New Mobile Report Gundam Wing © Bandai and Sunrise
Neon Genesis Evangelion © Hideaki Anno and Gainax

Finished this a while ago. Didn't feel like posting it until now, lol.

Also, there was a HUGE flaw in Chapter 2 that I didn't realize until now. I'll go back and edit it shortly for any more future readers. Thanks!

Chapter 21

Heero could feel the knife sinking into his shoulder deeper every moment! Weakening him severely, he dropped the buster rifle to his side as his arms twitched rapidly! In just a moment, the knife slipped out of Custom Unit 00's body, but the pain still remained intense in his arm. Looking to his side, a noticeable wound could be seen in his shoulder, with blood sinking through his plug suit.

Now breathing heavily, he said, "Rei…" He breathed out. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

He heard Rei from the other cockpit, with lots of noise coming from there. She was yanking the two main handles in front of her, trying to pull her Eva Unit away! She banged her fists in front of her, shouting, "I-I don't know what's going on! It's acting on its own!"

Heero looked above and noticed Unit 01 held its other hand high in the shape of a fist! Immediately, its hand raced downward and punched Custom Unit 00 right in the face! Once again, Heero could feel the pain of his own Evangelion! Taking a punch to the face face immediately sent him crashing towards the ground!

"HEERO!" Rei shouted, horrified!

Heero struggled to get back up. Rather than taking a punch to the face, it felt much more like being struck by a battering ram. He's taken hits like this before, but they were never this painful! Weakly tilting his head upward, Unit 01 was preparing to impale another strike upon him with the prog knife! He used whatever of his fractioned strength to whisper to her:

"Y-you can stop it, Rei. You're the master of whatever rests in that unit, right now…"

She heard him say this to her. Her eyes widened and she gasped. However, before she could even act, Unit 01 had already swung its hand down towards Heero and his unit! She covered her face in terror, afraid that this would be his end!

However, Heero reacted instantly and caught the wrist of Unit 01! The prog knife's tip lay right upon the forehead of Custom Unit 00! Every bit of strength in Heero's body was directed towards his arm, pushing back the heavy force of Unit 01! He would only be able to hold this for a short time, however, as his arm was close to the verge of failing him!

Asuka dropped the beam saber, and her arms just fell flat to her sides. This battle was already lost for her. She couldn't even feel her own Eva Unit now. Oddly enough, the world was already silent and frozen around her. She stared blankly in front of her, ignoring the menacing looks of the drones flooding her view. Asuka shuddered, then her soul suddenly left her body.

I failed. I can't believe it.

Her Eva Unit was spiraling downward helplessly, but she could not feel it. The crash resulted from falling from this high of an altitude could kill her, but she didn't care.

That imbecile, Heero, probably got even farther than I did. I can't believe I lost to that idiot.

That wasn't her speaking this time. This time she saw an image of herself speaking to her! It was certainly Asuka speaking, yet it wasn't. She now looked upon a mirror image of herself, an extremely selfish one, and she hated it immensely.

Why the hell am I still fighting in this worthless piece of shit? I thought I was done piloting it months ago, and suddenly I'm back here! Pfft!

"EJECT HER RIGHT NOW!" Misato's voice rang in this imaginary blank land.

Her entry plug soared out of the spinal column of her unit! Even now, flying at incredible speeds, she could not feel it! She could hear the violins, continuing to play the orchestra of her misery. This music reminded her greatly of a familiar moment from before. Then, a flash struck her of that memory.

It was an Angel she had encountered before[1]. Remembering this one grave moment, she let out a deafening scream!

Shinji couldn't take his frightened eyes away from what he was seeing. A defeated Eva Unit 02 now freely falls towards the hard ground. The drones chasing after Asuka would most certainly finish her off, if not the impact from the upcoming crash would. Thinking of the doom she would face from either fate was already painful enough for him.

"Shinji…" Duo said. Shinji returned a look to his friend, whom was looking back up at him. With a small stream of blood running down his mouth, Duo smiled anyway. "Y-you can't just keep dwelling on the worst. Sometimes you just gotta think of how you can make it better."

"B-but what am I to do here?" Shinji worriedly murmured as he continued to walk forward, holding onto his friend. "I'm not even the one fighting… I was just here waiting for some kind of miracle to happen, and look where my stupidity just took me! Asuka may have just lost-…"

"D-don't even think about saying it, bub," Duo said, lowering his head in weakness. "Keep putting your faith in something good to happen, and maybe it'll just come to ya."

Shinji's legs were now beginning to grow tired. Walking through even rougher grounds than before, it was already so hard to just move forward. He was now holding Duo with both of his arms, supporting him the best he could. Walking past now some totaled vehicles from the military; he could tell that he wasn't even close to leaving the battlefield.

However, glancing forward, he jumped in shock as he noticed drones were now flying towards them! Shinji shivered faster than ever, and tears now ran rapidly down his cheeks! He held Duo more tightly than ever, telling him with this hold that he needed his help more than ever. However, Shinji knew that with Duo in this shape, he could only watch and wait like he was.

"K-keep believing, Shinji…" Duo said. "There's no way we're gon' die today."

The drones now scattered across the skies above them! Many of them soaring down and crashing their hands into whatever was on the ground! Rubble from shattered structures now fell atop the streets of Tokyo-3!

Shinji pulled himself and Duo into a nearby alley. There, he sat down, hugging his friend by his side. Noticing Duo was now desperate to keep his eyes open, Shinji's hope for any form of miracle was just about faded.

He kept whispering to himself, When will this end? That's all he wanted.

"We've gotten a report from the UN that we've lost seven major cities already! They've been overrun by the attack!" Aoba declared to Misato.

Misato paused, processing what he was saying. "I don't even care about that right now! We need Asuka and the boys out of there RIGHT NOW!" Misato implored.

Misato suddenly felt her shoulder being grasped. It was Kozo's hand, she saw. Kozo violently swung her to face towards him. He looked at her furiously. "Will you LISTEN to yourself for a moment, Major? You're making this harder not for us, but for yourself!"

"Our prime focus should be on the safety of Tokyo-3 right now! Before we know it, they'll be flooding the Geofront!" Misato said with her voice sounding slightly more hoarse.

"The moment we send out a rescue team we'll be vulnerable in many ways that even you don't know." Kozo said. "Not only will the team be mercilessly killed by the invaders but just sending them out there leaves a small but possible pathway for the drones to swarm in!"

"THEN WHAT THE HELL SHOULD WE DO?! LET THEIR CARCASSES BE FED ON?" Misato shouted. The entire Command Center went silent. All personnel had their attention on Major Katsuragi, whom just displayed her most atrocious outburst upon Commander Fuyutsuki. Much to their surprise, Kozo did not seem to react and just continued to look at her bitterly.

"You certainly don't sound like the Misato I once knew." Ritsuko's voice was heard from behind her. Misato turned around and found her, whom was looking at her very sternly.

"Stay out of this…" She whispered.

"Major," Kozo insisted. "Why don't you have a talk with Dr. Akagi after this is all through? You've certainly brought something personal into this now, and you'll need help before you do something foolish again."

Misato murmured under her breath, "Why would I need to…-?"

"That's an order." Kozo ordered her.

A tentacle came soaring in from behind Unit 01! Heero ducked his head to avoid the massive sweep! Alas, it struck Unit 01 mightily from behind, sending the unit flying forward at a high velocity. The unit crashed into the soft grass, which had now become a large pit of dust and stone!

Heero regained a little bit of his energy now that he no longer had to worry about the haywire Unit 01. He spoke softly, "Rei?" He wondered if she was there, but there was no response this time. He glanced over to the hologram showing her cockpit, where she was now lying helplessly against the chair. She was knocked out cold from the impact.

He couldn't worry about her right now. Turning onto his back, he could once again see the fearsome stare of the Angel locked onto him! The malice arousing this one beady eye had even sent chills to a brave warrior like he. Although not as big as the actual Angel, the great size of this beast was more than enough to tear apart the courage of the strongest men. It was utmost terrifying to say the least, he felt.

Heero reached his unit's arm out to the side, groping for the twin buster rifle! Finally feeling it within his grasp, he snatched it instantly and prepared to take aim! However, he then realized his position. Still weak and lying helplessly on the ground, firing a high-output shot would do great harm to him too! It was an all or nothing chance, he recited to himself!

Tentacles now darkened his screen! The glare intensified with every second, radiating deeper fear within him. The unit's crosshairs now locked onto the pupil of this behemoth, and now he was ready to fire.

"Target locked-on…" Heero murmured. He pulled the triggers.

The blast of unbearable energy now bulleted towards the Angel! It pierced right through the cornea, eventually breaking into the entire eye itself! The tentacles surrounding the beast now jerked violently as reflection of the damage being done to the unit! An explosion then occurred right at the pupil, nearly the size of a city judging from the distance between them. Once the remains of the wave were ignited into the Angel, Heero could now see an enormous melted hole within the eye! It began to fall towards the ground slowly. He had defeated it, but now it was on a collision course to crush both him and Unit 01!

He struggled even more to stand up, but he was determined to make it out of here alive. Therefore, with one mighty kick forward, his unit leaped upward! He barely landed in a standing position, and the contact with the ground already put a strain on his legs. Struggling to remain on his feet, he simply limped while standing.

He observed his unit's condition, noticing that the buster rifle had overheated completely and was no longer usable. He tossed it aside. However, the rest of the unit's body was in even worse shape. It looked nearly destroyed, with its armor almost completely totaled! Sparks and burns grazed the entire unit by now. The flesh of the inner Eva Unit could now be see. The body within the Eva Unit? He suddenly thought. There was something wrong by just looking at this, Heero felt.

There wasn't any time to think about that, however. He looked ahead at Unit 01, whom was still lying unconscious. Spreading his wings, he darted forward with his unit in an instant! The moment he approached Rei's Eva Unit, he lowered his arms and embraced it tightly against his! Approaching top speeds now, he focused entirely on escaping from the zone shrouded by the Angel's mass. He shut his eyes, bracing himself for the worst to come!

Shinji held his eyes shut for so long already. He wouldn't care if he ever saw the light again. He just wanted this madness to end. Laying his head on Duo's shoulder now, he only hoped the comfort of his wounded friend would bring him some kind of peace.

"H-hey Shinji…" Duo murmured, his voice sounding weaker than ever.

He looked over to his friend whom was now grinning. Weakly, Duo jerked his head upward, telling Shinji to look there. As he did so, he was thrown into fascination in an instant! A drone suddenly fell atop a building that was across from the alley they were in! It was panting and wailing loudly, supposedly in pain!

The drone was also changing in appearance – from the fearsome replica of a mobile suit to a far more disfigured shape. Eventually, it reduced to merely a metallic, silvery blob. The blob had then melted, continuing to dissolve away until no matter remained. The once terrible foe had become a nothingness that posed no more threat to them.

Shinji observed the rest of the skies, where drones were now falling out of the sky like rain. He could see them colliding with the ground, also sharing the same fate as the drone he just witnessed! Some of them had even died before they hit the ground!

"L-lets go in there, shall we?" Duo jerked his head in a different direction now. This time, he pointed towards a manhole that was in the middle of the alleyway. "Don't wanna get crushed by raining scrap junk, huh?" He chuckled with a hoarse voice. Shinji returned to him a very brief smile, and he lifted his friend up to carry him to the manhole.

Upon arrival within moments, he lifted the cover and threw it aside immediately. He first allowed Duo to go down there first, so he gently lowered his friend down by holding tightly to both his wrists. Shinji then followed, still keeping close to him. From there, Duo sat down on the ground and relaxed.

Laughing hoarsely but joyfully, Duo remarked out loud, "I think Heero just pulled off something impossible again! That moron couldn't get anymore stubborn, c-can he?"

Shinji watched Duo as he was laughing. He couldn't help but feel better inside, too. With that feeling, Shinji gave him a slight smile. Rei was probably with him right now, too, helping him throughout all of this.

"Ayanami…" Shinji whispered happily to himself.

Duo stopped laughing, then smiled towards Shinji with a happy face. "T-this is the miracle you've hoped for, buddy. You oughta cherish it."

No longer were they within the heart of the Angel. No longer were there illusions. Rather, they were inside of the physical body of it, attempting an escape! The realm of the unknown had soon come to a complete fade, and Heero now flies through an intensely prolonged tunnel, covered in darkness. His first few minutes of passing through this place seemed to be an hour! Custom Unit 00 had already reached maximum speed, yet he doesn't know how long it can withstand such speeds in such this condition. Let alone his physical body, already strongly strained by the status of the Evangelion.

Held between his unit's arms was a motionless Unit 01. Not only was Rei unconscious, but her unit was completely calm after that tremendous outbreak. Heero held onto Unit 01 as tightly as he could in order to ensure they would both make it out of this alive!

The many discomforts reflected onto his body would eventually sink into his mind. He had to take his mind off of any pain he was in. Heero first looked towards Rei, whom was still asleep in the other cockpit. It almost felt like she was right in front of him, although she was actually in the unit opposite of him. Her blue hair had covered most of her face, but right under that he gazed at her features. He realized how perfect they could be – her eyelids, her forehead, her cheeks – not a single bruise or scratch scorching her face. She had been resting like an angel in spite of being in this crisis situation. Heero imagined most soldiers in battle to have scars covering the bulk of their entire bodies, but seeing Rei was much different. She was no soldier.

Light suddenly shined upon his face! Looking upward, he saw it instantly! It was the light at the end of the tunnel! Heero felt mildly relieved to be seeing this, but what concerned him more is what else out there would await him. The easiest phase of this escape plan was complete.

"We've detected that the Libras have all suddenly collapsed!" Maya announced.

"WHAT?!" Misato turned her head forward.

"She's right, Major! The drones are suddenly going inactive and are disappearing in rapid amounts. From what we're seeing, they're disintegrating for some apparent reason!" Aoba said.

"The Angel also seems to be moving away from the planet! Its reading on the radar is leaving us slowly!" Hyuga declared.

Misato's spirits suddenly soared, but at the same time she wasn't really sure. This may be some sort of a climax that turns the tides of this battle. Raising her head, she turned forward.

"No time to celebrate yet. Send out that rescue squad to retrieve Asuka and the boys right now! We can finally ensure a safer escort." Kozo ordered, right before Misato could say the exact same thing. "Show us whatever is happening up in space!"

"Satellites were destroyed from the attack. We're gonna resort to telescope, Commander!" Aoba said.

From the massive screen in front of them, they could see explosions going off in a rather dark background! However, there was one peculiar aspect of this visual – there was a shining object that appeared to be growing bigger as little time went by! It had to be approaching them according to this nature.

"Is it some kind of comet? We need a closer look on it!" Kozo exclaimed.

"It's most definitely not a comet. That's Unit 00 headed right towards the atmosphere!" Ritsuko answered.

Hyuga turned to Ritsuko. "Custom Unit 00? That means they made it out safely! Heero must be behind all of this!"

"And don't forget Rei. Unit 01 seems to be latched onto Unit 00," Aoba said. "Though that's not what's concerning me right now…"

"Report, Lieutenant!" Kozo commanded.

"Custom Unit 00's condition is catastrophic! It will burn up in the atmosphere with its current level of damage. Heero is bound to suffer all the same, too!"

"WHAT?" Ritsuko said. "The unit's wings adapted the same technology from Gundam Wing Zero. If it folds its wings upon re-entry, he'll be perfectly safe from the extreme heats!"

"The unit's just not in the shape to do that! Even if we try to protect Heero the best we can from here, he still won't survive the burn-up!" Aoba explained.

"Heero's chance of a successful re-entry is roughly thirty percent and dropping! And since Unit 01 is literally held onto Unit 00, any disaster that happens to one unit will doom the other one in an instant!" Hyuga emphasized.

Misato blinked. She could already imagine what Rei and Heero were going through. A slim chance of success would all she could ask for, but simultaneously it was a lot to stress over. Her face now covered in sweat and her fists clenched tight, she waited for an outcome.

Looking behind, the planet-sized Angel was already close to meeting its end. The drones and tentacles surrounding it were melting then fading, indicating the Angel's forces were also to perish along with it. Facing forward again, the Earth was within complete sight. The entire eastern hemisphere now filled up almost the entire view in front of him. He was approaching it fast, however, so the sphere before him appeared to grow larger certainly.

"Heero?" Misato spoke. It was the first time he heard her voice since the start of the battle! "HEERO?!"

"I'm here."

"Rei is with you, right?"

"Correct. She's currently unconscious."

"You're about three-thousand meters away from entering the rim of the thermosphere! We're to let you know right now that with the high damage report of your unit, your chances of successfully getting back in are fluctuating! Not only that, but you're also at a high risk!" She echoed through his cockpit.

Heero blinked. "I've done this kind of thing before[2], and right now's re-entry shouldn't be any different!" He returned.

"You wouldn't understand! The Eva Unit's still-…"

He suddenly couldn't hear the rest of Misato's explanation. Pain now roamed his body once more. He tried so hard not to put his mind on it, but now was a moment when it really got crucial. Blood had run down the wound in his shoulder and from his forehead for the past several minutes, and an intense aching could be felt in his biceps and ribs. Whatever Misato had mentioned, it probably regarded his attachment to the Eva Unit. He certainly couldn't have forget it.

"Heero, did you hear me? Re-entry could cause you and Rei to…-"

"We will survive![3]" Heero countered her over to the Command Center. He began by slowing down his Eva Unit as much as he could, yanking back on the handles. He then concentrated on drawing the wings closer to himself, concealing both he and Unit 01. "Preparing for atmospheric re-entry," He whispered to himself.

He shut his eyes and waited. The LCL around him soon began to warm. The hot environment soon conducted onto his body, in which now he could feel a larger effect of heat! He checked on Rei, who appeared to be perfectly safe for now. He could see that she was sweating a little, indicating that the heat was also affecting her!

However, the situation suddenly became worse fast! Heero broke out into a heavy sweat! He could see the white wings wrapped around the both of them glowing bright red, indicating that the height of the heat was now upon them. The air pressure closed in onto them, with any greater strength would surely crush the both of them!

"They're headed through right now… Better pray for a marvel," Kozo's words were heard from the Command Center.

"D-do you hear something?" Duo asked Shinji out of nowhere.

Shinji woke up. His exhaustion caused him earlier to fall asleep. It was ironic because Duo in this very feeble state was wide-awake. Nonetheless, Shinji was grateful that Duo was regaining a bit of his strength now that they were both rested.

He now put all of the strength of his senses into his hearing. The destruction of the drones and buildings above them ended about five minutes ago. This time, he heard something quite different. Almost like a jet airplane, only the sound was growing larger rather than fading from take-off. Furthermore, it was coming from right above them.

"It's probably coming from right above us," Duo said, laying his head back on the sewer walls.

"I'll go check it out," Shinji said, standing up.

Shinji took the ladder on the wall and immediately climbed upwards to the manhole. It didn't take him long to reach the top, but already the sound was much greater! He climbed all the way out, with his feet now flat in the alleyway! Walking over to the opposite end where he could hear the soft noise coming from, it only grew stronger. He checked his surroundings, finding nothing but a few metallic pieces of defeated drones and destroyed materials from the weapon caches and structures.

The noise could now be noticeable by any human ear! He glanced upward, and in an instant he could already see what it was! It appeared to be some kind of a shooting star, except it appeared to be coming down in his direction! Any minute now, a meteor crash would come down onto Tokyo-3!

"Oh my God…" Shinji whispered. "OH MY GOD!" He screamed out loud in utter fright then turned back towards the manhole!

He didn't know if he could rescue himself and Duo in time, but he felt that he needed to act anyway. For all he knew, it wouldn't really mean much if the impact landed right above the city.

"Major Katsuragi!" Someone unknown was heard over the PA within the Command Center, "We found Asuka's entry plug along the outskirts of the city. She's unresponsive but she's still alive. We should be able to bring her back safely!"

Misato could recognize the statement being delivered only by a rescue team member. She acknowledged it without question.

"Excellent! Hurry it up, though!" Misato ordered.

"Ten kilometers and still descending rapidly! Heero has lesser control of his unit the longer he stays up there!" Maya confessed. "Any meteor impact with the surface won't only harm them, but it could mean significant damage to us, too!"

"We'll keep our eyes on them! It's all in God's hands now, whatever happens!" Misato yelled.

Heero could already see some clouds covering the next incoming layer of the atmosphere! It wouldn't be long before their altitude would hit zero now. The worst of the immense temperatures have already passed. In whatever fashion they connected with the ground, it would be the end of the nightmare completely. His body had already begun to fail him. His vision became distorted and his hearing became muffled. The wounds he was inflicted with grew more painful the longer he stayed inside of the Evangelion.

"I've come too far just to fail now…" Heero whispered to himself. "This world's been enduring thanks to my help. It won't be the last." He gulped at the words he was saying. There was now this gut feeling that this Angel wasn't the end of their troubles. He couldn't comprehend the feeling at all.

His eyes now waved over Rei's sleeping face. Heero realized he practically pulled her, Shinji, and the others into all of this chaos. Looking at Rei, somehow he felt an innocent presence stirring in her being that represented the innocence of this world. Heero knew of the war with the Angels that took place on the war grounds of Earth, but upon coming here he brought alongside him another war.

He recalled the exact words he told to Kozo months ago that he had no business with Nerv or anything related to this new world. "I refuse to work alongside a group like yourselves. I didn't come here to meddle with any of your Angel business." He could envision himself saying it once again. However, he sees himself now regretting these words.

Every moment he spent in Tokyo-3 came back to him – his encounter and embrace with a broken down Shinji, Asuka punching him across the face, and seeing Rei in her Eva Unit resting peacefully! What was it about these three Children was he so thrilled with? What was a part of them he couldn't understand?

Heero finally realized his purpose of living in a brand new world: To coexist with those much like him. They were perhaps his hope to finally feel free again from the burdens of war, bloodshed, and sorrow. The remnants of the past were still vague to him, but he doesn't remember seeing the ends of those days.

Could I perhaps learn to live again in a second life? Heero thought to himself.

Shinji had arrived back into the sewers and just informed Duo of what was occurring at the higher altitudes. However, Duo didn't seem to react at all. He was just quiet, sitting with his back against the wall.

"Hey Shinji…" Duo said. Shinji listened to his friend. "As stubborn as the guy is, I start to wonder sometimes if you really mean something to him."

Shinji's eyes widened, "Why would I? I'm inferior to him in every single way. He probably thinks of me as a waste." He sat against the wall opposite to Duo, scattering a few mice that were there. He watched as they scurried away in several directions.

"A-and those mice aren't like that?" Duo said as he briefly laughed raucously. "They're just as, if not more frightened of the world than you are. You're far more invulnerable and valuable than you think you are, buddy."

"But what does that have to do with me and him?" Shinji asked.

Duo coughed out loudly. The harshness of the sound his voice made already made it clear that he was pushing himself to speak. "Because he's just like you. Even worse, probably."

"I find that completely unbelievable…" Shinji said, resting his head back.

"It's true, you know." Duo said. He, too, now laid his head back. "You can't really see the merry under all that scowl, but it's there alright. Yep, he's never even showed it to me in all these months of knowing the fellow. Tell me, what's he been up to whenever you were around him?"

Shinji now began to recollect the moments he had with Heero. One of them was the time on the balcony when he first got to learn a little bit about him. He was not afraid of death, that was for sure, but even then he was indifferent on being the new savior of this world. Shinji had even lent him the S-DAT tape recorder, his most valuable possession – something he used to escape reality, but even now he has no regrets of giving it away. Heero had said to him, "I cannot believe in myself with this task, but I do believe in you."

There was then that moment in the hallway of Nerv HQ, that moment where Heero had drove him beyond his mental limits. It resulted in Shinji hurting him horridly, allowing Shinji to realize the weakness in himself. But was that really the intention behind Heero's action? He could even remember Heero's sudden hugging, something he would expect from him last. Shinji never put any thought into that moment until now: the moment he learned that Heero did have a heart.

"Well?" Duo asked, interrupting Shinji's trail of thought.

"I let him borrow my tape recorder." Shinji said.

"The one you carry around all the time? No way!"

"Yep…"

"I thought you were somehow attached to that thing. You really couldn't let go of it if your life depended on it."

"What's done is done, though…"

Duo shrugged, "B-but anyhow, that's it?"

"I guess so. I don't really see him that much…" Shinji said.

Duo laughed one last time. The joy in this laughter seemed more blissful than any other time he had expressed happiness. Shinji admired that, but at the same time there was still the immense hoarseness in his voice. Every word that came out of Duo's mouth had comforted him up until this point, but sooner or later his strength would give in on him. He hated the thought about it.

"W-well then. I'd want to see you both mingle a lot more in the future. That'll bring this Death God a smile. Maybe you two as broskis could help one another grow together as human beings. Two unhappy souls learning to live and breathe again – I'd love that with a hint of sugar on it." Duo smiled.

Duo closed his eyes and fell over on his side. However, he did so in a strange ways! He didn't appear to be in a comforted position, but instead he looked limp. The blood on his skin had not dried yet, and in fact the stream of blood had still been flowing! Shinji's eyes widened, and he immediately called out to him:

"…Duo?" Shinji stood up and rushed towards his body. Duo did not make any sign of response at all. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and he gave it a quick shove. There was no response. A tear ran down his face, "DUO?!"

"Two kilometers left! I'm ready for landing!" Heero shouted.

"Be careful," Misato whispered. Heero could now hear from the other side that the Command Center was completely quiet. He could somehow see them all just staring towards the two units, many of them with their fingers crossed in prayer or their hands over their hearts.

The temperatures seemed to have risen dramatically once more, but it didn't come from the outside this time. Rather, the tensions of this descent were toying with him – whether or not he could complete this or not. Rei, still immobile, would be dependent on his triumphant or failure. He was holding the lives of two people in his hands.

Custom Unit 00 now spread its wings, slightly decreasing its speed, but even then he could predict that a collision with the ground would prove devastating. He looked on both his sides and noticed the wings were still heavily heated – melting in some areas and mildly burning! Already damaged during the battle, they wouldn't be much help to him now.

One more kilometer until they reached the hard ground. Heero blinked. The speeds this unit had approached were already too much for a safe landing. Even had they landed over water, the impact would create a tremor causing shockwaves to send tsunamis raging across the nearby lands. There was nothing more he could do now – his last resort had failed.

The heat had now affected his skin. He could already feel a mild burn running across his neck and some greater ones crossing his arms. He would probably die right before he even touched the ground, he felt. If the Eva Unit had burnt up, he was for certain he would follow. Realizing his failure, he closed his eyes gently and tilted his head downward.

"Heero?" Rei's soft voice spoke to him out of nowhere.

Heero's eyes flung open, and by glancing towards her, he found her with her eyes open! She still lay in her helpless position, but she revealed to him that she was very well alive. She now faced him, allowing them to look eye-to-eye one more time. They neither spoke a word to each other.

Rei now regained her piloting pose. Judging by the way she looked, she was ready to perform something. She, too, was also exhibiting the same pains as he was. She was panting and her face was covered in sweat! Rei was probably almost as weak as he was, and she would act with whatever of her strength remained!

Heero glanced back downward and realized impact was within seconds! Eva Unit 01 then wiggled out mildly of his grasp! It had made matters worse to him already, realizing it wasn't safe from his unit's accompanied descent! However, Unit 01 now held its hands forward, facing the ground! In a split second, an incredible wall of light now rest in between the ground and the two Eva Units! Rei had deployed an AT Field just seconds before impact with the ground! Both Eva Units had froze in midair, completely halting their free fall! Unit 01's AT Field now disappeared, allowing the units to fall casually onto the ground only doing minor damage to the landing site. The possible demise from a resulting collision was no more.

From there, Heero could now hear and see different things altogether! He had heard the Command Center at Nerv HQ cheering and rejoicing! He had also heard Misato's cries of joy. Lastly, he even could see Shinji from a location of the city of Tokyo-3 before them, holding a comatose Duo while crying in relief of what he was looking at. Heero's mind had been all over the place, but now he felt he could put it to rest now. The battle was over.

He struggled to stand up, forcing himself with all his might to stay on his legs. His unit's wings were still intact, and the moon's light – hence the moon was now visible again thanks to the defeat of the Angel – reflected off the brilliant wings. Heero already felt enlightened from the success of his mission. Custom Unit 00 now stood atop the high mountain over Tokyo-3 – a high Angel looking over it all.

He whispered, "Mission compl-…"

Suddenly, a crushing amount of pain burst from his back! He screamed in excruciating pain – far more than he's ever felt in his life! His heart beat faster than ever and the tensions in his body reached an all-time high! Faintly looking behind, he noticed Unit 01, who had just sliced off one of the Angelic wings! One wing of an angel had just been clipped.

It held a prog knife tight above its head, ready to strike down upon the unit once more! Again, it was fueled with rage unknowingly, and it desired only to kill Unit 00!

Misato, from the Command Center, dashed towards the monitor next to Maya, roaring with unforgivable power in her voice, "REI?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

They saw as Rei tried to resist her unit's current actions. Once again, her efforts meant nothing! The controls of her cockpit with null, and she couldn't do anything about it.

"The unit has gone berserk! I can't stop it! You must eject the both of us immediately!" Rei shouted as suddenly Unit 01 stabbed Custom Unit 00 through its ribcage! It had then tackled Unit 00, where they were both now tumbling down the mountain!

"She's right!" Misato declared to the Command Center. She faced some random staff members standing behind her, "Take a log of this incident, someone!" She faced Hyuga and Aoba, "Eject both pilots from their units! NOW!"

Back on the mountains, Heero felt himself bullet upward at speeds unimaginable! The pain decreased significantly, but the wounds were still there! The world became distorted to him for a whole minute, unable to feel or connect with his own body! Alas, the movement stopped. His entry plug had landed on a ground somewhere, and it was his cue to escape.

Struggling out of the cockpit chair, he now crawled towards the hatch. Now at the hatch door, he placed his hands on the wheel and manually turned it with his little strength left! The door finally flung open, and LCL now flowed out of the entry plug! Heero climbed out of the plug, but the moment he took in the fresh air once more, he felt even weaker than he did from inside the cockpit.

His vision was still distorted, but now he noticed a white figure running towards him. Slowly it cleared, and he came to realize it was just Rei in her plugsuit, evacuating her entry plug to come to his aid! She slid her hands under his shoulder blades and she lifted up, dragging him now across the grassy ground. He assumes she's trying to bring him to safety.

Heero suddenly hears another roar from an Evangelion! He glanced over to his left and saw an enraged Unit 01 charging towards them with a prog knife held above its head! Without warning, it now threw the knife, and Heero watch as it was hurling towards them at tremendous velocity! It was already clear: Just like in the last battle with Zechs… Eva Unit 01 is trying to kill me.

Rei noticed the incoming prog knife, which was surprisingly accurate! She envelops her arms around Heero and jumps to the side! The blade stabbed right onto the point where they were just standing! The impale was powerful enough to send off a shockwave to knock the both of them away! Rei was only driven away a little, but Heero had tumbled a drastic amount more! She got up on her feet, ready to move in to save him! However, Eva Unit 01 had already caught up to the both of them! It was now standing above Heero and looking down upon him menacingly.

It reached down with a wide-open palm. The unit grabbed him, holding his entire body shoulders down. He had no free arms to do anything to resist. He was completely helpless from the grip of the unit! Its eyes now glowed upon laying sight upon his face, and immediately let out a terrifying roar! The unit was ready to crush him with its bare hand! Rei could only watch as a weak Heero could only wait for his untimely death by the Eva Unit!

"Aim all of the city's remaining defenses on Unit 01! FIRE AT WILL!" Misato ordered from back at the Command Center!

Rei now noticed firepower of many kinds now flying towards Unit 01! One after another, the rounds pelted upon Unit 01's shell, doing only slight damage but in greater numbers it seemed to have some effect! Unit 01 now wailed dreadfully from the attack, eventually falling to its knees from the onslaught! It dropped Heero, and then collapsed onto the ground headfirst. Its crash barely missed Heero, so Rei ran towards his body.

The moment she arrived, she kneeled down to get a closer look at him. His eyes were still wide-open, but he did not blink at all! There was even more blood covering his body now then ever, with wounds being seen on him that weren't done upon him in battle!

"Heero?" Rei whispered. He did not answer. "Heero?!"

Heero could still see Rei's face looking upon him! She continued to retain her blank stare, but deeper within her eyes she did not feel blank. He could somehow see into her heart now by looking into her soft, red eyes that she was willing to be his savior now. Throughout the battle, they had been saving one another from one trial after another. This would be the last of those trials. However, he couldn't even see her now all of a sudden. His vision went blank, and the world went black.

[1] In Episode 22 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Asuka has her most notable encounter with the Fifteenth Angel, Arael. Arael shines a beam of light upon Unit 02 and somehow torments Asuka by replaying traumatic memories of her childhood mostly regarding her deceased mother. After her incapacitation from this incident, Asuka emerges with a completely different personality in the remainder of the show. This is a very vital moment of contact between humans and Angels within the series.

[2] Both Wing Gundam and Wing Gundam Zero (both TV and Endless Waltz versions) have capabilities for atmospheric re-entry. Regarding Wing Zero Custom, the Endless Waltz version, the main wings serve as heat shielding for atmospheric re-entry.

[3] This is a reference from Heero's quote from episode 49 of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, where he says "I will survive" before destroying a large piece of the battleship Libra.