Volume 10 (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Tears is the tenth release of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's manga for Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Overview
To prevent the Angel controlled Unit-00 from attacking, Rei self-destructs her Evangelion, destroying Tokyo-3. A few days later a relatively uninjured Rei is revealed, but has no memories of previous events and calls herself "The Third". Doctor Ritsuko Akagi reveals that Rei that was born from the Evangelion that killed Yui. It is revealed that Ritsuko's mother, Naoko Akagi killed the first Rei, since she was an abomination created by Gendo as a replacement for Yui. As such, the second Rei was the one that met Shinji, but apparently died when Unit-00 exploded.

Stage 64: Tears
The Angel pierced Unit-00's A.T. Field and Core and began to fuse with the Eva, and then began to merge with Rei. While Unit-02 is still in trouble since the dual saw is without any effect and throw it, leaving it to the Angel which used the saw to severe Unit-02's leg. After its fall, Unit-02 also got invaded by the Angel. While the Angel was merged with Rei and mentally contacted her, it expressed a desire to merge with her and forced her to feel its pain, which Rei realized was actually loneliness. The Angel tries to lure Rei to become one with it, by saying that she hated the Second Child because Shinji goes to see her everyday, and she wanted him only for herself. After that, Unit-00 is shown growing a fleshy tumorous mass along its back which incorporates the shapes of almost all the previous Angels. Gendo orders to remove the freeze on Unit-01 and send to the battle immediately.

Stage 65: I Want To Become One
Shinji was dispatched in Unit-01 in hopes to save Rei and Unit-00 from the invading Angel. Unit-01 goes to save Unit-00, but the Angel sensed its coming. The Angel destroyed the rifle and began to merge with Unit-01, and takes the shape of white naked Rei. Shinji uses Unit-01's Prog Knife and stabs the Angel, but it affected Rei as well, because she is physically merged with the Angel. Rei inverted Unit-00's A.T. Field in order to hold the Angel inside its Core, and she refused to leave the Eva and activates the self-destruction mode. The Core collapsed, and Unit-00 exploded along with a mass portion of Tokyo-3.

Stage 66: Without Reaching Your Heart
The reader is shown Rei’s thoughts in her final moments of life, and everyone's faces were shocked of Rei's sacrifice, especially Shinji, who couldn't do anything after this impact.

In the boys' locker room, Kaworu tries to talk with Shinji, saying that Rei was stupid by sacrificing herself, the thing that made Shinji very mad and infuriated, starts to hyperventilate, and then faints. Meanwhile, NERV goes to investigate the remains of Unit-00's Entry Plug, and discovers that Rei is now dead, and Ritsuko orders to classify the details as "Top Secret", recover the Entry Plug and dispose of anything else. After being checked on by doctors, Shinji was taken to Kaworu to stay there for sometime, and when wakes up, he started wondering about Rei, and cries, and Kaworu starts to realize Shinji's feelings. Shinji then remembers Rei's words to him and her request to touch his hand, and reveals his wish to be with her, and not lose her.

Stage 67: Twisted Night
SEELE members have a meeting and discuss their reasons to dismiss Gendo Ikari, including the lose of the Spear of Longinus, the annihilation of both Unit-00 and Tokyo-3 city, and try to have "someone who knows the truth" against Gendo.

At NERV Headquarters, Shinji is still staying in Kaworu's room, but doesn't want to return home because if he does so, he will be more aware of Rei's death, and he feels comfortable by staying at Kaworu's room since he is the only one not grieving over Rei. Misato received a call, and tries to call Shinji, who is hyperventilating while sleeping. Kaworu takes the chance to perform CPR on Shinji, much to his revulsion, waking up and pushing Kaworu away. Kaworu tells Shinji about his feelings when they were fighting the Angel, and asks what human feelings are like (having experienced those through Rei's feelings for Shinji), while trying to appeal to Shinji, but Shinji is repulsed and freaked out. He refuses Kaworu's advances, who asks why Shinji hates him, and notices his cell phone ringing. He answers Misato who informs him that Rei is unbelievably alive. Shinji and Misato rushed to Rei, and got relieved. Although he tells her about what happened in the last battle and not to do something like that again, but she does not know anything, saying that she might be "the third".

Stage 68: Mixing
Shinji is confused about Rei's words "Maybe I'm the third", and asks what she meant by that, but Ritsuko scolds her for leaving her room. Fuyutsuki tells Gendo about SEELE and that they will demand on having answers about her being alive. At first, SEELE intended to meet Rei personally, but Gendo sent Ritsuko in her place. Shinji decided to return home after staying with Kaworu for few days. Shinji asks Misato about Rei's words earlier, but she herself doesn't know either. SEELE takes Ritsuko to interrogate her about Rei. At Rei's room, she wonders why she is still alive, and for who, and takes Gendo's glasses trying to break it, but starts to cry not knowing why.

Stage 69: Tainted Blood
Ritsuko recalls her memories before joining Gehirn In 2008 (NERV's predecessor), when she went with her mother, Naoko Akagi, the Magi inventor. Gendo went with Rei I and they met them at the Command Center. Naoko thinks that Rei resembles Yui, and Ritsuko noticed that her mother's face was horribly twisted with her emotions towards Gendo. Two years later, Ritsuko has joined Gehirn, and witnessed her mother enraged about what Rei told her, and that Gendo doesn't need her anymore. Naoko got enraged more and strangled her to death, and then threw herself off the Magi in suicide. At Naoko's funeral, Gendo approached Ritsuko in order to replace her mother in his plan. Ritsuko called Shinji to go to NERV headquarters to tell him about "Rei's secret". Ritsuko tries to enter the Dummy Plug Plant, but the door won't open without Misato's pass. Misato tells Ritsuko to tell about the secrets about Rei, and Ritsuko replies that Shinji will also go with them.

Stage 70: A Gathering Of Nothingness
Shinji and Misato went with Ritsuko to the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, and they entered a room that look very similar to Rei's room, and Ritsuko told them that this is where Rei was born, and then they continued to the "Eva graveyard", where all the Failed Prototypes are dumped. Ritsuko tells Shinji that that place is where his mother disappeared, and Rei Ayanami replaced her. She then leaded them to the Dummy Plug Plant, and its "Core", which is just empty vessels of Rei, or spare parts for her. Shinji was very self-devastated and was about to fall after seeing that. Ritsuko told about the secrets of the Evangelions, and that they are "humans" born from Adam by the creation of humanity. She then destroys all the dummies of Rei, and declares her foolishness and cries, demanding on Misato to kill her. Shinji gets more confused about his father's schemes.