Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Angels of Armageddon ❯ Chapter 4: "Death Rides on Angels' Wings" ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

DISCLAIMER: The characters, universe, etc. of Neon Genesis Evangelion
are not mine. I make no claim to them. They are used without
permission.

Foreword: Thanks for keeping up with the fic so far. Be warned:
there's some excessive violence in one scene, here.

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" " = speech
^ ^ = thoughts
_ _ = italics (emphasis)

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Angels of Armageddon
Author: Ryan Xavier
Chapter 4: Death Rides on Angels' Wings

It moved quickly, cutting effortlessly through the sky. Its wings
carried it well. It was obviously unfamiliar with its current
physical form, but it was learning quickly.

There had originally been some other...presence, a mind in control of
the body it was in. But that mind had proven to be very submissive.
It had stood by passively while the current controller of the body
took command. It was doubtful that that other presence was even
necessary, anymore.

Soon, very soon, it would be able to put this form to good use.

Because it could sense something not far from where it had awoken.
Something equally large and powerful, only in the service of the
Lillum.

Lillum. The inferior beings. The creatures that copied from that
which they only barely understood, as long as it meant continuing their
pitiful little lives. The name evoked a rage in the thing's heart.
That in itself was odd, since the thing had never before been able to
feel _anything_, let alone something as strong as rage. But it somehow
knew that that was the emotion it felt. Apparently, the events of
Third Impact had affected the thing, just as they had also affected the
Lillum. That realization just made the new feeling of rage grow.

The MP Eva snarled with pent-up emotion and swept its wings back,
accelerating in an effort to reach its destination more quickly.

* * *

Asuka groaned and rolled over as her unwelcome dream finally came to
an end. Her eyes fluttered open, giving her an up-close view of the
dirt ground. She groaned again and rolled over. After a moment to
gather up some motivation, she sat up, stiffly.

She flexed her right arm. It was feeling sore this morning. It had
felt sore a few times before, so she thought nothing of it. ^What was
I dreaming about, again?^ she asked herself. She tried to remember,
but, like most dreams, all memory of it had already evaporated.

She felt dizzy and sick. The whole concept of getting out of bed made
her want to retch, right now. ^Baka,^ she chided herself. ^You knew
drinking wouldn't get you anywhere. Did I at least loosen up around
Ayanami? Damn, I can't remember...^

She held her head and lay back down on the blanket, staring upwards at
the rough surface of the rock that served as a ceiling. Best just to
let the hangover pass. Maybe she could go back to sleep for a
while...

Thoughts of sleep got her thinking about dreams, again. She couldn't
remember the dream she'd just had, but she was certain it had been
very sad, and frightening, too. Well, nightmares happened once in a
while. Nothing to worry about, not when there was already so many
other things to worry about in the waking world.

But, oddly enough, she could remember the dream she'd had _before_ the
last one. Something about Shinji...what had it been? She'd heard his
voice...oh, yes, he'd been talking with Ayanami. About what?

^Talking about me and him,^ she answered herself. ^And Ayanami...she
changed the subject real quick, when he said something about us. Like
she didn't want to hear what she was hearing.^

She also remembered the tone of Rei's voice. It had been subtle,
_very_ subtle. But Asuka had managed to pick it up. Ayanami, though
she'd been doing a good job of hiding it, had been sounded sad.

The signs were all there. You just had to take notice. Asuka _had_
taken notice, and she knew what they meant...

She smiled to herself. ^Damn, I have crazy dreams,^ she thought.
^Ayanami having a thing for Shinji? Yeah, right.^

She rolled over and closed her eyes, deciding it would be a good idea
to just wait the hangover out. Maybe she could see that last dream
again...and try to _remember_ it this time...

* * *

Later that morning, Shinji was talking with Kaoru. Shinji was still a
little nervous in the presence of the former Angel, but he fought it
down. Kaoru was still his friend, no matter what.

"So, what is it you wanted me to see?" Kaoru asked, squinting in the
early morning sun.

Shinji pointed off into the distance, towards Tokyo-2. "Right
there," he said. "I think we might be able to use the Eva for
something worthwhile."

"Such as?" Kaoru asked, glancing back at the other boy. "There's not
much left of the city."

"Yes, but there are a _few_ things left. Currently, we need
everything we can find. But we're all too scared to go in, because
any of those buildings could fall over if you so much as _look_ at
them funny. But I was thinking this morning...that an Eva wouldn't
have that trouble."

"Now, you understand the Eva's not as strong as you may be used to,"
Kaoru warned. "I only just barely make it produce an AT field - "

"It's better than nothing," Shinji said, hope filling his voice. "It
doesn't need to sit through a nuclear blast. The armor alone on Unit-
00 should be enough."

"Have you checked with Ritsuko-san on this?"

"Well...I was planning to, eventually. But I know how tough Evas are."

"Yes, I guess you would. All right, I'll try talking to Rei about it.
She'll probably agree."

"All right."

Shinji looked back to the city, smiling in anticipation. There had to
be _something_ there that had survived the explosion. Something they
could use. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier?

They stood there in silence for another few minutes, listening to the
people begin waking up behind them and feeling the wind blow through
their hair.

"How's...how's Ayanami doing, anyway?" Shinji asked.

Kaoru paused before replying. "She was fine this morning. Why do you
ask?"

"Not sure," Shinji replied evasively. "She just seemed a little
different last night. She actually seemed interested in talking to
me."

"Hm," Kaoru replied, understanding. "Well, that's permitted."

"Yeah..."

Kaoru glanced over at his old friend. He could see the uncertaintly
lurking in Shinji's expression.

"You once told me she frightened you, at times," Kaoru started,
casually. "Does she still do that?"

Shinji remained silent. After a while, he turned his gaze down to the
ground, becoming interested in the dirt at his feet.

"Hm," Kaoru said again, sitting down on the ground. "You didn't seem
to have any trouble talking with her, Shinji-kun."

"I was drunk," Shinji explained, looking back up. Noticing Kaoru had
taken a seat, he sat down, as well, stretching his legs out in front
of him and leaning back on his hands.

"Ayamami's just..." he tried to begin. He stopped there, though, and
looked up at the sky, as though it could help him choose his words.

"It's just...seeing her again, is like seeing an old friend...but an
enemy at the same time. I can't help it, it's just that when I look
at her, I can't help thinking about...you know, _it_, when it
happened."

Kaoru nodded knowingly. He knew Shinji was talking about Third
Impact. He'd had a chance to see, actually. He'd seen Unit-01, just
before it had finally been absorbed.

^He probably thinks the same things about me,^ he thought. ^He just
doesn't want to say it to my face.^

Shinji shivered. "And I can't get that off of my mind. I can make
myself talk to her, I guess. It was easy enough last night, because
then she was acting more like an ordinary person. But, when I see her
out by the Eva..."

Kaoru nodded again, not wanting to say anything. He could tell Shinji
had a few things to get off of his chest.

"It's like she's not quite human. It's kind of disturbing to think
that, even when I know it's true. Even _knowing_ she's a clone, and
that's she's part Angel, I still can't get over it. Because she still
looks so human, so..."

"...so much like your mother?" Kaoru finished.

Shinji turned his head sharply, glaring at his friend. "I know what
she looks like, Kaoru," he said. "But Ayanami's not my mother. My
father might have tried deluding himself into thinking that she was,
but I _won't_."

"Sorry," Kaoru said immediately, apologizing for one of the few times
in his life. He could tell Shinji was being genuine, with these
comments.

"My mother's gone," Shinji said, more to himself than to anyone else.
"And I refuse to act like my father towards Ayanami..."

They sat there, saying nothing, for several more minutes. Sounds of
people waking up and starting their morning activities filled the air,
but it still felt disturbingly quiet between the two boys. Kaoru
finally concluded that Shinji had nothing more to say, at least not
for now.

"Well, then, if that's all..." Kaoru said, getting up.

Shinji looked over at the other boy. "Kaoru-kun...don't tell Ayanami
what I said." His voice was softer, much calmer than it had been with
his last comment.

Kaoru looked back at Shinji for a long moment, saying nothing.
Finally, he nodded and walked off. Shinji watched him go, then turned
back to watching the city. The same uneasy silence fell back down on
the boy.

^Ayanami...yes, she _does_ look like my mother. Even more so, now.
Father, why'd you have to do that to her? It's like she can never be
her own person.^

He shifted position, turning to look out to the sea of LCL. ^Two
years ago...yeah, I remember what I saw. Ayanami's head in the sea,
there. Glad it fell apart, though...don't think I could've taken
looking at it every day.

^Seems like every time I see her, Ayanami's different. After she
destroyed her Eva to stop that one Angel, she was cold and distant,
even moreso than usual. But now...I think she wants a friend. I just
can't tell, with her. Maybe I should talk to her...^

At that thought, he unconsciously turned his head towards Rei and
Kaoru's home. He couldn't miss seeing the form of Unit-00 waiting
outside of it. At the sight of the Eva, he shuddered unconsciously.

^Or maybe I could wait for her to come talk to me again. She did it
once, so she could do it again, right?^

"Mornin'," came a groggy voice from behind him, shattering his train
of thought. Shinji turned around to see Asuka stumbling up, holding
her forehead with one hand. He shook his head, a smile breaking out
over his face.

"I'd ask how you were feeling, but I can pretty much guess," Shinji
said, walking up to her and giving her a hug.

Asuka relaxed in his arms, then nodded. "Yup," she said. She then
muttered a few things in German, basically saying, "I feel like
crap." Shinji couldn't understand the language, but he could pretty
much guess what she was saying from the tone of her voice.

After they released each other, Shinji took her over to the camp and
sat her down on the ground. Then he went to get some water, which he
knew from experience from Misato would probably help. When he got
back, Asuka took a cup of the stuff and started drinking, hoping it
would clear her head. Shinji quietly sat down next to her.

"So remind me..." Asuka said, after her first long sip. "What
happened last night, exactly?"

Shinji sighed, quietly. "Well, after you fell asleep, me and Ayanami
carried you back here."

Asuka blushed a little. "Must've been embarassing."

Shinji shrugged. "Not much. Ayanami's, well...I think she was all
right with it."

"OK. So then let me guess...Rei got bored and left after that?" Asuka
asked, taking another drink.

"Actually, no. She stayed outside and talked with me for a while."

Asuka's mind, still clouded, didn't register the response immediately.
But when she _did_ realize what she'd heard, she choked and
spluttered, getting the not-so-desirable sensation of water going up
her nose.

"What was that all about?" Shinji asked, giving her a worried look.

"Just too much at once," Asuka said quickly, covering for herself.
"What'd you talk about?"

"Ah, not much," Shinji replied, turning to look back at the city in
the distance. "She just asked me a few questions about you, asking
when we got together."

Asuka's eyes narrowed. "Really?" she asked.

"Uh huh. I think she's just feeling lonely." He laughed. "Maybe
she's met someone, and wants pointers on how to get to know him."

"...I'll bet," Asuka replied, slowly.

So...maybe it _hadn't_ been a dream. She'd have to look into this.

Asuka slowly sipped her drink, thinking. ^Ayanami wouldn't...nah,
it's crazy. But then again, I _do_ have to try giving her a chance.
This is as good an excuse as any to talk to her, I guess.^

At some point while she was lost in her thoughts, Shinji brought her
something that passed for breakfast. When he tapped her shoulder to
get her attention, she jumped, only now noticing he'd brought food.

"Oh...thanks," she said, absentmindedly. She started eating, slowly,
quickly getting lost in her thoughts again.

"Something wrong, Asuka?" Shinji asked, noticing the girl's distracted
manner.

Asuka was again snapped back to the real world. "Huh? Oh, no,
there's nothing wrong. Just thinking."

"Oh," Shinji said, unconvinced.

A thought hit Asuka at that moment. She figured she might as well
take advantage of it. "Shinji...when you were talking to Rei, did she
ask you a certain question?"

Shinji looked at her, confused, before it clicked in his mind.
Embarassed, he looked to the ground. "Uh...what kind?"

"Did she ask you if you loved me?" Asuka asked, getting straight to
the point. ^Sorry, Shinji, but I just gotta push you once in a while.^

"Uh...yeah. Yes, she did."

"And..."

"And?"

"And what did you say?"

Shinji took a moment to collect himself. "I said yes," he replied,
managing to keep himself from stumbling over the words. "And I meant
it, you know."

Asuka said nothing. She carefully put down what she'd been eating,
then turned back towards Shinji. She crawled over the short distance
between them, and looked into his eyes as though searching for
something. Concerned with what she saw, she leaned forwards the last
few centimeters and put her lips on his.

She felt Shinji respond immediately, moving his arms around her waist.
She felt her cheeks heating up, despite herself. Apparently
satisfied, she pulled back, even though it had just been getting
interesting.

"Not so early in the morning, baka," she said, tapping him on the
chest with her fist.

"But..." Shinji was about to say that _she_ had started it, but
figured it wasn't worth an argument this early.

Asuka turned and resumed her previous seat, going back to eating. ^No
reason to worry,^ she thought, now reassured of her standing with
Shinji.

Shinji coughed and tried to get rid of the blush that had spread
through his own cheeks. "So...anyway, today I was going to ask Kaoru-
kun to take the Eva through the city, and see if there's anything
worthwhile left there."

^Great, loud noises,^ Asuka thought, massaging her temples. ^Hope
I've recovered by then.^

"Not a bad idea," she said in reply, glancing over at the city.
Another thought hit her. "Will...Rei be there, too?"

"Probably. I'm sure she'll want to keep tabs on the Eva."

Asuka nodded. She took another sip of the water, trying to calm
herself. ^Maybe I'll get a chance to get things sorted out with her,
then,^ she thought.

* * *

It was a standard peaceful day outside of what remained of Tokyo-2.
Peaceful, that is, because there weren't any people around. The
buildings that were still standing were long abandoned. Their walls
were discolored and darkened with all manner of molds, slowly eating
at the remaining rock. There wasn't a single pane of glass that
hadn't been cracked or shattered. The buildings themselves sagged,
leaned, and otherwise sat in odd positions for what were supposed to
be sturdy edifices. Through it all, the only noise was an occasional
breeze, whistling through the buildings on its way over the land.
Yes, Tokyo-2 was truly peaceful, now that there weren't any people
there.

But that would not be the case forever.

A bird landed on the ground and started picking around, looking for
things to use to build its nest. It felt a tremor ripple through the
earth, but didn't notice. More tremors followed, in a rhythmic
beating, and the bird still ignored them.

Finally, the bird looked up, chirped loudly at what it saw, and flew
away at top speed.

A second later, an enormous armored foot crashed down right where the
bird had been, sending a small quake through the earth and leaving an
enormous footprint. Another foot followed soon after, as the huge
machine kept moving.

Rei sat on the Eva's shoulder as it lumbered towards the city. Kaoru
stood on the other shoulder, steadying himself with a handhold on the
Eva's head. Behind them, a small group of people was following on
foot. That group was the recovery crew, composed solely of
volunteers. Among the group were Shinji and Asuka, there to provide
leadership and support if nothing else. Kensuke was also present, not
wanting to miss out on any possible salvage.

Rei wasn't paying attention to any of this, though. She was lost in
her thoughts. For some reason this morning, she'd begun to remember
some of the things she'd forgotten while she'd been liquefied with the
rest of humanity. She'd begun to remember what had happened during
Third Impact. Not all of it, though; she doubted her consciousness
could split that many ways anymore.

But she _could_ more clearly recall the last conversation she'd had
with Soryu. ^So...did I _ask_ her to return to the world? I may
have. Because I was...I was...worried about Ikari-kun. He couldn't
have survived long when he was alone. I understood that much about
him.^

She shifted around, turning and leaning on where the Eva's shoulder
began to rise up into its neck. Staring at the terrain moving past,
she kept thinking.

^I knew I couldn't go back. At least I...didn't think that I could.
So I looked for a surrogate.^ She closed her eyes, mentally kicking
herself. ^Perhaps it would've been better to choose someone else.
But did I know I felt this way about Ikari-kun? I don't know. I
cared enough about him that I didn't want him to suffer, but is
that...love? Is what I feel _now_ love? I sounded fairly confident
when I answered Kaoru-san, but I'm still not sure. Perhaps...perhaps
I should try talking with Ikari-kun again.^

Her thoughts were interrupted as the Eva stopped short. The momentum
of the sudden halt almost made Rei slide off the shoulder, but she
caught herself before that could happen, grabbing onto the armor plate
of the shoulder.

The Eva's hand came up, and she jumped down into it, seeing that Kaoru
had done the same thing in the other hand. Once they were lowered to
the ground, the Eva started walking again, crossing into the ruins of
Tokyo-2.

"To what distance can you control it?" Rei asked.

Kaoru shrugged. "Far enough. I probably shouldn't get too far away
from it, though."

Rei nodded, then watched as the Eva proceeded in. Its first steps
sent a few of the more shaken buildings collapsing in on themselves,
throwing clouds of plaster and dirt into the air. The rest of the
buildings, though, proved to be more well-built. They stood steadily,
almost seeming to watch as the mecha approached.

"Alright, let's divide this up," came Shinji's voice from behind her.
Rei didn't turn around, but her eyes still shifted over to one side,
trying to look in his direction.

"Right, right," Asuka's voice responded. "What do the buildings on
the other side look like?"

"More of the same."

"Damn. I guess the Eva's starting here, though?"

"We have to start somewhere," came a different voice, which Rei
recognized as Kaoru's. The girl finally turned around. She saw the
three teens standing in a loose triangle, with Kaoru only just now
walking up to them.

"And actually, Shinji-kun," Kaoru added on, "I had a better view than
you did. The buildings over there look sturdier," he said, pointing
at another sector of the city.

"Figures," Asuka said, putting her hands on her hips. "I think that's
the residential district. Gotta build those places strong, in case of
quakes, eh?"

Shinji just nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"So I think it would be best if we started here," Kaoru said,
gesturing to where the Eva was standing. "This area's more likely to
fall down, so we should get it over with quickly."

"Alright. So you, Rei and Eva are starting here?" Asuka asked,
casually throwing in the blue-haired girl's name, just to confirm.

"Yes," Kaoru said, nodding.

Asuka turned towards the boy next to her. "Shinji, why don't you
start off on the other side, then?"

Shinji's brow furrowed. "But it's dangerous here, Asuka. Why don't I
take this half - "

"No, no, I'm fine," Asuka said, waving him off and putting on her best
'I can do anything' look. "And it's not like I'm going in, anyway.
So get going, baka," she said, grinning toothily as she shoved him off
in the appropriate direction.

By a sheer work of fate, "the appropriate direction" also happened to
be towards Rei. The pale girl's eyes widened slightly as she saw
Shinji stumbling towards her. He wasn't very far...if she'd been
standing just a little closer, he'd have bumped into her. They'd have
been right up against one another...Rei felt her pulse quicken at the
thought.

Asuka, still looking in the direction she'd pushed Shinji, noticed
Rei's subtle reaction. Her eyes narrowed again. ^I really _do_ need
to talk to her.^

"Geez, Asuka!" Shinji called out, in a voice full of fake anger. "If
I trip and break my leg, it's on your shoulders."

Asuka just tossed her head and turned away, smiling to herself.
Shinji waited, staring at her back. Finally, Asuka turned her head,
looking at him out the corner of her eye.

"Sorry," she bit out, though the smile she still had on kind of ruined
the effect.

Shinji shook his head, then called out to the recovery crew that had
been following. About half of the group split off, following Shinji
as he started off towards the residential area.

Asuka watched him go. ^Baka,^ she thought to herself. ^You know he
can handle himself.^

She kept watching, though, until he'd turned and was lost to sight.
Only then did she turn to the remaining people. A few quick commands
got them moving.

The volunteers came up to the nearest structure, which looked like it
might have once been an office building. The Eva raised them up to
the roof with its hands, then stood by, not moving, as they descended
into the structure.

Kaoru closed his eyes in concentration and willed the Eva's AT field
into existence. It wasn't very strong, but it was an AT field
nonetheless. With no small effort, he redirected the field so that it
could help hold up the building long enough for the search crew to
finish going through it.

Rei watched, an intense look on her face. The people going in were
taking their lives into their hands, and not because they'd been
ordered to. They'd _wanted_ to go. ^They took control of their own
lives,^ Rei thought. ^Something I need to better learn how to do.
Perhaps I should talk with some of them later. If any of them
survive, that is.^

"Guten Morgen," came a voice from beside her.

Rei turned around and saw Asuka walking up to her. She met the
redhead's eyes for just a moment, giving no other reaction. Then she
turned back to watching the recovery work.

"Say, Rei...are you really doing anything important, here?"

Rei glanced back at Asuka. "What do you mean?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rei blinked, wondering what Asuka wanted. Finally, she nodded,
wordlessly.

Asuka cocked her head in one direction, signaling for Rei to follow
her that way. The blue-haired girl followed obediently, not knowing -
and not really caring - what this was about. Until last night, Soryu
had always tried to _avoid_ her. So why talk now?

Finally, Asuka stopped near one of the old buildings. This one looked
a little more stable than some of the other ones; it probably
presented no immediate danger of falling on them.

"So...what'd you think of that little get-together last night, Rei?"
Asuka asked, turning to look at the other girl.

Rei averted her gaze, turning her head to look inside the building
through a window.

"It was a new experience," she said, calmly.

Asuka fought the urge to roll her eyes at the evasive response.
"Yeah...I guess it was. For you, I mean."

Asuka started to pace, walking around aimlessly as she tried to choose
her words. Her emotions were a swirl inside of her, ranging from
understanding to outright rage. This was making it rather difficult
to pick the right words for dealing with Rei.

Rei, for her part, wasn't paying any attention to Asuka's internal
struggle. She just peered inside the building, at the dusty, crumbled
interior. There really wasn't much left...she wondered if the rest of
the city was the same case.

Something caught her eye. She stepped back, her eyes refocusing.
There, in the fragment of glass that remained in the window, she could
see her reflection.

It was a silly thing, really. She'd seen herself plenty of times
before Third Impact. And she'd caught glimpses of her appearance a
few times in the past days, in puddles and other pieces of glass. But
this was the first time she'd actually gotten the opportunity to
really _look._

She tilted her head slowly, watching the translucent image of herself
do the same. One pale hand came up, touching her chin and slowly
moving up, confirming that yes, that _was_ her face she was looking
at.

She'd known most of Gendo Ikari's reasons for creating her in the
first place. Among other things, the man had wanted a child he could
be proud of. But...he'd missed his wife so much, that he'd made his
"daughter" in the image of his departed wife. Rei had never thought
twice about it, especially since there hadn't been any pictures of Yui
Ikari to compare herself to.

But during Third Impact, as Gendo had dissolved into the rest of
humanity, Rei had gotten the opportunity to see his memories. And now
she knew what Yui Ikari had looked like.

And, looking at her own reflection, just now...

^I look...the resemblance is so...^

Rei shook her head and looked away. ^It doesn't matter,^ she thought
to herself. ^At least...it shouldn't. I am Rei Ayanami...and no one
else.^

"So I guess I overdid it with the sake," Asuka said, looking a little
embarassed. Her words shifted Rei's attention back to her. The girl
just blinked and responded as though she'd been hanging on every word.

"Yes, you did."

"Yeah...well, I guess I should say sorry, for you having to carry me
back."

"It was not a problem."

Asuka developed a tic under one eye, but only for a moment, as she
forced her temper back into check. ^It's hard dealing with her, you
know that,^ she told herself. ^Just give it a chance...^

"You know how they say hearing's the last thing you lose?" she asked
Rei. "I think they're right."

Rei just kept looking at her, giving no reaction, verbal or otherwise,
to the words.

"I mean...I think I can remember you and Shinji talking outside for a
while after you'd put me down."

"..."

"It was...interesting, hearing you could actually sound interested in
something, Rei."

"Oh."

Asuka tried not to grit her teeth at Rei's simple answers. "I think
you sounded a little different, Rei...sad, maybe? What were you
talking about?"

"I asked Ikari-kun what he had been doing since he returned."

Asuka's eyes widened at how easily Rei had been able to say that.
^Guess she picked up a few things from Shinji's dad. She didn't
_exactly_ lie, but didn't tell the whole truth, either.^

"Yeah, well..." she slowly walked up to Rei, who met her gaze
unblinkingly.

"Rei, you should...learn what we've all learned around here. You
should be happy with what you can get."

Silence fell after that. In the background, the thunder of the Eva's
footsteps could still be heard, but a shell of tense silence seemed to
close up on Asuka and Rei. Red eyes met blue, an unspoken
understanding apparently being exchanged. Or so Asuka hoped.

Finally, Rei spoke. "Is that all you wanted to say, Soryu?"

^Dammit, show _some_ emotion, Ayanami.^ "I just thought you might
want to know that."

Rei didn't even bother to nod in acknowledgement. She just walked
forwards, brushing by Asuka, heading back towards the Eva.

Asuka reached out as Rei walked past and grabbed the pale girl's arm.
Rei stopped short, but didn't look at Asuka.

"Rei, I'm _trying_ to be your friend, here. Could you at least give
me a chance?"

Rei turned her head, such that Asuka could see one red eye staring
back at her.

"I never said you could use my first name, Soryu."

With that, Rei started walking again, breaking free of Asuka's grip,
which had gone limp.

Asuka stood there, shocked, watching Rei's back as she walked away.
Some time after Rei had turned behind a building and disappeared from
view, Asuka finally blinked. She balled her hands up into fists,
shaking with surpressed anger.

Then she started swearing luridly in every language she'd ever
learned, as she took out that anger on the rocks, the ground, and
everything else nearby that looked like it could use a good beating.

^Damn you, Ayanami! Why do I even try?! Why can't you be _normal_?^

* * *

^She knows.^

That was the only thought that was on Rei's mind as she walked back to
where the Eva was still assisting one of the recovery crews.

^She knows how I feel.^

This could be a problem. Rei was not afraid of Asuka per se, but she
knew that the German girl was one of the command figures here, and so
it would not be a good idea to get her angry.

^Especially when she and Ikari-kun are...are...^

She stopped and leaned against a building's wall, turning her head to
watch the Eva standing patiently next to the building across the
street. A few people were already coming out the lower door. Some of
them were carrying things they'd found inside.

^So then why did I feel compelled to act that way towards Soryu? Why
did the thought of becoming friends with her make me...angry? Yes, I
felt angry that Soryu suggested we be friends.^

Rei had always respected figures of authority. Even if they didn't
respect her, or even hated her - which had been the case a few times
before - Rei had never gotten angry with them. She'd never given
them anything but their due respect. Isn't that what they deserved?

^Perhaps I just remember Soryu as a pilot, a co-worker instead of a
commander. So I would have trouble seeing her as anything else.^

But Rei wasn't satisfied with that explanation. She'd never had
trouble handling promotions before. Gendo Ikari had originally just
been her father figure, but over time he'd become commander of a very
powerful organization. And he'd also become her commander, after
she'd been assigned to Eva-00. And with every promotion, Rei's
treatment of Gendo had changed accordingly.

^So if the sudden promotion to leadership status wasn't what made me
disrespect Soryu...^

The last of the search crew had left the building they'd just gone
through. Eva-00 now stepped towards the evacuated structure. It
brought its fist back, then punched the building's wall.

The building, weakened to begin with, collapsed into a heap of rubble
almost instantly. As Rei watched, it caved in on itself with a
thunderous roar, raising up a cloud of dust and debris that almost
reached Kaoru's position on the Eva's shoulder.

^Destroying the building...so it's not a danger anymore,^ Rei
reasoned. ^Destroying the past so you can rebuild in the present.^

She thought about that last bit. ^Is that what Soryu is trying to do?
I doubt we could have ever become friends before Third Impact. Yet
now, that's exactly what she's trying to do...^

Rei had been privileged enough to read Asuka's file before the German
girl had even come to NERV, some years ago. From the psychological
profile she'd read, it seemed the girl's whole _life_ revolved around
her past. It was difficult for Rei to believe that a person like that
could just "let bygones be bygones."

But then again, people change...

She was so wrapped up in these thoughts that she didn't notice the
growing excitement of the people around the Eva at first. When they
started raising their voices, however, she looked up at what they were
doing.

The people were all clustered together, all looking at something on
the ground. Even Kaoru was trying to get through to get a better
look. Interestested, Rei pushed away from the wall and slowly walked
over. As she approached, a voice called out from the center of the
group.

"Geez, give me some _space_, here! There's no guarantee it'll work,
you know!"

Most of the people backed off at this, as though afraid their presence
might now be dangerous. Others hesitated, not wanting to leave, but
then finally took a few steps away.

As they cleared, Rei got a good look at what they'd been centered on:
Kensuke, sitting on the ground, working on some metal box. Apparently
he'd found something interesting in what they'd collected.

As Rei approached, the people who noticed her got out of the way, as
though afraid to even _look_ at her. She didn't pay any attention to
them. She just got up to the edge of the ring of empty space that was
now around Kensuke, watching interested as the boy wrestled open the
back of the metal box.

"What's up?" came Asuka's voice. People got out of her way, as well,
but less out of fear and more out of respect. The German girl showed
none of her previous trepidation, though she made a big show of not
looking at Rei.

"Well, here's somethin' they just found," Kensuke said, continuing to
work. "I think we lucked out, here."

"Well? What is it?"

"I think," - he grunted as he finally pried off the back panel,
exposing a tangle of wires - "I think this is a bona fide radio
transmitter, here."

Asuka blinked, not quite believing her ears, at first. "What?" she
asked, incredulous. "If you're joking, I'm gonna make sure you regret
it, stooge."

Kensuke shot her a withering glance at the nickname, but Asuka
responded in kind, killing off whatever courage he might have had.

"I'm _not_ joking," Kensuke said, leaning over and peering into the
device. "I wouldn't joke about something like this."

Asuka nodded, trying to keep herself from getting too excited. "So
what do you need? Can it work?"

"This looks like it was based on an old military model. That means
everything's internalized. Problem is it won't have much of a range."

"So _can_it_work_?" Asuka asked, looking ready to grab the boy and
shake an answer out of him.

"Battery looks good. Connections look solid. Why not give 'er a
shot, eh?" Kensuke asked, flashing a dumb grin. He reached over and
almost casually flicked the switch on.

Static crackled from long-unused speakers. The excitement in the
recovery team grew quickly, until it was almost tangible.

Kensuke started speaking into the microphone. "This is Kensuke
Aida," he said, "speaking from Tokyo-2. Uh...anyone out there?
Over."

Static was the only response. His brow furrowing, Kensuke reached
over and started turning the knob to change frequencies. Slowly, he
went up through the band of transmitter frequencies, speaking the same
message each time, though with less hesitation.

It took nearly twenty minutes of tense waiting, but he went through
the whole band of transmission frequencies. Throughout, there hadn't
been any response other than static.

"Sorry," he said, leaning back from the piece of equipment. "It
works, I think, but...there's just no one to hear us."

Asuka didn't want to think about what that could mean. Instead, she
just shrugged it off and turned to the now very disappointed group of
people.

"All right, people, nothing new just yet. Don't get too worked up.
But stuff like this is why you're here, right? We'll try again in a
little while. All we have to do is wait for someone to be in range."

The men and women didn't look too excited about the prospect of going
back to work, now. But after a little more cajoling, most of them
turned and headed off to the next structure. Then, all of a sudden:

"Hey, what's that?" one of them asked.

"Eh?" Asuka asked, turning to look at him. The man who'd asked the
question was pointing at the sky. Asuka followed that direction,
looking to see what had grabbed the man's attention. Everyone else in
the immediate vicinity followed suit.

They saw it almost immediately: an oblong shape, with a pair of large
lifting surfaces keeping it in the air. It was flying very high up,
so high that it was really nothing more than a dark outline. But it
was still something.

"What...what the..." Asuka said, as the excitement began to build
again in the recovery team. "Just hang on a sec!" she called out to
them, trying to keep them from getting their hopes up too high again.

She turned towards Kensuke. "Well?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Kensuke just shrugged. "Dunno. I wasn't hearing anything on this
end, but maybe someone was able to trace the signal."

"But then how'd they get here so fast?"

"I told you already, this baby's got a short range," he said, patting
the transmitter. "If they were that high up, and _still_ close enough
to hear us, they'd have been close enough to get here in a few
minutes."

"So, then..." Asuka said, looking back up. She quickly began to take
part in the enthusiasm of the crowd. Kensuke, for his part, just
started putting the back panel back on the transmitter, satisfied that
he'd done his job. He didn't want to get excited...yet.

Rei, however, was slightly more suspicious of the sudden appearance.
She looked around, seeing that Kaoru had gotten back up onto Unit-00
during the commotion. She walked up to Eva-00's ankle. Kaoru, who'd
been watching the flying object with an interested look on his face,
turned his head to watch Rei as she came up. The girl looked up to
Kaoru, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Looks like a plane, from here," Kaoru said, yelling so Rei could hear
him over the distance.

Rei nodded, but said nothing. Apparently she saw no point in raising
her voice over something like this.

Kaoru shrugged, though he didn't know if Rei could see the motion.
"It can probably see us," he shouted back down to her. "Or at least
see this," he added on, glancing at the Eva's head.

Rei stepped back from the Eva and looked back up into the sky. The
flying shape, which had previously been traveling in a straight line
overhead, was now looping around and coming over the city again. It
was still far too high to make out any details. But as it dove, a
thrill passed through the others. Some of them began to cheer.

Rei felt a tiny glimmer of anticipation in her chest. It was true
that Third Impact had decimated Japan, leaving only shattered ruins.
Other, smaller explosions had begun all over the Earth at that time,
as humanity had melted together. But the rest of the world had not
been hit as hard as Japan. So perhaps they'd been able to recover
more quickly. So quickly, in fact, that now they were sending out
scouts to survey the damage to the rest of the world.

This could work out very well for the people at the encampment, Rei
reasoned. If that plane could see them, then others would know about
the survivors here in Japan. Perhaps some aid could be sent. That
would definitely be better than trying to live by scavenging burnt-out
ruins.

Sure enough, the shape was now growing in size. So it was descending.
Rei felt...happy, a feeling she was still a little confused by. But
she knew that because of this emotion, a smile was threatening to come
to her lips. Hopefully, it had noticed them. Even if it didn't land,
it could at least come in for a closer look, to see if there were
indeed humans living here.

The rest of the recovery team was now buzzing with activity and talk,
as people began voicing the same thoughts Rei was thinking. The
people glanced down at each other occasionally, but never failed to
look back up at the sky, at the thing which could very easily be their
savior.

Rei also kept watching, along with Kaoru. Both children's eyes
narrowed at the same time as the thing began to come into focus.

Those wings looked a little...organic.

And planes were definitely _not_ built with arms...

"My, my..." Kaoru said, glancing over at the Eva's head. The machine
began moving, standing up to its full height and beginning to walk,
its first enormous stride carrying it over the recovery crew and out
towards the edge of the city.

Rei took this as her cue. She walked up to Asuka and tapped the girl
on the shoulder. ^She _is_ an authority figure. And...Soryu is
better at talking to others than I am.^

Asuka jumped at the unexpected contact, then turned to face Rei.
"What do you want?" she asked, meeting Rei's even gaze.

"Evacuate everyone," Rei said.

Asuka blinked and looked at Rei incredulously. "What? What are you
talking about? There's no reason they can't watch."

"Look again, Soryu."

Asuka stared at Rei for a long moment, then looked back up. Rei
watched as the German girl finally saw what she'd been to excited to
notice before. Asuka went pale.

"My God..." she mumbled. She then got a grip on herself and raised
her voice. "Alright, everyone get out of here! Get back to the
camp!"

"Hey, what're you talking about?" one of the men asked. "That thing's
just - "

"_Move_it_!!!!"

The men took notice of Asuka's determined, angered face, and
immediately nodded. They all started double-timing it out of the
city.

Asuka turned around again to see what Rei had to say about this
development. The girl knew something, Asuka was sure. Rei _always_
seemed to know what was going on. Maybe she could answer some
questions, starting with where in hell an MP Eva had come from.

But the other girl was already gone. Asuka looked around, catching a
glimpse of Rei jogging off in the opposite direction everyone else had
gone, after Unit-00.

"Baka," she said. She started running after the girl. ^What does she
think she can do, anyway?^

But she only got a few steps before her feet slowed. She tried to
make herself run again, but her feet were apparently glued to the
ground. Asuka looked up again, to see the white, winged mecha was
even closer, now. It was now close enough that she could make out the
grin on its face.

She'd seen that grin before, on this very same mecha, and its
brothers.

Asuka tried to move, but her stomach turned with the first step. She
fell to her knees, with both hands over her mouth. It was all she
could do just to keep breakfast down.

^I'm...useless...^

Asuka's eyes widened as she thought this. ^NO! No, I'm _not_
useless! I'm worth something. Dammit, I'm the leader, here!^

She forced herself back up to her feet. After one last glance at the
pair of Evas rapidly receding into the distance, she turned and ran
the other way.

Luckily for her, she found Kensuke not far from where she was. The
boy was on the ground, trying to gather up the comm gear. He was
currently muttering something to himself about having no respect for
technology.

Asuka skidded to a halt next to the boy and grabbed his shoulder,
forcing him to turn and look at her.

"What the - " the boy tried to say.

"Shut up," Asuka said sharply, cutting him off. "Look, just _leave_
that stuff, you baka. We'll come back for it later."

"It might not be here later - "

"Just shut _up_. Look, I'm going off to the camp. You know where
Shinji is, right?"

"Uh...uh..." - stress slowed the boy's thinking processes - "er..."

Asuka resisted the urge to answer it for him. If she told Kensuke, he
might forget. The boy knew, she was sure. To spur him on, she tapped
her foot and gave him a look that said something much worse that what
the Eva could do to him was going to happen if he didn't answer soon.

"Yeah," he finally answered. "Other side of the city, right?" He
pointed off in one direction, near the former residential district of
the city.

"Right," Asuka said, angry that it had taken so long for him to
remember. "There are big buildings still standing over there..." she
said, glancing off in the direction Kensuke was pointing in. "He
might not've seen our friend here. Look, you go over and tell him
what's going on. Got it?"

Kensuke paused before nodding vigourously. "I'm on it," he said,
getting to his feet and starting off.

"Hey, stooge!" Asuka called out.

Kensuke normally would've bristled at the nickname, but given the
circumstances, he let it slide. He turned around and met her eyes
again.

"What?"

"...Tell him Rei and Nagisa are with Unit-00."

Kensuke blinked, not quite believing what he'd heard, but then nodded
again. He turned around, paused again, waiting to hear if she'd stop
him again. When she didn't, he took off, dashing towards Shinji's
location.

Asuka nodded once to herself, watching him go. She knew Kensuke would
at least be able to deliver a message. She'd have preferred to
deliver it herself, but there was no doubt someone back at the camp
had seen the MP Eva. They'd need one of their leaders to calm them
down.

Sighing mentally in exasperation, and trying her best to hold back her
fear, Asuka started off back towards the encampment.

* * *

Rei jogged at a steady pace, covering ground quickly. The Eva was
moving slowly, but it was still moving quicker than she was.

She glanced over her shoulder, to see the white form of the MP Eva
swooping in, turning towards them and away from the camp. Looking
back, she could see Kaoru was also watching the MP Eva's progress.

Unit-00 stopped and turned around to face the new arrival. Kaoru
watched, interested, as the large white machine came in low, then
turned sharply upwards. The mecha floated several hundred meters off
the ground, bobbing up and down with every flap of its wings.

Kaoru looked the thing over. He'd only seen images and schematics of
the MP Evas before. And now, here was one, staring him right in the
face. His mind worked quickly, struggling to remember what he'd heard
of this thing. S2 engine powered, so infinite activation time...Dummy
plug piloted...was that true? If the Dummy plug were the thing
piloting, the machine would just be destroying everything in sight,
wouldn't it?

The Eva floated there several long moments, eyeing its blue
counterpart. Eva-00 stood there patiently under the scrutiny.
Finally, the MP Eva's attention flickered to the boy on the Eva's
shoulder.

Its gaze then shifted down to the blue-haired girl watching. A memory
flickered in the giant thing's mind at the sight of the girl standing
with the Eva. She'd cut it...letting another Eva stab at its heart...

The MP Eva growled and swept its wings back, diving straight at Unit-
00.

Reflexes alone were what saved Kaoru. Unit-00 dove to one side, just
avoiding the diving MP Eva. The boy hung on for dear life as Unit-00
moved quickly, tilting his precious foothold.

The MP Eva powered into the ground at high speed. The earth shook and
a bright flash lit up the area as an explosion blasted out of the
impact point.

Rei was thrown off her feet by the shockwave. She flew backwards
several meters, before landing and rolling away. She got to her hands
and knees almost immediately, although her suddenly sore body
protested greatly. Blinking, she tried to survey the damage.

From what she could see, several buildings from the nearby city had
collapsed from the shockwave. Rei's eyes narrowed, as she thought
over the potential loss in resources that could mean. She turned her
head to look back at the battlefield.

The MP Eva had blasted its way into the ground, displacing the very
earth with its attack, and leaving a circular indentation hundreds of
meters across. Clumps of dirt and mud, thrown high by the explosion,
were now tumbling down, making an odd sort of rain.

In the center of the crater lay the white mecha that had made it,
apparently motionless. Rei looked over to Unit-00. She could see
Kaoru had somehow managed to hang on. He was just now making the Eva
lean over so he could drop off of it.

Unit-00 clumsily got to its feet, just as the MP Eva also began to
move again. The white mecha stood up, apparently undamaged even after
having crash-landed. It spread its wings and floated up out of the
hole it had dug itself into.

* * *

Shinji was shaken off of his feet by the blast. Falling hard on his
rear end, he blinked and tried to figure out what the hell had just
happened.

Just a minute ago, they'd been eyeing key buildings to see what looked
like it might stay up long enough to be searched. Overhead, they'd
heard a strong gusting noise, but nobody had thought to look up;
strong winds came once in a while. Then, from out of nowhere, the
earth had decided to heave up and throw them all to the ground. The
crack of an explosion had been heard microseconds later.

A loud crash caught Shinji's attention. He looked just in time to see
a building collapsing in on itself from the tremors. Reflexively, he
looked up, to see several of the broken skyscrapers swaying
dangerously from the shockwave.

"Everyone away from the buildings!" Shinji ordered, forcing his gaze
back down to ground level. "They could fall any second!"

The men he was with complied instantly, trying to put as much distance
between themselves and the hundreds of tons of concrete that could
possibly bury them.

Shinji followed them, running down one of the old streets. As they
ran, the buildings became progressively smaller, until finally they
were no more than two stories high, on average.

Everyone seemed to take this as being good enough. They all stopped,
panting and resting their hands on their knees. Shinji leaned against
a wall, hesitating as he heard it creak.

He looked up.

His jaw dropped.

"What the..." he mumbled, watching. That was...an Eva? Fighting
Unit-00? He rubbed his eyes, hoping and praying that he was just
seeing things. But when he opened them again, the machines were still
there. In fact, the white Eva was just now spreading its wings and
lifting off. Unit-00 was laid out on the ground, apparently knocked
over by the blast.

A million questions flooded Shinji's mind. Where had the other Eva
come from? How was Unit-00 fighting? Who was controlling it, anyway?
He didn't have any answers.

"Hey, Shinji!" came a familiar voice. Shinji turned in time to see
Kensuke running down the street they'd just come down.

"Kensuke, get out of there!" Shinji called out. "This place could
come down on our heads!"

The boy just kept running, though. Shinji turned, watching as Unit-00
stood up. Its footsteps caused minor tremors, but they were enough to
shake the already-weakened buildings.

"Everyone, get clear of the city!" Shinji ordered. He gestured for
them to go in a certain direction, away from both the buildings and
the Evas. ^Got to keep these people alive,^ he thought.

"Shinji! Asuka sent me here to - "

"Shut up and _run_!" Shinji yelled, desperate. Normally, he wouldn't
have snapped at his friend, but given the circumstances...

Kensuke was cut off as a big man grabbed him from behind and started
pushing him along. The group ran, trying to get to some relative
safety.

As he ran, this time in the lead, Shinji turned his head. The flying
Eva was circling, now...and dive-bombing?

Its speed was much too high for this to just be a combat maneuver. It
really looked like it was going to ram into Unit-00.

He stopped running, and signaled for everyone to take cover, doing his
best to be heard over the pounding of feet, both human-sized and Eva-
sized.

They all got down as another explosion shook the area. The man
pushing Kensuke shoved the boy to the ground, holding him down as best
he could.

"Lemme go!" Kensuke said, trying to wrestle free.

The man didn't listen; he figured whatever it was, it could wait. It
definitely wasn't worth this boy's life.

* * *

Rei watched, noting how the white Eva's movements were fluid, as though
there were some great power behind every movement. Unit-00, on the
other hand, was only just managing to move. It looked like a drunkard,
whereas the MP Eva looked like a trained prizefighter.

The MP Eva in question was swooping around in a large circle, quite
obviously coming around for another attack. Rei took the moment to
run over to where Kaoru had gotten to the ground.

Kaoru's calm was quite visibly shaken. He was disheveled and covered
in dust by the Eva's quick dodging maneuver. The boy was holding one
hand with the other, somewhat hiding the trickle of blood that was
going down his arm. Rei said nothing, but Kaoru noticed her glance at
his injury.

"It's fine," the boy said. "But I scratched myself on one of the
handholds."

Rei nodded once, then looked back to see the MP Eva had lined itself
up and was coming in again. Its wings were spread to their full
width, but even as she watched, the wings swept back, increasing the
thing's speed as it dive-bombed again.

"AT field," Rei said, simply.

Kaoru complied, as best he could. The air around Unit-00 rippled as
an AT field came into existence around it. Just as the field
stabilized, the MP Eva crashed into it.

For the first time in over two years, the glowing hexagonal pattern of
two AT fields meeting lit up the area. It was only a flicker, though,
a split-second appearance, as the MP Eva just kept moving, tearing
through Unit-00's feeble AT field and hitting the blue Eva head-on.

Another explosion followed, sending Rei and Kaoru tumbling backwards.
Kaoru grunted as he hit the ground hard. Rei just concentrated on
controlling her breathing as she squinted through the cloud of dust
and debris that had been thrown up by that last blast.

Unit-00 had not done too well. A visible dent was present in its
chest armor. In addition, the blue Eva had been shoved backwards by
the impact, leaving a deep furrow in the earth. Currently, the mecha
was lying motionless on the ground, staring blankly at the sky.

"Kaoru-san, get the Eva to its feet," Rei said, watching as the MP Eva
stood out of _another_ crater and took to the skies again.

Kaoru grunted again and looked in the Eva's direction. Unit-00 began
to move again, its arms coming up shakily. As this happened, Rei
watched their opponent, mentally calculating its attack pattern.

^It's using its own kinetic energy in addition to its AT field to get
the power for those strikes. But why take such a dangerous avenue
when we are obviously at a disadvantage?^

"Faster," Rei said, her voice still calm, but with a veiled intensity
behind it. From what she could see, the MP Eva was already lining up
for another strike.

"I can't _go_ any faster, Rei," the boy said. "I can't keep the
concentration I need. I don't..." - he stopped her to cough out some
of the dust he'd inhaled - "...I don't even think I can make an AT
field, this time," he croaked out.

Rei looked at him dispassionately, seeing that he was indeed telling
the truth. Then she looked out to the MP Eva, which was almost in
position to dive again.

She paused, instinctively waiting for the commanding officer to tell
her what to do. But then she remembered that there _was_ no
commanding officer. She and Kaoru were on their own.

Rei closed her eyes and made a decision.

"Kaoru-san, cut all connection to the Eva," she said, opening her eyes
again.

Kaoru looked like he was going to argue, but then nodded somberly.

Unit-00 went limp. The MP Eva, sensing its opponent was defeated,
roared and swept its wings back, diving again.

Rei's eyes narrowed as she concentrated. She drove out all thoughts,
focusing her mind. Finally, she felt something tangible within her
mind. She reached out and touched it, feeling it come alive.

Unit-00 began moving again. It's cyclopean eye lit up, glowing a dull
red. Shakily, it raised its arms up, then drove them down into the
ground. Using that as leverage, it kicked its legs into the air and
launched itself to its feet. The earth shook as it landed upright.

The Eva immediately noticed the dive-bombing opponent. It shifted its
position and spread its arms, hands flexing as though ready to catch
something. The air rippled again, this time accompanied by rocks and
dust being pushed away from the Eva by a much stronger AT field.

"What are you doing?" Kaoru asked. "I thought only I could control
the Eva directly."

"I'm not controlling it," Rei answered. "The Eva is under its own
control, currently."

Kaoru looked back to the Eva, just as the MP collided with it again.

Once more, glowing hexagons appeared. This time, though, instead of
flickering and dying, the glowing pattern became steadily brighter.
The MP Eva froze in mid-air, its wings swept back but somehow still
staying aloft. Unit-00 had both its hands braced on the AT-field
'wall', with its legs pushing hard on the ground. Slowly, forces began
to take effect, and Unit-00 began to slide backwards.

The blue Eva scrabbled for a foothold as it slid backwards, digging
another set of trenches. In front of it, the MP Eva growled, bearing
its teeth.

Suddenly, panels opened on Unit-00's back, deploying several large
nozzles. Flames roared out of these jet boosters, giving it the added
push it needed. Unit-00 began to regain ground, pushing the MP Eva
backwards in a vicious tug-of-war.

Unit-00 switched its grip, bringing both hands together at the center
of the AT field. It dug its fingers in, as though gripping something
tangible, and began to pull in two different directions. A ripping
sound could be heard as the two AT fields began to negate each other.
The MP Eva, apparently at a loss for new ideas, only watched.

^All it has to do is land and go to hand-to-hand combat,^ Rei thought,
watching. ^Why doesn't it do that? Why continue a course of attack
that is no longer working?^

With a final surge, Unit-00 jerked its arms apart, shredding the AT
field. The hexagon pattern flickered and died. Gravity also seemed
to finally notice the MP Eva, and the white machine crashed to the
ground, causing a small earthquake that sent more of the nearby Tokyo-
2 buildings crashing down.

Unit-00 reached down and grabbed the MP Eva by the scruff of its neck,
dragging it up into a squatting position. The MP Eva grabbed Unit-
00's arms, but the blue Eva shook them off with quick jerks of its
arms. It forced the MP Eva's head to face upwards, then grabbed both
halves of its jaws in its hands and began to pull apart.

It might have been a boon that Unit-00 had no justifiable mouth, or
even a real face; currently, it looked like a machine doing a job. If
it had been able to show expression, it might have looked like it was
taking some perverse pleasure out of this. Rei found the thought
somewhat sickening.

Despite the MP Eva's efforts to pull Unit-00's arms off of its head,
Unit-00 succeeded in pulling the MP Eva's jaws apart, sending an
earsplitting CRACK through the air as the skull fractured. Blood
began to pour out of the MP Eva's head as its flesh tore around its
mouth.

Unit-00 wasn't finished, yet. Leaving the MP Eva sitting with its
mouth forced open, the blue mecha raised its arm into the air, then
plunged its right hand down the MP Eva's throat.

Kaoru flinched, watching. Rei's eyes only narrowed. She had a fair
idea of what came next.

The MP Eva struggled against Unit-00, beating its fists on the
unyielding blue armor. Unit-00 didn't even seem to notice. It just
used its one hand to hold the MP Eva in place, while its free hand
kept working on its enemy's guts.

Finally, Unit-00 seemed to find what it was looking for. It shifted
its balance and pulled backwards, releasing the MP Eva as it did so.
Its arm came out of the ruined mouth. In its hand, it clutched the
end of a long red tube, which also came out the MP Eva's mouth,
forcing the jaws apart even wider as it did so.

Unit-00 removed the red tube entirely from the MP Eva, which then fell
over onto its back. Rei recognized the tube immediately as the Dummy
plug from inside the MP Eva.

Unit-00 held the Dummy plug in its hand.

It clenched the hand into a fist, sending the screech of tortured
metal through the air.

It grabbed at the ends of the plug and bent it in half.

It twisted.

It crushed.

LCL poured out of the destroyed plug, along with a fair amount of
electricity. Rei thought she was only seeing things, but...she
thought she could see body parts sticking out, too. Human body parts.

^You know what was in there...^ she thought.

Rei put one hand to her abdomen as she felt her stomach turn. ^It was
just a doll,^ she thought. ^It wanted to die, I'm sure of that.^

Unit-00 dropped the hunk of metal that had once been a Dummy plug to
the ground. It then raised its foot up to stomp down on the plug,
when it was suddenly tackled.

Rei and Kaoru's eyes both widened. The MP Eva had just tackled Unit-
00...but hadn't it just had its Entry plug removed? How was it doing
this?

Unit-00 looked up into the destroyed visage of its opponent. The MP
Eva's jaw hung loosely from its head, while its tongue still lolled
around aimlessly. Blood trickled out of its wounds. Yet the white
Eva was definitely not out, yet. With a quick move, it pulled Unit-00
into a sitting position, got behind it, and put the Eva into a
headlock.

^So _now_ it switches tactics,^ Rei thought. ^But why wait so long?
This method seems to be working better...^

Unit-00 was not to be stopped. It stood, lifting the MP Eva with it
even as its neck creaked under the stress being applied. Unit-00
reached backwards, turning slightly, shakily. The MP Eva strenghtened
its hold, refusing to let Unit-00 go.

Unit-00 grabbed onto the MP Eva's shoulder with one hand. It was a
very awkward grip, not nearly enough to try loosening the grip the
enemy Eva had on its neck. But Unit-00 didn't intend on trying
something like that. Instead of trying to break free, it just
clenched its fist.

Unit-00's fingers dug into the MP Eva's arm, sending gouts of blood
spraying into the air. The fingers stopped after a moment, then shook
with the effort. Crackling sounds, followed soon after by a
thunderous CRUNCH came a moment later as the arm's bone was shattered.

The MP Eva's grip went limp. Unit-00 twisted, tearing off its
opponent's arm entirely. It threw the ruined limb to the ground and
advanced on the white Eva. A single kick tripped the machine and sent
it sprawling onto its back, letting Unit-00 pounce on it, burying one
knee into its chest.

What followed was needlessly messy. Unit-00's hands gripped, tore,
shredded, and crushed everything in the way. The MP Eva was soon no
longer recognizable as such. It fought the entire way, but with just
one arm and an opponent that didn't seem to care about its own
welfare, the MP Eva was effectively helpless.

Finally, Unit-00 found its target: the red orb in the abdomen of the
MP Eva. Unit-00 reached out, its hand shaking as though in
anticipation, and gripped the orb. The MP Eva tried to scream, but
its throat had been torn out some time ago. It tried to fight, but
its other arm had been removed, too. It was unable to do anything as
Unit-00 squeezed.

At first, the red orb flexed like gelatin. Then, finally, it cracked
and shattered. As it broke, another explosion blasted out of the Eva,
lighting up the area as though a nuke had just gone off.

Rei and Kaoru both saw the shockwave approaching. It was all they
could do to brace themselves before the light and heat washed over
them.

And then the world dissolved around them.

* * *

Shinji and his small team watched as the Eva exploded. They all took
cover as the shockwave rippled outwards, sending dust and small rocks
flying up into the air.

Coughing violently, Shinji got out from behind the boulder he'd been
hiding behind. He squinted through the dust, trying to make something
out.

Unit-00's massive silouhette could still be seen. Slowly, as though
in a daze, the mech stood up. It began walking.

^Oh, no...^ Shinji thought. He'd been able to tell when the Dummy
plug was activated. Was it still online? If it was, there was no
telling what the Eva would do, now. The MP Eva that Unit-00 had come
from had originally been programmed to destroy all humanity...so what
would this one do, now that it had been reactivated?

Shinji felt his heart crawling up his throat and his pulse pounding in
his ears as the Eva took several steps, climbing out of the blast
crater that last explosion had made. As the dust cleared, it turned
its head, looking around to try and identify any more threats. Shinji
tried not to breathe.

Finally, Unit-00 seemed satsified that its opponent was dead. It
kneeled down, going to one knee as its engine powered down.

Shinji watched for what felt like forever, waiting to make sure the
Eva was, in fact, going to stay like that. Finally satisfied, he
stood up, signaling to the others that it was safe to come out of
hiding.

"Everyone OK?" he asked.

Nods came sporadically as people tried to listen to him while
surveying what remained.

Kensuke shook himself off, shrugged off the man who'd been holding him
down, and then immediately dashed up to Shinji. He stood next to the
other boy and looked around, dumbstruck. He paused, wondering if it
was even worth it to tell Shinji his message.

"What's that?" Shinji asked, seeing something small moving in the
distance. It looked like a human form...

Seemed it _was_ worth it.

"Shinji...I kinda got bad news," Kensuke said.

"What?" Shinji asked, turning to see his friend. "Can't be worse than
an Eva battle, eh?" he asked, trying to make himself smile.

Kensuke, for once, didn't smile back. "Well...you know about Ayanami
and Nagisa? How...well...they're the ones who control the Eva?"

Shinji nodded. "Yeah, I know that...they..." he trailed off. Kensuke
could actually _see_ it click in Shinji's mind.

"Oh, God..." Shinji mumbled.

"I tried telling you earlier, but _these_ jerks wouldn't let me
move," Kensuke said, sticking his thumb in the general direction of
his former restrainers.

Shinji didn't seem to be listening anymore. "C'mon, we gotta go see
if they're all right!" he said, turning immediately after he said this
and taking off at top speed. Kensuke followed, shaking his head.
Behind him, he heard a few of the other men also get moving.

On the upside, it looked like Nagisa was still moving. Kensuke hadn't
the slightest idea how the boy hadn't been utterly disintegrated; he'd
been almost at ground zero.

He just ran harder, trying to keep up with Shinji in front of him.

* * *

Oddly enough, one of Rei's thoughts concerning the rest of the world
had been true. Some countries _had_ recovered relatively quickly. So
quickly, in fact, that they were willing to risk sending out scouts to
see how the rest of the world was doing.

USAF-2010-A was an old observation plane, loaded to the gills with
scanning and detection equipment. It was outdated, but still
reliable. And it was also the best there was at the moment; currently
there was no one around who knew how to _fly_ the newer planes.

Inside the plane, a man was sitting in a cheap aluminum-and-plastic
chair, staring intently at a computer screen.

It was one among many computer screens; he was sitting in the heart of
the plane, where monitors and readouts dominated both curved walls and
a fair portion of the ceiling. Off to one side lay a small mountain
of empty Styrofoam coffee cups, right next to a smaller pile of
cigarette butts. There was a clock in the room, but the man never
bothered checking it. All he had to do was stay awake until his shift
was over.

And his shift was much too long for his tastes. Given, America had
withstood Third Impact better than some countries, but it still had
the problems of underpopulation the rest of the world was
experiencing. Double and triple shifts were not uncommon.

It was important work, though; the man could look up at any one of the
dozen camera feeds, checking on the activity of what was going on
under and around the plane. If anything happened, he would be the
first to know.

Unfortunately, it was also very boring work. The man was really only
there so someone could work the terminals if a person who actually
gave a damn decided to ask what he saw. So, he had to think up new
ways to kill time.

"Crap!" he cursed, as he got killed again in the computer game he was
playing. He waited for his character to restart, then again started
punching buttons on the controller he was holding. He didn't play for
long, though, before he died again.

"Dammit," he said, throwing the controller to the floor, where it
clattered noisily before finally stopping. The man leaned back and
rubbed at his face with both hands, trying to keep his blood flowing.
He looked back at the computer screens.

^Yeah, _you'd_ never have hidden traps ready to eat me alive,^ he
thought at the screens.

As though in response to this, a bright flash came from one of the
screens.

The man blinked. "What the..." he muttered, sliding over to the
appropriate keyboard and punching buttons.

The camera view zoomed in, expanding the area he could still see the
flash coming from.

Finally, he saw it: the dome-shaped light, with accompanying mushroom
cloud, of a rather large explosion.

The man's eyes flickered up, to one of the screens hanging from the
ceiling. It normally would have been a GPS system, but most of the
world's satellites had come down with Third Impact. This screen was
now just a regular computerized map. However, it was still enough to
show the general area they were going over.

^Japan? They got levelled...^

But the explosion was there, anyway...

The man got up and picked up a phone off the wall. It connected him
directly to the cockpit.

"Hello, pilot?...yeah. Listen, I just saw something pretty big out on
the hull camera...look, screw the regulations for a minute, this looks
important. Can you just go in a little lower? I gotta see what this
thing is..."

The man held the phone to his ear a little longer. His brow furrowed
as the pilot explained that they didn't have the fuel to go in for a
lower pass over an area they didn't have a search pattern for already.
The man hung up the phone before the explanation was even over.

^Well, come to think of it, if there were people down there, we'd want
to land. And I doubt there's a working airport out here...^

He rubbed at his face again, then resignedly reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a cell phone and flipped it open. He dialed another
number.

"Hey, it's me," he began. "Look, I just saw an explosion over in
Japan. This pilot doesn't want to check it out, so I can't get a
closer look. So can you...you will? Great. Yeah, don't worry, I'll
tell everyone who needs to know...OK, thanks. Bye."

The man sat down again, figuring he'd managed to actually accomplish
something today. He crossed his hands behind his head and looked back
at the screens, at Japan, where the explosion had already died off,
leaving only dust and smoke.

* * *

Thick boots crunched on dirt and small rocks as a tall boy walked
slowly over the ruined landscape.

He looked quite tired, but at the same time happy. He'd been walking
for days, now, but he was finally back home. The place that made
living worthwhile. He'd left some time ago, mostly because he'd
wanted to see what was left of the country. What he'd seen hadn't
been too encouraging.

^Geez, we're gonna be scraping at the dirt for years,^ he thought,
climbing over a small rise in the terrain. ^I just wish I could tell
if it was worth it. I wonder how the rest of the planet came out...^

He looked up at the sky. He'd heard some loud booming noises a while
ago. But the sky was clear...so it wouldn't be lightning, would it?
He figured it wasn't worth the mental effort of figuring out what was
wrong.

He climbed up a larger hill, catching his breath as he reached the
top. He went to one knee, letting his legs relax as he looked up. He
smiled.

In front of him was the camp he'd left behind a couple of weeks ago.
It looked much the same as when he'd left it: shanties cobbled
together out of rock and other assorted debris. It looked like there
were a few more people, but he wasn't sure from up here.

"Made it..." he groaned out. He coughed a little, as he finished
getting his breath back. He stood up again.

His eyes then focused on something a little more distant. It
looked...like one of the shelters, only it was _huge_. How had they
put something like that together?

Also in the distance, he could make out an enormous dust cloud, which
was just now clearing. As the view became clearer, he began to see a
large, metallic form, hunched over.

Touji Suzuhara recognized it immediately as Unit-00.

"What the..." he said, stepping backwards. He sat down hard.

^Did I miss somethin', here?^

----------------------------------------------------------- -----------
Endnote: Damn, I love mecha fights. And in case you're wondering,
yes, Unit-00 _does_ have those jet boosters. Watch the episode where
ninth Angel (the spider) attacks.

Anyway, as you're reading this, the next part is being completed and
will be on its way to the prereaders shortly. Hopefully there won't be
as much of a delay before the next part comes out.

------------------------------------------------------------- ---------
Started: April 21, 2001
Ended: May 14, 2001

Send comments to: otakusadist@hotmail.com
And visit my site: http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/shinjrei

And thank you, prereaders, for putting up with me: The Avatar of
Dragonia, Judging Eagle, and Heavyarms Kai. I am forever grateful
that you took the time to proofread my story so far. I am especially
thankful to Avatar of Dragonia, who in addition to prereading, also
suggested the title for this chapter.

Finally, thank you Paul, for giving me the idea of other countries coming
into the picture.