Neo Genesis Evangelion: God's Wings All good things must come to an end.

~???~

"Hurry up with that! We're seven percent behind schedule!" "Primary restraints disabled, now transferring to the cart!" "Terminal plug fused to the cart, beginning security checks." "Eva Unit 01 has been secured in the cart. Begin lockdown."

The scene was reminiscent of Gulliver's Travels. The large purple Evangelion was being strapped down and restrained inside a clumsy looking apparatus that was even larger than the Eva itself. NERV personal swarmed around the beast like ants, taking measurements and performing checks to make sure the Eva was secure and that it wasn't responding to their efforts to transport it.

The Eva had been sitting in a heavily secured storage unit for close to three months. Not once had it stirred or shown any activity. It had not moved since it engaged the Third Angel and absorbed it. And now the people moving it hoped it would stay that way while it was transported to Norway for observation.

But one man among those didn't think along those lines. He wanted the Eva to stay for a little longer. That was his mission. That was what he was told to make happen. And that is what he did when he pressed the button on the remote detonator in his hand.

A small explosive ignited the internal fuel pumps on the cart's side. The fire spread through its internal structure, melting critical parts along its right side from within. Chaos reigned for a few minutes as chief technicians tried to restore order and figure out what happened.

They did not notice the large man calmly leave the holding area. This man proceeded past people rushing towards the commotion, and into an elevator that was rarely used: the elevator that led to the office of Commander Ikari.

The man stepped out into the large room. Despite the numerous times he had been here, he could not get used to the cavernous and forbidding feel to it. He tried to shake off the unpleasant feel and plastered a wicked smile on his face as he stepped up to the desk and the man behind it.

Gendo Ikari glared at the man through his shades, his hands still folded in front of him and waited for the man to speak.

"It is my . . . displeasure . . . to report to you that there has been an accident with the fuel pumps in the holding bay. The cart, as they call it, has sustained damage and certain parts will have to be replaced. The estimated time those repairs to be made is one week." The man's smile grew. "As ordered."

Gendo didn't react to the report. His voice carried no message. "Dismissed."

The tall, unshaven form of Kaji turned from the Commander and proceeded back to the elevator from which he came. As he left, the commander spared a glance at a small calendar hidden from view behind his desk, where the twenty third of February was circled in blood red and marked 'Ramiel'.

Today was the sixteenth.

~Shinji~

"An explosion? At NERV? When?" asked a curious Shinji as he continued cleaning.

Misato sighed. "A few hours ago. There was a spark in a fuel pump - we're guessing bad wiring. But the cart that was designed to carry Unit 01 to Norway was damaged. Until it's repaired, we're going to have to hold to it for a little longer."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, at least not seriously. It was all internal damage." Misato reached up and put a dish of instant food in the microwave. "But there will be a casualty later on. All the paperwork is going to kill me."

Shinji sighed at his guardian's lame attempt at humor. He didn't need this right now. Not now. "Misato, please. . ."

"I know, I know. Don't embarrass you. You've only said it a couple dozen times. A day. For the past week." came Misato's reply.

"I'm serious, Misato. This is the first time he's going to meet you and Asuka, and I don't want him thinking bad about me because you two acted, well . . . like yourselves."

"Are you implying that I am lazy or something?"

"Yes, among other things." repled Shinji calmly.

Misato slumped in defeat. "Ok, ok. I'll try not to be myself, ok?"

"Perfect."

Misato cringed. This was getting out of control and escape was the best course of action. "BY the way, where in the world did Asuka run off to?"

"She left right after school with Hikari."

Misato growled. "Didn't you tell her that your friend was coming over? And that we had work to do to prepare?"

"Of course. Why else do you think she's staying away from home for a little while?"

"That sounds just like her all right." Misato sighed. "She'll show up right before we put the food on the table."

"Speaking of food, how is it coming?"

"It'll be done in a few minutes, Shinji. Relax."

"That's what I was worried about." said Shinji dejectfully. "I was thinking that you were ordering out when you said 'Cooking by the best you have ever known', not a different type of instant junk. I'm afraid that he might not make it out of here alive."

"Har har. You're getting as bad as Ritsuko was, Shinji."

The pair stopped when they heard the door of the apartment open along with the rustle of shoes being removed. "Asuka, is that you?" called Misato.

"Yeah, it's me, Misato. Is that guy here yet?" came Asuka's high voice from the front door.

"No, Asuka, he isn't. He'll be here any moment. Be nice."

"YES, ma'am."

"MA'AM!?!" screeched Misato.

Asuka ignored Misato's outburst and shut herself up in her room. Rustling of clothes told Shinji that she was changing out of her school uniform. He sighed and continued to straighten up the living room.

Asuka ppeared a moment later out of her room wearing her sundress and sat down on the couch, watching as Shinji worked to make the place neat. Shinji glanced up at the girl from where he was picking up things off the floor.

"I could use a hand, Asuka. These are YOUR magazines."

"Not my friend coming here. You do it."

"I seem to recall you bossing me around to clean up when Hikari first came over. You could just be nice, you know."

Asuka turned to him, her eyes narrowed. "You sure seem bossy all of a sudden, Mr. I've-got-a-friend-coming-you-better-behave."

"I don't want to be embarrassed, that's all. It's bad enough that Misato tricked me into letting her cook."

Asuka sat upright. "Misato's cooking and an 'abandon apartment' call hasn't been made?"

"I HEARD THAT!" said a frustrated Misato from the kitchen.

A quiet knock stopped the argument before it even got started, announcing the arrival of their guest.

"He's here!" Shinji looked down at the small stack of magazines in his hand, the last little bit of clutter in the room. He looked for a place to put them quickly before coming to a hasty conclusion. He shoved them onto Asuka's lap none too gently and jogged to the door.

Beyond it was Shinji's good friend and wingman, Kaworu. His thin smile greeted the boy, and Shinji couldn't help but smile in return.

"Please, come in, Kaworu."

"My pleasure, Shinji. Thank you for inviting me for dinner." replied the grey-haired boy, bowing.

"Thank me afterwards. You might not survive the cooking."

Kaworu chuckled. "I've managed to take down a large walking robot, I think I can handle whatever disaster you or your roommates can come up with."

"You've been warned."

Shinji lead him to the living room, but when he entered a thrown magazine promptly hit him, leaving a long red streak across his face.

"Third, don't do that again!!"

Shinji winced in pain and Kaworu glanced at the angry redhead on the couch. "You must be Asuka. Shinji has spoken of you often and in high standards." He reached forward and gently took her hand and pressed it to his lips. "You're as pretty as he said."

"Wha . . . ah . . . er . . ." Shinji's mouth hung open as he watched his friend play smooth with Asuka.

Asuka smiled. "Glad to see SOMEONE here has some manners."

Shinji's eyes bugged out. " . . . oh man . . ."

Misato poked her head out of the kitchen. "Hey, Shinji, the food's . . . oh, you must be Kaworu." She held out her hand. "I'm Misato."

Kaworu smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Misato. Shinji is lucky to live with two fine young women like yourselves."

Asuka beamed. "Yeah, the idiot doesn't know how good he has it to live with me. I don't know why I put up with him."

"But perhaps you don't know how lucky you are to live with him, Ms. Sohryu." replied Kaworu, smiling kindly.

"What do you mean by that?"

Kaworu smiled at her, but not in a threatening way. "He tells me many stories about some plush toy . . ."

~Kaworu~

"Shinji, please, it was wrong of me." said Kaworu for the eight time in the last five minutes.

"No, what was wrong was the way she decked you. You didn't deserve that."

"It's in the past, Shinji. In fact, it doesn't even itch anymore." said Kaworu, trying to surpress the urge to scracth the bandage covering the bridge of his nose.

"I'm surprised you can feel anything anymore there. And that bandage on your nose makes you look goofy. But anyway, I'm still sorry. First Asuka decks you and ignores you the rest of the time because of some joke not even I get yet, much less you, then Misato nearly burns down the complex . . . I still don't see how instant ramen can catch fire like that . . . I thought she nearly killed PenPen . . ."

Kaworu sighed. Shinji was so worried that he would think ill of him that he couldn't see the obvious. Despite having his nose broken, he had a great time at his visit last week. It was certainly an experience. But now things were back to normal, hanging with Shinji at Iruma Air Base on the weekend following the 'incident'.

" . . . and that thing with the fridge was unbelievable . . . I didn't know beer could do that . . . but, it was one big disaster. I'm so sorry, Kaworu . . ."

Kaworu patted Shinji's shoulder. "Shinji, I did have fun and I'm not saying that just to make you feel better. In fact, if things went smoothly I would have been bored."

When Shinji looked up in bewilderment, Kaworu explained. "If a plane flies straight without turning, it will get to its destination quickly and efficiently. But make the same trip again and again, over and over, and the pilot quickly loses his will to fly because he knows what to expect."

"However, if each trip is different, and filled with the unexpected, the pilot will continue to fly time and time again, and each time more willing than the last."

"But . . . why?" asked Shinji, confused at what his wingman was getting at.

"Life is change and change is life, Shinji. That change, along with a person's desire to keep changing, whether good for the bad or bad for the good, is what gives a person the will to keep living for the future, Shinji. Hope that things will change for the good."

"I . . . don't understand, Kaworu."

Kaworu chuckled. "I guess I am being a little philosophical. Don't worry about it, you'll understand with experience."

Shinji shrugged. "Speaking of experience, what is going on next Saturday? The entire base is being put on Alert Status 2 all day."

Kaworu's eyes widened. "You don't know? Eva Unit 01 is being moved tomorrow. And that's not all that's going to happen . . ."

"What else?"

"Well . . . you really don't know? . . . I can't tell you if you don't know."

Shinji slumped his shoulders in confusion. "Alright, I don't want you in trouble because of me. Want to get in some simulator work?"

Kaworu smiled. "Sure, why not?"

~Misato~

" . . ."

" . . ."

" . . . Status."

"They've passed the eighteenth way point and are proceeding into the wastelands."

Misato didn't move, or show any signs that she heard him. She, along with the entire NERV Bridge, was staring intently at the holographic display on the main viewer. The tension was so thick a person could be smothered by it by just looking in the room.

For relaying such important information, the display on the monitor was simple. Just a dot moving along a zigzagging line. In actuality, it showed the path that the convoy carrying Unit 01 through the mountains and into port to be shipped via sea to Norway.

" . . ."

" . . ."

**beep** That simple noise made half the crew jump and begin searching their consoles for the source, before noticing a slightly sheepish looking Ritsuko pulling a mug out of the coffee machine.

"Seems like everyone is a little jumpy." Observed the eternally calm scientist.

Misato sighed. "Can you blame them? The last time we did something like this Unit 01 went berserk. Once it's in Norway I'll feel better."

" . . . Agreed." Said Ritsuko as she brought her cup to her lips.

"Convoy entering the second refueling depot. Estimated down time for refueling is twenty eight minutes."

Tense silence reigned once again in the command center.

~Shinji~

"Shinji, what bothering you?" asked Kaworu as he observed his quiet friend.

"Huh?" replied Shinji, breaking his sudden daze.

The Titan Squadron sat in the waiting lounge on alert status. Some were pacing in the ready room, anxious for news. Others calmly read, not believing that a convoy over three hundred miles away now would be a concern for them.

"I don't know . . ." answered Shinji quietly. " . . . Déjà vu . . ."

Kaworu placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to you. I won't let it."

~Misato~

A phone that is rarely used, placed near the Commander's desk, rings. Fuyusuki calmly, despite everyone's attention suddenly being on him, answers it. A simple phone call, a few seconds of conversation, and all hell breaks loose.

"An unknown object is passing Tonosawa, believed to be the Fifth Angel."

Stillness turned to commotion in a matter of seconds, as the personnel began processing and collecting data, preparing for the Angel.

"Go to First Stage Alert. What's the condition of Unit 00 and 02?" called the Vice Commander, his voice rising over the sudden noise of activity.

"They can be ready in 380 seconds."

"Make it so." Came the calm reply for Commander Ikari.

The phone responsible for the commotion rings once again. Once again Fuyusuki answers it.

"What? You're sure?" Fusuki's face grew dismal as new news was conveyed to him. " . . . . . . Understood." The second in command places the phone on the receiver, and turns to his only superior. "Ikari, the Angel isn't headed here."

"Explain."

"The Angel is on a high speed intercept course for the convoy carrying Unit 01. ETA sixteen minutes."

And for the second time in history, the first being when Unit 01 went berserk and absorbed the Third Angel, Gendo Ikari bolted upright from his seat.

The entire room froze at Gendo's display of shock. The moment was still, save for the flashing lights of some monitors as the Bridge crew observed their commander and waited for his reaction, and his orders.

Gendo calmly resumed his posture and glared down at his Director of Operations.

"The Angel is on an intercept course for Unit 01. Do not, under any circumstances, allow it to be captured or destroyed by the Angel. You have your orders." He added with menance.

Misato nodded, her face suddenly grim. "Yes sir. Prep the Evangelions for flight. Get the children here and suited up immediately. Get any equipment and weapons you can get loaded in the amount of time we have ready to go."

Ritsuko glared at her friend. "It will take ten minutes for the Evas to get loaded, plus twenty to actually fly the three hundred miles, Misato. We don't have enough time."

Misato glared at the scientist. "Then we'll have to make the time. Get in contact with the convoy, and tell them to prepare. Also, alert all our support and tell anything that can make the distance in that time to get moving. It's suicide, but it's all we can do until the Evas get there. Let's just hope it's enough."

~Shinji~

Alarms were blaring and people were rushing. Utter chaos reigned, as it seemed the entire base was suddenly in a frantic spin to do something. If it wasn't for Kaworu pulling Shinji along, Shinji thought he might have been crushed in the sea of humanity.

Two crowded hallways and a door later found the two fighter pilots inside the Squadron's locker room, which was mostly empty. The abundance of empty lockers told them that most of their fellow pilots were already on their way to their aircraft.

In fact, as they entered, a pair of pilots, Cougar and Merlin if Shinji remembered correctly, were leaving out the door to the hanger. He caught a passing word between them, and he feared.

"Time for Angel number three, eh?" said the man, casually.

Shinji suddenly didn't feel so good. An Angel . . . they were going up against an Angel?

"They're wrong." Whispered Kaworu, once the two pilots had left.

Shinji glanced at his friend, but he couldn't read his expression. "This is the fifth Angel." He commented as he pulled out his flight suit.

Shinji followed suit and geared up, but mentally counted how many Angels he knew about. "If this is an Angel . . . then it would be the third, right?"

Kaworu finished zipping up his flight suit. "No. This is the fifth. Five out of seventeen. The first two . . . you should find out about for yourself."

"Kaworu . . . how do you know this? And why tell me?" asked Shinji, confused on how his friend would know this, and his sudden change in attitude. Did he miss something?

" . . . Goodbye, Shinji."

Shinji watched the grey haired boy leave, his face hidden behind a mask of sorrow. "Kaworu . . . what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

~Misato~

Misato's hand was clutched hard as she watched the tactical display. This Angel couldn't have picked a worse time or a worse place to attack. The refueling point was enclosed in a mountainous region, to inhibit the Eva in case it went rouge again. But now it was working against NERV. The Angel was floating right over the mountains, while most of the ground forces would take hours to get there.

"The Evas have been loaded onto their transport planes, and the pilots are standing by." called one of the techs.

Misato nodded. "Launch them immediately. What's the target's ETA to Unit 01?"

"Six minutes."

"And time for intercept for our fighters?"

"Three minutes."

Misato slumped. Those fighter squadrons were the only ones who could make the distance in time, but if they couldn't slow down the Angel, at least until the other Evas arrived, Unit 01 would be a sitting duck.

And another worry: she tried to order Titan thirteen - Shinji - to remain grounded, but Commander Ikari belayed it. Many of those fighters were probably going to be destroyed. She didn't want Shinji to be one of them, but it seemed like the Commander was more concerned about giving Unit 01 as much of a chance as possible instead of the life of his own son.

The minutes clicked by slowly, until finally . . .

"Ma'am, the fighters have reached firing range."

Misato shook away her uneasiness and snapped back into major-mode. "Tell them to engage."

~Shinji~

One hundred and forty four fighters of various designs, coming from Iruma and various aircraft carriers, littered the skies. Passing through clouds, afterburners blazing, rushing to what could be their deaths. It seemed . . . mortifying to Shinji in some way.

Kaworu wasn't helping, either. He refused to say anything besides 'Yes' and 'Roger' to the Squad leader, and not a word to Shinji. Perhaps he was gearing up for combat, Shinji mused, but that certainly didn't help his own mood very much.

He glanced towards the person in question. His fighter was a little ahead of him, obvious to spot with its grey and red paint job. It was pretty distinctive - Shinji could probably pick it out even if mix in with all the other fighters here.

Shinji took a deep breath and griped the controls on his own Sky Hawk. God what he would give for some music right now to calm his nerves. He could almost he the singing voices of . . . wait . . .

"Does anyone else hear that?"

Commander Viper's hard voice called over the com. "Whoever is broadcasting that music, stop it right now."

"Negative, sir, it's not coming over the com - it's from outside."

"The fuck?"

"Sir, thirty seconds to target."

"Roger that, ignore whatever that singing is and line up on target. Begin your runs."

One by one, the squads dipped down below the cloud cover. Titan Squad followed suit, and once below the clouds the Angel was obvious. A large object made of triangles floated on over the mountains.

"Alright Titans, listen up. Remember that the Evas are on their way. We just have to stall it until they get here in about fifteen minutes. It's supposed target is twenty miles due east, stored in a large armored bunker."

"What's the target?" queqed on of the other squad members. Shinji was about to ask if Unit 01 was the Angel's target, but bit his lip. He decided he really didn't want to know.

"That's been deemed classified, Cooly. Just engage the target."

"Bureaucrats" muttered someone over the channel.

"Less chatter, Scar. Our target will be within range in fifteen seconds. Arm your weapons."

Shinji brought up his targeting systems, and immediately the reticule turned red with a long, solid tone indicating a good lock, not surprising since the target was so damn large a blind person could hit it. Shinji pulled the trigger, and one of his eight missiles streaked off towards the diamond shaped Angel.

In less than a second, over a hundred missiles were launched. Fire and smoke from the detonating missiles blocked the view of the target. The fighters continued to approach, but refused to fire until the target's condition was confirmed. Those who thought the Angel was destroyed in the barrage were giving taunts and catcalls over the COM.

Then the smoke parted as a large particle beam shot out of the Angel's midsection and pierced though the center of the formation. Explosions from fighters too close to the beam lit up the nearby skies, while the rest scrambled out of the beam path.

"We're not getting through! We're not . . ."

"Where the hell are those reinforcements!?!"

"Arrrrrrrrggggghhhhhh . . ."

The Angel fired again, and more planes exploded in a ball of flames. Shinji banked left and dropped altitude before releasing another missile, which exploded against the Angel's A.T. Field.

More missiles from every angle struck the shield, making it plain to see. However, none were getting through. They weren't even slowing the thing down.

"What the hell is . . ."

The Angel continued to fire, and each time more balls of explosions lit up the sky. Occasionally the Angel's shots were aimed at the ground, probably impacting the bunker were the Angel's target was. Shinji was getting some distance from the Angel, getting some distance away from the doomsday creature. Conventional weapons couldn't hurt an Angel.

And he was alone. Kaworu didn't follow him when he went low, and Shinji couldn't spot his fighter. He made a quick silent prayer that Kaworu was one of the many flaming wrecks plummeting to Earth right now.

His course brought him over a mountain pass, and there below, he could barely make out the bunker that was the Angel's target. There was little movement that he could see - most of the workers probably fled. The bunker itself was fairly large, a half hexagon. Part of the roof was missing, probably from one of the Angel's blasts. He could see fire.

Shinji completed his U-turn in time to see the blast. The Angel's beam streaked above him, disentigrating a fighter plane above him. The blast was close enough to damage his right wing engine, and without compensation, the left engine pushed his fighter into a spin.

The stick flew out of Shinji's hand as the g-forces pressed against him. The fighter tumbled, losing altitude fast. By some miracle Shinji's hands found the stick, and with both hands, pulled it back as hard as he could.

The nose of the fighter leveled up, barely in time to avoid a head-on collision with the ground. Instead, the fighter slammed into the ground and skidded, metal scrapping and sparks flying out where it touched the ground. The momentum carried the torn-up jet sideways and slammed through what was left of the bunker's door before finally stopping when it crashed into a big stack of fuel barrels.

Shinji opened his eyes to view a cracked canopy and smoke. Sparks were flying out of the diagnostic boards, and he could see some sort of liquid flowing out across the canopy, some of it seeping in through the cracks. It smelled like gas.

A sudden fear filled Shinji's veins as he struggled to release his harness. It loosened against him the moment he hit the release buckle, thankfully. Then he reached behind him and pulled on one of the cords hanging behind him.

A loud bang and pop was heard as the explosive bolts around the canopy blew, sending the glass portion skyrocketing. Shinji grabbed the side of the craft and hauled himself out. He dropped the distance to the floor in a crouch and took off running.

The fuel, now uninhibited by the canopy spilled into the damaged cockpit and towards the sparks. Shinji continued running, looking desperately for any kind of cover. He found it behind a large structure, and barely a split second after he crouched down the sparks ignited the fuel.

The noise was deafening, even when he covered his ears. Heat seemed to be everywhere, all at once. The ground shook with tremendous force. And as fast as it came it went.

Shinji kept crouching for a moment until he was sure that the explosion had settled. Daring to open his eyes, he opened to see trouble.

The explosion had damaged a good portion of the bunker. Apparently, the flaming fuel had set fire to other nearby apparatus. An entire side was engulfed in flame, and it was spreading. There wasn't much light, the only illumination was given by the fire and indirect sunlight coming from the bunker's entrance.

He was crouched behind some sort of armor panel. It appeared to be damaged - there were parts similar to it half melted or broken lying all around. Lying on top of those armored panels was something purple and green, Shinji couldn't really tell what since it was shaped funny. But its identity became clear when he glanced farther down the strange shaft, and saw what was unmistakably a hand.

'An arm! It's Unit 01's arm!' Breathing heavily, his heart pounding, Shinji ducked underneath the armor and behind the arm. Unit 01 was lying on its back, held up about thirty feet by those armor panels and supports.

He could hear that singing again. Its source wasn't too far away. In fact, he could see that damn Diamond hovering over the mountains already. And Shinji knew something was wrong . . .

'It's not firing! What happened to all the fighters? Are they . . .? Are they . . .?' Shinji thought, panicked. If all the fighters were downed, then Kaworu was . . .

The Angel fired at the bunker. The ground shook again, and pieces of ceiling came crashing down. There was another smaller explosion towards the back - flames were erupting out of one of the doors and across the floor.

Shinji looked up to see the Angel hovering over the bunker, its surfaces gleaming in the sunlight. It's singing was all around, like some beacon of death. But there was also a familiar whine of a fighter plane in the air.

Shinji could see it now, a grey and red Sky Hawk. The one Shinji could pick out among a thousand planes as Kaworu's. It soared past the bunker and towards the Angel. There was an explosion of fire against the Angel - apparently he had fired a missile.

Dread filled Shinji. If Kaworu kept provoking the Angel, it was going to kill him. "Kaworu! Get out of there! KAWORU!"

The distant fighter ignored Shinji's desperate pleas as it looped behind the Angel, coming in for another pass at the unstoppable beast. The fighter sped past Shinji's line of sight, rolling to make itself a tough target for the Angel. The Angel fired once again, the blast missing the fighter by a few feet and slammed somewhere near the damaged bunker.

The impact of the blow knocked not only Shinji off his feet, but also collapsed a large portion of what remained of the bunker's roof. The little view Shinji had of the outside area was gone in a flash, covered by piled up debris. The only thing that he could sense was the music of the Angel, a mocking melody that constantly reminded the boy that the Angel was out there, a threat to both him and his only true friend.

'If I don't do something, Kaworu will . . . Kaworu will . . ." Shinji clutched his chest to try to squelch the sudden cold fear that gripped his heart. He stood up, looking around desperately to find a way to get out of the blazing bunker. His eyes fell upon what remained of his fighter, now a smoldering wreck, not good for anything aside from food for the fire. All the doors were either covered with debris or were spewing fire.

Another blast rocked the structure, and the roof blucked. Large cement portions of the roof collasped, threatening the crush the young boy. Shinji had about enough time to look up and scream.

"AAAAHH!"

Shinji blinked in the split second before the concrete was to crush him. The was a mighy crash and thud, and Shinji was sure to have been crushed . . . until he realized that he was in no pain, nor had anything really hit him. He dared open his eyes . . .

Shinji was unharmed, protected once again by the hand of Unit 01. The wreckage of what once held the arm was scattered junk now, and the arm was held out over the boy. Shinji stared at the arm, overcome with a sense of déjà vu. He followed the hand down the arm, until it reached the Eva's head. The head had turned, and it now stared at the boy with glowing eyes.

Shinji stared at the head, and it stared back. The large head seemed to grow larger in Shinji's vision, and it took a moment for him to realize that he was walking towards it.

Unit 01 stared at Shinji. Shinji stared at Unit 01. Slowly, he reached out towards the Eva, his fingers shaking in fear and excitement.

'Why?'

"Why do you do this? Why do you protect me?"

Shinji stopped his hand a few inches from the closest armor plate. At the same time, the fire crept closer to the largest supply of fuel in the bunker.

"Why do you protect me, and not my friends?"

Shinji reached out to touch the armor of the Evangelion, but the second before he touched, he grew angry at the monster.

"WHY DO YOU PROTECT ME AND NOT KAWORU!?!"

Shinji's hand balled into a fist, and he punched the Eva with all of his remaining strength. The moment Eva and boy touched, the head moved forwards slightly to allow the entry plug to emerge from the Eva's neck, surprising Shinji so that he pulled back.

Shinji stared at the open entry plug. The crackling flames and the dreadful song of the approaching Angel filled his ears, and filled his heart with dread. Both he and Kaworu would be dead if something wasn't done fast.

But to pilot something as unknown, as dangerous as Unit 01 again . . . if it went out of control again, it could be Kaworu getting hurt this time, just like Touji's sister had been.

Shinji slowly reached out and touched the Eva again, as if touching it would bring about understanding on what to do. His fingers made contact, and an image of a soaring hawk filled his mind.

The image was solid in his mind, but slowly was replaced by one that he was more familiar with. The sight of a fighter plane, unusual for it's two engines on the tips of its wings and a large laser cannon. It sat on the deck of the 'Over the Rainbow', next to its melted brother.

A soft, familiar female voice filled Shinji's head as the view moved to a smiling Kaworu. "Isn't it worth the risk to help those you care about?"

Shinji started, and his hand separated from Unit 01. He shook his head furiously to try to clear his mind of the not-so-alien image. But the impression stayed stuck to his mind.

"This is just like before!" Shinji exclaimed to no one. "I took a risk to help Asuka, and piloted the Launcher Hawk. Now . . . now . . . if I pilot Eva 01 . . . I can help out Kaworu. But who was that voice?"

Possibility after possibility ran through Shinji's mind. The sound of that voice was so familiar, but like a passing dream. "Rei . . . Misato . . . Hikari . . . Ritsuko?"

Shinji silently climbed into the open entry plug, his mind filled with confusion over the voice and the need to help his friend. As he sat, the plug seal closed automatically, sealing the boy in darkness.

The entry plug zoomed back into the Eva, and locked into place. The second it finished, the rest of the fuel ignited, covering the entire area with fire and smoke. Inside the plug, pillars of light were streaking past Shinji as the plug started up and synchronization started. Shinji desperately pleaded that the processes hurry up so he could help Kaworu . . . before that damn Angel decides to use him as target practice.

Meanwhile, Unit 01's eyes glowed brightly as it was once again reunited with its pilot. Ignoring the fires blazing all around and the numerous embers falling on the Eva the left arm flexed, easily breaking the heavily armored restraints that held it. The legs bent, debris from the now ruined bindings sliding off the shins. More explosions rocked the unstable compound, as munitions were set ablaze, filling the area with fire and licking at the arms, fingers and legs of Unit 01 as it stood up, free of the carrier that contained it. Just one second later, the bunker gave out under the stress and collapsed.

The bunker's collapse nearly buried the Eva, but despite the weight of tons of concrete, Unit 01 broke free with just a small leap, smoke trailing as it landed easily outside of the ruined bunker.

Inside the plug, Shinji gripped the controls tightly and scanned the skies for his friend, ignoring the floating Angel for a moment. That moment turned out to be a deadly mistake. Out of the corner of his eye and way too late to do anything, Shinji saw the Angel begin to glow.

The Eva pilot barely had time to turn his head to the threat before the beam fired. It shot out towards the Eva, about to pierce the monolith's chest before something grey and red flashed in front of Shinji, intercepting the beam before it reached the purple Eva.

Time froze for Shinji the moment that beam struck the unintended target. What should have only lasted but a split second seemed to carry on for long minutes as Shinji watched the red and grey fighter being engulfed by flame and light. For that agonizing second in time, one thought surfaced in Shinji's mind.

'. . . goodbye, Shinji.'

"KAAAAAAWORU!"

~Asuka~

Asuka stared at the image displayed on Unit 02's COM window. Satellite feed was coming in, and the pilot of the Eva carrier was kind enough to link it to her COM. She watched the numerous fighters being slaughtered by the Angel's attacks, and the fighter's pitiful attempts to slow it down. Soon, all the fighters were either destroyed or retreating.

The red-haired girl privately wondered what category Shinji fit in, the running or the dead, and thought running would better suit what she knew of the boy instead of going out like a hero in a blaze of glory. Or maybe he was that lone fighter that kept circling the bunker, but somehow she doubted it.

Not even he was that stupid.

The bunker itself wasn't doing too well. Two shots from the Angel already had the structure blazing, and since it was her job to protect that bunker and whatever was inside it, she was getting agitated thinking that she mighted have already have failed before she even arrived to save the day.

"How in the world are we supposed to protect something that will be destroyed before we can even get to it?!? PILOT! Can't you go any faster?!?"

"Sorry, ma'am, but for the third time, no, I cannot." Despite the unknown pilot's forced monotone, Asuka knew she was annoying him. His lack of emotion only got her angrier. With a noise of disgust, Asuka turned her attention back to the satellite feed . . . just in time to see the bunker collapse.

"SCIESTE! We just . . . huh?" Asuka swallowed her words as something purple and green broke free of the wreckage. There was a flash, and a split second later the feed cut off.

"Was that Unit 01? PILOT! What happened to the feed?!?"

Asuka didn't have time to hear his response as the plane was rocked by some sort of turbulance. The vibrations were intense, causing Asuka to grip her Eva's controls tightly for support.

"What the hell was that?!? Answer me, dammit!" shouted the infuriated Eva pilot.

"Y . Y . Y . You ought to s . s . s . see this . . ." came the pilot's now shaken reply. A new com window came up in front of Asuka, and it's imaging made her jaw drop. The view was from a camera, probably on the Eva carrier somewhere based on the angle, but it showed a horrific sight.

Where the bunker had been was now a massive cyclone that was tearing up trees and land, so thick with dirt and debris that Asuka could barely see past it. But instead of starting in the sky, it seemed to begin at the ground level and worked its way towards the darkened sky. In the twister's center was something even more frightening . . . a small, black figure, hovering high above the ground, crying out like a wounded bird and attached to it's back was . . .

" . . . wings . . ." observed Asuka in a small voice. Three times the length as the Eva itself, mostly transparent but glowing orange and seemingly made of energy. ". . . those are wings . . ."