The red Evangelion lumbered over the red wastes under a reddening sky.

Mari Makinami Illustrious hated the color red.

"Just a little farther, Unit-02," she said, coaxing it uphill. "C'mon, don't you want a nice place to sleep?"

Her Eva faltered as its foot slipped on a patch of rubble.

Mari caught herself before she tipped over.

"Oh, you wanna sleep now, is that it? Make me walk the rest of the way? Not happening. It's only a few kilometers to the next power station..."

The living machine shuddered. As if it resented her.

Mari sighed. "Fine, have it your way." She addressed the computer: "Switch to solar power!"

"SOLAR CELLS ACTIVATED."

"There, that's better, isn't it?" She flipped her dark brown hair and pushed up her glasses. "I can't believe you. Internal power can't hold a charge at all. If this sort of behavior goes on, I don't know how long our partnership will last."

This was her life. Hopping between underground shelters, hoping for something to eat, or a place to sleep and recharge her Eva. Once the food and reserve power ran out, she moved on.

This was never part of the plan.

When the Tenth Angel attacked NERV's headquarters, Mari only planned to borrow Evangelion Unit-02 for a short while, long enough to defeat the Angel. But she failed. Even the Beast had failed. That fat bastard Angel gobbled Unit-00, Unit-01 went berserk, and the whole world went to hell. Now everything was red, and everyone was dead.

Not Mari.

If anyone deserved to survive the near–Third Impact, she did. Mari knew more secrets of the Eva than any other pilot—more than most technicians, even. Or so she thought.

The internal LCL filtration system. The prototype solar cells. The Beast. Mari took pride in these secrets, which had saved her life when she hobbled into a ruined world on a mutilated Eva. But the Eva healed, and Mari survived.

There was no NERV left. Only her and the endless wasteland.

Mari knew how to make it on her own—it was the way she'd survived.

But facing the world alone was its own kind of suicide.

"We'll be all right, Unit-02. We'll be all—"

Then she heard the choppers.

From the horizon there approached a squadron of helicopters carrying...Is that an Eva?

Mari crept closer. She kept Unit-02 low to the ground to slip under the radar. The red dirt camouflaged her well.

Suspended on thick steel cables, the other Eva gleamed green in the slanted sunlight. "Eva-08," Mari murmured. She flushed with relief. "A new active Evangelion! That means NERV is still...!"

Unit-08 stood erect and waved its giant hands. "Hey meatheads, this way!"

To Mari's delight, the procession turned toward her.

"Rescued at last," she breathed. "Took long enough. I was almost worried that—"

Her smile fell. "Oh crap."

While the helicopters hovered over her, the cords holding the other Eva snapped off. Unit-08 plummeted toward her. And it pointed a progressive knife.

Mari leaped back. Unit-08 crashed down knife-first, splashing up a spray of dust. While Mari steadied Unit-02, Unit-08 burst through the dust, knife extended, and thrust at Mari.

Though sluggish as a cold lizard, Mari caught the thrust from the Eva's wrist. The blade stopped mere meters from her core. Grunting with effort, Mari yanked Unit-08 into a headbutt. The knife dropped; Mari kicked it away. Unit-08 ducked for it, but the weapon skittered out of reach. For maximum damage, Mari dropped an elbow on Unit-08's broad back. Its plate armor cracked.

Mari wrapped her Eva's arms around Unit-08's neck in a headlock. "Gotcha!"

Writhing in her grip, Unit-08 somehow twisted free and staggered back. Its pilot attempted another line of attack.

Mari's intercom crackled. "Unidentified pilot, stand down and—"

"Like hell I will!"

With a wild cry, Mari sprang at Unit-08.

Unit-02 pounced on its enemy, knocking Unit-08 onto its back. Straddling its body, Mari pummeled Unit-08, over and over and over. Unit-08's face disintegrated under her fists.

Mari laughed manically. Blood thudded in her ears. Her fingers rubbed raw against the controls. What had she missed for a year? This. Yes, this. The joy of battle.

"Give up? Give up yet, huh? HUH?"

She didn't see the knife until it plunged into Unit-02's neck.

Mari screamed. She and her Eva reared back as one, synchronized bodies searing with agony. Alarms blared and flashed, drowning the cockpit in red light.

Unit-08 twisted the knife. When it jerked out the blade, a blue-green geyser spurted from Unit-02's neck. The wounded Eva roared. Not finished, Unit-08 grabbed Unit-02 by the shoulders and slammed it into a knee.

Mari's cockpit rocked. She tasted blood in her mouth.

Spinning around, Unit-08 tossed Unit-02's limp body into the ruins of a skyscraper. An avalanche of rubble slid over it. The Eva didn't move.

Unit-08 advanced, cautiously triumphant.

"Unidentified pilot," the other pilot said, "I'm through with being nice. Get the hell out of my Eva."

Mari stirred. Had she blacked out? Felt like it. So dizzy. She gripped the controls, fingers twitching, itching to claw out that other pilot's throat.

Unit-02 lay on its back, buried in wreckage, its neck oozing blue fluid.

Unit-08 plodded closer.

With a sharp gasp, Mari rolled up into a standing position. She swept Unit-08's legs, bringing it down with a crash. As Unit-08 fell, she grabbed it by the ankle and swung its body around. "See how you like it!" She released her hold, and it crashed into the rest of the ruins. When Unit-08 arched its back, Mari ground its face into the ground.

The other pilot's screams filled and thrilled Mari.

But while she wasn't watching, the day grew dark.

The lights in Unit-02's cockpit flickered.

"Reserve power almost depleted?" Mari cried. "No, not now! Anytime but now!"

Unit-08 stood up, dazed but not defeated.

Mari swore with every curse she knew. "You won't get rid of me that easily! I'll—oh." She paused and cocked her head.

She heard the missiles before she saw them.

The helicopters hovered on the horizon, artillery aimed right at her. They fired. Rockets screamed across the sky, hot smoke streaming out behind.

"You've got to be joking..."

The brilliant blasts engulfed Unit-02.

Mari staggered, eardrums throbbing. The LCL around her bubbled and boiled, burning in her lungs.

When the smoke cleared, Unit-08 appeared. Mari couldn't move. The progressive knife thrust into Unit-02's gut and ripped upward. Blood gushed from its open stomach. Mari shrieked. Her entry plug forcibly ejected.

It landed with a clang. Outside, her Eva tumbled down.

"Not fair," Mari muttered to the dark, "not fair. She had help. She called in an airstrike! Not fair. Not fair at all..."

The LCL drained from her entry plug. With a clank and a hiss, the hatch swung open. Sunlight streamed in.

A girl strode through the hatch. Auburn hair, eye patch, red plugsuit. She scowled at Mari but said nothing.

Mari hated the color red.

The other pilot clicked her earpiece. "Captain? It's Asuka. We got her."

"Good work," crackled the reply, loud enough for Mari to hear. "Bring her back to base. We'll deal with her there."

"Understood."

The girl advanced, teeth clenched, eye smoldering, fist raised.

Mari grinned crookedly. "What, you wouldn't hit a girl with—"

From the force of the punch, Mari's glasses flew off her face and fell to the floor. Mari took the hit with a smile.

"That's for stealing my Unit-02," the pilot spat. She struck again. "That's for making me fight my own Eva." The pilot paused. Warm blood trickled from Mari's nose. "And this...is so you don't forget, I'll never forgive you." She struck a third time.

Mari slipped into sleep with an insolent smile.