Disclaimer: GAINAX and Anno retain all rights to any/all Evangelion related characters.

The Tower in the Distance

Shinji, Asuka and Ghost were sitting in front of the smoking rubble that they had called home. It was only for a few days, but the teenagers especially had become slightly attatched to it. Unfortunately, it had been blown away during raid by a small military unit. Ghost had protected the kids from a bazooka blast, then had moved on to dispatch of the unit quickly. Four of the attackers were still lying around, suffering from broken bones and blows to the head. Only the leader of the unit, a man named Hydra, had been left standing. He had left hours ago.

Ghost had told Shinji and Asuka about what had happened up on the surface, since the teenagers missed the scuffle. They had been taking cover underground at the time of the firefight. Asuka was looking rather down-trodden about the whole thing. Luckly, her injuries were unaffected by the explosion, but she had other concerns on her mind.

"This is great. This is just perfect! I couldn't have asked for more. Next time, we'll ask those kind men to destroy EVERYTHING, not just our food, or our water, or our shelter, or...."

"Asuka," Shinji interupted, "you shouldn't complain like that. At least we walked away alive." Still, I don't konw how we're gonna survive without food and water. Maybe we can find another place like this, but I doubt we'll be that lucky. "Hey, Mis... er, Ghost? What do you think we should do?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he continued to sit in contemplative silence. In fact, he hadn't registered Shinji's question at all. He was too focused on the immediate threat. A special forces unit..... That must mean some sort of deployment..... from a city? No, not a small team like that. A remote base, perhaps? But from where? Should we follow that officer? His track is still fresh....

Shinji saw that Ghost wasn't going to answer him, so he gave up on asking, and sighed loudly. The sun is high, he thought. If we were to leave now, we could cover a good distance. Of course, we wouldn't have anything to eat, or even a final destination.....

Asuka glanced over to the two guys. Both were staring off in their own respective worlds. Ugh. Birds of a feather.... Well, this is too quiet for me! "Hey, you two! What are you doing? Are you just gonna sit there and look bored all day or what?"

Shinji was the first to answer. "I'm trying to decide on what to do next, Asuka. We need to figure out....."

"What is there to think about? We have no provisions, not even a single canteen! If we stay, we starve! If you two are quite finished daydreaming, we should be going!"

"Yes, that's true. But how are we gonna survive without provisions while traveling, if we can't even sustain ourselves in one place? We can't rush into anything, or else....."

A sharp whistle broke up the argument. Shinji and Asuka turned to see Ghost pointing off towards Mt. Fuji. "What mountain is that over there?"

Shinji, knowledgeable about his country, spoke up. "Oh, that's Fuji. It's a pretty famous tourist attraction. Some of the trails make for the hardest hikes in the world! There are also many temples, and...."

"We are heading there. That is our destination."

Shinji looked at him in mild surprise. "Why do you want to go to Fuji?"

"If we reach an acceptable altitude, we can obtain a wide view of what's on the far side. I will be able to identify any towns or population concentrations for about 5 kilometers. It would be the most logical course of action." He didn't mention that the corpral had made off in that direction as well.

Asuka noticed that Ghost had reverted back to his old manner of speaking. He was talking like Ayanami did, not in the casual way he talked when he told them of his past. She would let it slide for now. "That's sounds like a good plan, but at that height, we'll dehydrate extremely fast. Not to mention the distance we have to cover before we even reach Fuji. Do have any idea......"

"I have water, and food. We'll be fine." He got up, walked over to his case, and pulled open the doors. Apparently, Ghost was not one to be caught unprepared. Rows of little metal containers hung on the doors of his little fridge. A divider split the interior in two. On one half, dozens of food packets were packed in tightly. Changes of clothes, a sewing kit, first aid supplies, various other tools, and a small tent filled the rest of it. "I am an experienced traveller. I am always well-prepared for any sort of contingency." He grabbed two canteens and two food packets, and tossed them to Shinji and Asuka. "Shall we go?" He was answered by a pair of nods. "Then let us go."

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After they had walked for about three hours, they took a break near a crumbled house. The roof was still largely intact, and provided cover from the sun. It seemd to the three that the damage was lessening in severity as they walked farther away from the site of the Impact. Shinji and Asuka sucked down their water greedily, while Ghost took smaller sips, trying to conserve as much possible. He hated to be idle for any period of time, so he pulled out the sewing kit and some cloth from out of his chest, and went to work putting together the eyepatch he had proised Asuka he would make.

Shinji and Asuka, who were not used to such long hikes, collapsed under the shade. They stretched their legs, which were burning furiously. Asuka yawned loudly, and shifted over to cuddle next to Shinji. He opened an eye and glanced at her, then closed it again and moved over so Asuka could lay on his shoulder. They lay there like that, evading the sunlight, for quite some time. Asuka, however, had something on her mind.

"Hey, Shinji," she whispered, "what do you think is wrong with Ghost? Ever since he finished his little fight, he's been acting closed again, like he was when he first met us. Why do you think that is?"

Shinji was a bit surprised that Asuka would inquire about their new friend like this. She normally didn't get involved in these issues. However, it was something that he himself noticed during their long hike out.

"You're right, he still is very closed. He is insecure about forging new relationships, probably because he is hurt. Remember, he lost that girl during that explosion. That has to be traumatic."

"But he's been open with us before. He was crying his heart out that one night. But now, he's acting like a kid. He won't talk unless we ask him something, he never gets involved in idle conversation, and I still can't forgive him for attacking you."

Shinji sighed. "I know, Asuka, but he seems a lot like me." Asuka gave him a quizical look. "I was afraid of caring about people, because I know that would lead to pain. I didn't want to get hurt like that. Ghost suffers from that same fear, but he's already beginning to recover."

"How so?"

"Just the fact that he is protecting us, and traveling with us like this means he cares for us, at least a little bit. But he won't express himself openly until he is ready."

Asuka smiled. She was proud of the young man lying next to him. He had really changed as a result of Third Impact. He was talking so maturely about something so complicated as the human heart. No longer was he the anti-social wimp she loved to mock and tease. Now, he was a handsome, confidant teenager, no longer afraid to say what he felt. She wiggled even closer to him, close enough to feel his heartbeat.

Shinji felt her moving around. He turned his head, and opened his eyes to see her. He didn't realize just how close she was. Their faces were centimeters apart. Shinji was staring directly into that sapphire gaze, powerful and piercing. He didn't flich away. That stare didn't frighten him the way it used to. Now, it meant more to him that anything else. With brisk confidence, he closed the gap between them, pushing his lips against hers, brushing her hair aside with his hand. She tastes sweet, he thought. She was taken aback by the gesture, but only for a second. She pressed back with enought force to knock him back down into the sand. She shifted her weight onto her good arm, and hovered above him. They came together again, kissing softly.

Ghost heard the slight movement, and didn't even need to look over to know what was happening. He grinned to himself, and continued stitching the black material diligently. Kids, he thought.

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Ghost finished making the eye patch shortly after the kissing started. He walked up to them silently, giving no indication to his location. He spoke up, and was slightly amused when they broke away in embarassment.

"Having fun?"

"Ahh!" They quickly put distance between each other, and turned two diferent shades of red.

"I finished your patch. We should be going soon."

"Oh, ok. Shinji, help me put it on." Shinji got the black cloth from Ghost, while Asuka pulled up her hair with her working hand. Shinji placed it on her, and tied it off around the back.

"It looks good, Asuka. Makes you look like a pirate." Shinji was smiling. It did make her look a little fierce, but her other eye still stood out brightly against her hair.

The three travellers headed out to Fuji again. Ghost was taking point, walking a few paces in front of them to inspect the area. Shinji and Asuka walked side by side, bringing up the rear of the triangle. They chatted for a while, but during a break in the talking, Shinij's mind wandered off. Hopefully, we will meet some more people. I mean, we found Ghost, and he saw those soldiers, and.... Shinji suddenly realized something. He yelled up to Ghost. "Hey, Ghost! I have a question about the soldiers you met!"

Ghost slowed down enough to let Shinji and Asuka catch up with him. "What?"

"We were attacked by a military unit, correct?" A nod. "What nationality were they?"

"They appeared to be Japanese Defense Forces. Probably a form of Special Operations, to be specific."

"Do you think there would be a base nearby?"

"No. The remains of one might be, but no active installations would be near here. Everything in this area was demolished. An evacuation of any survivors would have take place per standard military doctrine."

"But there were no survivors. Everyone became LCL, those soldiers included. That means they must have come back after Third Impact occured."

Ghost pondered this for a moment. Hmm. I didn't take that into consideration. Perhaps a base is still active nearby.

"Perhaps, Shinji, perhaps. But answer me this. Why would those men have returned so quickly, while all of the residents of the geofront still be in their current state? And why would those soldiers designate you as targets so soon after Impact?"

"Hmm, that's tough. Well, I can say for sure that we have been targeted by the government for quite sometime. After all, we piloted EVA's, and the politicians didn't approve of all the secrecy that NERV was shrouded in. As for the residents of the geofront......... they've been through some pretty rough times, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are still struggling within the LCL to understand what was going on. But I think that with time, most, if not all of them, will resurface eventually. The soldiers probably never even saw an Angel. They were probably carrying on with their normal lives, until they suddenly found themselves in the one-ness. Unless a person has a serious problem with himself or with others, he should quickly return back to the world. It all boils down to love and care. If there is someone out there you want to see again, you will most likely return. That's all there is to it."

Ghost looked at Fuji in the distance. A normal life, huh? Someone you care about? Is that all that is needed for a second chance? I guess so. Then all that's left is to decide what to do with such a gift. I wonder...... What would she want me to do.....?

Shinji and Asuka saw that Ghost had fallen back into his usual state of deep thought. Oh well. At least we got him to talk a little. They slowed down again, to let Ghost alone with his thoughts. They continued like this for about another hour, chatting occasionally, when Ghost's sensitive ears picked up the slightest noises.

Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip........ What is that? It's not natural. A vehicle, perhaps. It's metallic, and systematic, and getting louder. Must be on the move. Wait..... It's above us? Not a plane..... A helicopter!

"Shinji, Asuka, hide over there, now!" Ghost had stopped moving, and was pointing to a pile of rubble off to his left.

The outburst spooked the teens. They halted in their tracks, wondering why they needed to hide. Asuka spoke up. "Hey, what's wrong? Why do we need - "

She yelped, as she and Shinji were scooped up around the waist by Ghost. He bolted to the pile of rocks, and ungracefully shoved them into a little crevice in the rocks. Then, he slid himself in last, and covered the entrance up with his case, sealing them inside. It was pitch black, except for the sliver of light that seeped in through a small hole.

"Hey! What's the big idea, shoving us in here like this? What the hell - " Asuka's little tirade was cut off by Ghost's hand. Extremely angry at him, she struggled uselessly to pry away his iron grip.

"Shhh! Don't make a sound!" Shinji and Asuka stopped moving, and listened for any sounds. They waited for what seemed like an eternity before they heard the chopper. It was flying low, and was moving fast. As it passed over them, it kicked up a cloud of dust, invading their noses and causing them to cough and sneeze. The earth began to rumble from the vibrations of the rotating blades. However, the copter faded away as quickly as it had appeared. When Shinji and Asuka could hear it no longer, they pushed to get out, but Ghost held them back until he himself was satisfied that the helicopter was sufficiently out of range.

Ghost pushed his case aside and climbed out, searching the sky for the vehicle. Shinji got out next, and helped Asuka to wiggle out, trying carefully not to harm her arm further. Then, all three turned to the west, and their eyes followed the black speck out to the horizon.

"That helicopter will be back soon, and I don't want to have to encounter it again, so we'll change course temporarily, to veer us out of it's return path. But we have to get moving, or else we won't cover enough distance, and risk being spotted."

Then, he marched off, angled a little to the north. He set a brisk pace, which the children had trouble following, but they eventually matched his speed, and continued on their journey. There was no need to hide when, sure enough, the copter came swooping back across the desert. All three turned their attentions to it when it passed by. It was a dark grey, not very good camo for this terrain. A large red cross was painted on the side, indicating it's status as a medical craft. Neither Shinji nor Asuka could see any details, but Ghost countedsix people; three crew members, andthree wounded evacuees. He also saw that the craft, despite being a medical transport, was armed rather heavily. Two pairs of missile launchers on the wings, and a large mini-gun under the nose. That must be a refitted combat copter. That's too much firepower for self-defense. But he didn't mention those details to the teens. He just continued walking, briefly considering the possiblity of actually approaching the base as a friendly, but he knew that would never work. He knew he was now a priority target, since he posed a more immediate threat to any units pursuing Shinji and Asuka. They would just have to avoid the military for now, until all of this EVA business was straightened out.

Notes: Not too much happened in this chapter, although I did set up Shinji and Asuka for a more intimate relationship, though I don't yet know how far I want to carry it. :)

Next chapter, though, expect a lot of stuff to happen. I assure you that you won't be dissapointed.