot be measured on a scale of equality.
Miki appears in Kozue's arms.
Miki to Rei: And therefore, combining all life into one eliminates the very thing that made it immeasurable to begin with.
Juri lets go of Rei's hands. Asuka appears behind Juri, embracing her from behind.
Asuka to Rei: And if you can be loved, despite all the reasons someone has not to love you,
Rei's eyes brighten.
Juri to Rei: And if despite all the power you can offer someone, if they look past that and see something more valuable than all that power,
Utena appears behind Rei, holding Rei tightly against her. Rei smiles, eyes very bright.
Rei: Then I am unique!
The black screen goes completely white. The silhouette of an outstretched arm and hand is there in the white light.
Utena is standing before the cylinder of LCL in Terminal Dogma. She rips open the door, and is bathed in a tidal wave of LCL that covers the screen.
Lilith arches backward over the earth, collapsing as a geyser of LCL erupts from her neck and showers the earth. The black moon breaks apart, showering both Lilith and the earth with LCL. Evangelion Unit 01 breaks free of Lilith, taking the Spear of Longinus with it as it moves towards the stars. Lilith's body breaks apart, falling into the ocean of LCL that now covers the world. There is silence then, only the lapping of waves against the beach as the LCL ocean ripples. This continues for one complete minute.
Fade out.
Black Screen: 2017
When we fade back in, the world is now red. It is a different looking place. The ocean of LCL is smaller, but still there.
Misato (off): One by one, those of us with the desire to regain our individual shapes pulled ourselves from the soup of life.
Scenes of people slowly putting the world back together. They are building the rudimentary parts of a small community.
Misato (off): It was far fewer than anyone would have suspected.
We now see Misato and Kaji together. They are standing at the edge of the LCL ocean, watching it as it laps against their feet, holding hands.
Misato (off): And though more of us emerge every day throughout the many new communities of the world, some will never regain their individual forms. The lure of being part of a whole, where you existed everywhere and thus nowhere, was stronger than the wills of many. Even more feared returning to the world of the individual, where the AT-Fields of everyone could hurt them again.
Misato and Kaji turn their heads, and see Ritsuko standing alone several meters away. She looks somewhat sad, wearing all black, and tosses a single rose into the LCL ocean.
Misato (off): Those of us who emerged from the singular being didn't do so unchanged. Even if we couldn't remember the entire experience of being part of a complete psyche, we did remember that at one time, we were one, and that feeling, that understanding of how all others feel, came out of the primordial soup with us.
Cut to Misato and Kaji's hands. Looking closer, their hands are not holding, they are merged into each other.
Misato (off): That was not the only change. The barrier of the soul, the AT-Field that gave us form, was different. We could control it in small ways, allow others in as we could not before. Share ourselves with others the way we had when part of the singular being.
Their hands withdraw from each other, and they begin walking back towards the other people. Shinji and Wakaba are amongst them, as are Miki and Kozue.
Misato (off): There is still the fear of others, still the dependence of others, but it is not as great as it once was. The memory of the old world remains with us, but it is a whisper lingering in the reality of the new.
Flash of the all the Duelists (Utena, Shinji, Miki, Juri, Asuka, Saionji, and Touga), swords in hand, along with Rei, the Dios monument from Episode XXV behind them.
Misato (off): Was this a revolution?
Flash of all the Evangelion pilots (Rei, Kozue, Utena, Shinji, Asuka, Miki, Juri and Nanami) in their Plug Suits, with Units 00-03 and a crucified Lilith behind them.
Misato (off): Or an evolution?
Misato looks back toward the ocean of LCL once more.
Misato (off): I suppose, in the end, it really doesn't matter.
Switch scenes: We see Evangelion Unit 01, floating through the cosmos, with the Spear of Longinus.
Switch scenes: A makeshift grave-marker. There is no writing on it. One hand reaches down, placing Juri's locket on a nail, so that the locket hangs from it. Another hand then reaches down, placing a Rose Signet on the same nail.
Juri (off): It's a big world out there.
Utena (off): I know. But we will find her.
Pull back. Juri and Utena are standing together on a cliff, overlooking the LCL ocean where the split head of Lilith/Rei still rests. Juri is wearing her Student Council tunic, and Utena wears her black one. Both of them have swords at their sides.
Utena to Juri: Are you ready?
Juri to Utena: Yes.
They begin walking towards horizon of the new, red earth.
Utena to Juri: What are you thinking about?
Juri to Utena: Is this how he started off? We're not going to simply be repeating everything that led to this point are we?
Utena to Juri: I don't think so.
Juri to Utena: Oh?
Utena to Juri: We know why things went wrong before.
Juri to Utena: Yes. It is our chance now.
Utena to Juri: Someday, we'll be tested, I'm certain, just like he was.
Juri to Utena: And when that happens, someday-