Disclaimer: I don't own any of the official anime material in this fanfic.

However, I do own the Blackhearted, the ADI, and Otaku.

Regarding Sonic the Hedgehog, I plan to have his world in this fanfic, too. Just not right away. He WILL appear eventually, though.

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UNITED WE STAND AS ONE

Terror in Tokyo-3

Jim was on his back in the ADI headquarters' hangar bay, wrench in hand. He was currently lying on two skateboards that he had somehow managed to attach together due to the ADI's low budget. His pocket computer sat on a table to the side along with jacket, which was draped over a chair. The eleven-year-old mechanic brushed a strand of his dirty blond hair out of the way as he pulls his work goggles over his eyes.

"How's it coming?" asked Sora as he walked in.

"To be honest, this is a lot better than working on tractors," replied Jim.

"You do realize that we might not even need these things after all," said Sora as he watched sparks begin to flash from the underside of the large device Jim was working on. Just then, the view screen on the wall lit up, revealing Kai's face.

"Jim, where are you?" asked the Blade Breaker.

"Right here," said Jim as he put down his tools and rolled out from under the machine.

"You're needed in the transporter room," said Kai, "Two groups have just finished their jobs."

"I'm on it." Jim removed his work goggles, wiped his hands on a rag, and grabbed his jacket and computer before heading to the transporter room. Upon his arrival, he could see the blue light flashing on the console.

"Alright, I'm coming," said the young mechanic. He sat down on his chair, which lifted him up to the main control console. He began typing in a few commands and watched the screens. Within a few moments, he was able to pinpoint the locations of the two signals he had received.

West City and the unknown area, he though. Smirking, he quickly opened a portal to both locations. The first to step through were Trunks, Ami, and Li.

"Looks like you made it through, okay," said Jim.

"Well, we finished out job," said Trunks.

A short while later, Yomiko, Takuya, and Daigo stepped through the portal. The sound of boots, women's shoes, and sneakers against metal announced their entrance.

"Well, that was interesting," said Takuya.

"How did you guys do?" asked Li.

"Well, apparently the place we went to was, what Yomiko told us, the I-jin base," answered Daigo.

"Well, at least you guys are back. We're still waiting for the teams in Hyrule and Tokyo-3 to come back," said Jim. Grabbing hold of the control stick on his right armrest, he moved his chair away from the console over to another one. After making a check on that one, he brought himself down and stood up.

"Anyway, I'm going to wash up," said Takuya, "After dealing with an electrified clone of a 200-year-old samurai, I need some relax time." He walked out of the room and headed off towards his own.

"So, anything else?" asked Jim.

"Well, we did get this," said Trunks. He reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a Dragon Ball. Inside was the image of a long green snake-like dragon.

"It's a summon gem," said Jim, "We're going to need Sora again."

As if on cue, the Keyblade Master entered.

"Someone mention my name?" he asked.

"Yeah, we need you for this," said Jim as he held up the gem brought back by Trunks.

"Yeah, I got it," said Sora. He took out his Keyblade and aimed it at the gem. A thin beam of light shot out from the mystical weapon and hit the jewel, unlocking the spirit within.

"Shenron has been awakened," said Trunks, "The Blackhearted must have suppressed his power to prevent him from destroying them."

* * *

Riku, Mewtwo, and Zechs knelt before the altar as the flames enlarged and the silhouette of Diabolus appeared in the deathly inferno.

"You called for us?" asked Riku.

"Yes," replied Diabolus, "I see that all of you have come, my loyal stone holders. But alas, where is the warrior of chaos?"

He is still as he has been. He refuses to leave his place, answered Mewtwo.

"At any rate, why have you called us?" asked Zechs.

"I'm sure you've noticed the growing powers of the stones held by those ADI fools," said Diabolus. A flame appeared in front of the three stone holders and began to project images of the ADI's most recent victories.

"With each battle, the ADI stone holders awaken another spirit," continued the monstrous demon, "First Thunder. Then Wood. Light. Water. Wind. Moon. The spirits residing within their stone are awakening, one by one. Once all of their spirits awaken, they will be a threat to my power!"

"Don't worry, Big D. We have our own stone spirits," said Riku as he took the Shadow Stone into his hand, "Sphinx."

Chimera, said Mewtwo as he held the Eye Stone in his right hand.

"Minotaur," said Zechs.

"And there is the spirit of chaos," finished Diabolus.

"But we don't even know its power," said Riku.

"I know its power," the demon overlord bellowed, "All that matters now is defeat the ADI and collecting their stones. Once that is accomplished, I will be freed from my prison." Diabolus looked up from the three warriors kneeling before him and noticed someone in the doorway. Not surprisingly, Riku glanced over his shoulder to see.

"I'm surprised you're even here," said the silver-haired youth.

"I'm here and that's all that matters," said the lone figure.

"If you're so powerful, then why don't you go out to fight?" asked Riku.

"Enough," bellowed Diabolus, "I have something else prepared for you, warrior of chaos."

The warrior of chaos just stood listening before he turned around and walked away.

He is one of great mystery, said Mewtwo, Not even I can tell what thoughts reside within his mind.

"You may now go resume your training," said Diabolus right before he disappeared and the flames returned to normal.

"Well, that's that," said Riku as he stood up.

"I'll go see if Epyon is ready yet," said Zechs before he left.

"How can he possibly put so much trust into someone who hasn't fought yet?" asked Riku as he walked out of the chapel with Mewtwo behind him.

You may possess the powers of Darkness, Riku, but don't let it cloud your mind, said the psychic Pokémon.

As they walked through the hallways, they noticed the lone warrior standing outside. His back was turned towards them, but he was facing a massive creature covered with rotting flesh.

"That's an Undead Dragon," exclaimed Riku, "one of the most powerful monsters in this world." He watched as the warrior of chaos reached for something at his side. In one swift motion, the dragon body was dismembered limb from limb. A severed hand landed near Riku's feet. The warrior of Darkness simply shrugged and kicked it away.

* * *

"Looks like this way is blocked, too," said Shinji.

"Not for long," said Rokusho, "CHANBARA SWORD!" One swift swing of his sword and Rokusho cut down the jammed door that barred their path.

"It is almost as if the city's power was cut," said Meta Knight.

"That happened once," said Shinji as he recalled the time Matariel attacked. The whole city of Tokyo-3 had been plunged into darkness and he, Asuka, and Rei, literally had to crawl through a mile of mud to get to NERV headquarters.

"So what do we do now?" inquired Rokusho.

"We should probably head to NERV headquarters," said Shinji, "We may need something there."

"So how do we get there?" asked the white Medabot. This immediately threw Shinji off. Even though he and the other Eva pilots had made it to their destination, it was Asuka who "led" the way the whole time. The Third Child just sighed.

"Then we will just have to find a way," said Meta Knight.

Just then, several aircrafts flew by overhead. The three stone holders looked up to see them pass and wondered where and why they were heading off.

"Attention, everyone! Please evacuate the area immediately!" a voice rang out on a speaker, "I repeat, evacuate the area immediately! An Angel is approaching! I repeat, an Angel is approaching!"

"An Angel?!" Shinji practically screamed.

"Somehow, I get the feeling this 'Angel' you're talking about is nothing like I imagine it," said Rokusho.

* * *

"The Angel is approaching quickly," said Makoto Hyuga.

"It's already passed our innermost defenses," said Shigeru Aoba.

"Commander, what should we do?" asked Maya Ibuki.

NERV commander Kouzou Fuyutsuki looked over at the organization's head commander, Gendo Ikari. The dark-haired man sat at his station as calm as ever watching everything.

"Dispatch the Evas immediately," he ordered.

"But the pilot of Unit-01 hasn't arrived, yet," said Shigeru.

"Dispatch whatever we have now," said Gendo.

"Roger!" said Makoto.

Down below, the Evangelions were being prepared for launched. Asuka and Rei were already in their plug suits and sitting inside their Entry Plugs.

"Now inserting the Entry Plugs," said Ritsuko. She watched as the two cylindrical capsules were inserted into the ports on the backs of Evas 00' and 02.

"The Evas are now ready," the blonde said.

"Commence launch!" Gendo ordered. Immediately, the restraints were removed from both synthetic life forms and the two of them were taken to the launch pads.

"Launch shafts are all clear," said Maya.

"Launch!" ordered Misato.

The launch pads were released and the two Evas shot up through their respective shafts and emerged out into the surface. The final restraints were immediately released and both behemoths stood waiting.

* * *

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted by loud warning sirens. Looking towards the skyline, he saw Eva-02 suddenly rise up above the buildings.

"What is that?" asked Rokusho.

"It's one of the Evas!" exclaimed Shinji. He turned around and Eva-00' emerged on the opposite side of the street. Both Evas looked ready for combat.

"We had best get out of the way," said Meta Knight.

"We have to get to NERV headquarters now," said Shinji. He, Rokusho, and Meta Knight immediately broke off into a run. However, as they ran, they failed to notice the shadows that were making their way down the Eva launch shafts.

* * *

"I don't see anything!" said Asuka.

"Keep a close eye out for it," said Rei, calmly.

The two pilots sat in their Entry Plugs, waiting. Minutes passed and there was still no sign of the Angel. Asuka was beginning to get bored while Rei's face remained a mask free of emotion. Asuka was about to make another complaint when something appeared on the horizon.

"It's here," said Rei.

"About time!" said Asuka, who was clearly eager to engage combat.

The Angel approached Tokyo-3 at a steady pace. Its body was completely black. A skull-like face was set into its body at shoulder height. Its red spherical core could be seen on its abdomen within a mark that looked like a black heart. Its shoulders seemed to resemble those of an Eva. Other than that, it looked fairly simple.

"That's it?" asked Asuka. She was hoping for something more elaborate. "Well, I guess it's better than nothing. CHARGE!" Eva-02 immediately leap into action and ran straight towards the Angel.

"Something is very wrong," said Misato who was watching the fight from NERV HQ. Her guess couldn't have been more correct. A flash of purple suddenly flashed and knocked Eva-02 back.

"What the hell was that?!" shouted Asuka. Looking back at the Angel, she saw a set of spinning laser tentacles surrounding it.

"Those weren't there before," said Misato.

The Angel stopped spinning its tentacles and absorbed them back into its body. It then held out its right arm. Its thumb and two other fingers grew as the rest of the fingers shrunk into the hand. The forearm thinned out until it was almost anorexic. A red circle appeared in the center of its palm as a spike shot out of its elbow.

"No way!" exclaimed Misato. She recognized the arm as belonging to Sachiel, the third Angel. She watched as the black behemoth took aim and shot an energy spear from its hand at Eva-02, just as Sachiel had done before.

"Damnit!" screamed Asuka.

* * *

Shinji and Rokusho were crawling through an air duct while Meta Knight, being the height that he was, just walked.

"This is a lot harder than I remember," mumbled the fourteen-year-old.

* * *

Yami Malik watched as the fight between the two Evas and the Angel intensified. He let out a small smirk as the scales seemed to tip in favor of evil.

"Azrael is proving to be quite a worthy creation," said the ancient spirit.

"Indeed, it is," said Yami Bakura.

"Are you ready for your mission?" asked Yami Malik.

The tomb robber's soul encased in the white-haired boy's body smirked as he replied, "I've been ready for a long time, now."

"Then stay that way," said Yami Malik, "Is the warrior of Earth ready?"

"He is and he's waiting," replied Yami Bakura.

"Dispatch him to Tokyo-3, immediately," ordered Yami Malik, "We have a key to snatch. And make sure the warrior of Darkness is on standby."

* * *

Zechs stood in the hangar while the final checks were being made on Epyon. The red and black Gundam was designed solely for close combat, which meant it was built for speed.

"That's enough now," said the white-haired commander. The Blackhearted that were working on the Mobile Suit backed away and disappeared back into darkness.

"So, you're going out?" asked Riku as he entered. He was clad in his armor and he held his Keyblade in his hand.

"Yes, and you're supposed to be my backup," said Zechs.

"Just because I'm the only one who has a viable substitute for every world's key," said Riku, "That's the only reason you're keeping me here, right?"

"I don't know," said Zechs as he boarded a platform which took him up to Epyon's cockpit.

* * *

The Angel, whom we now know as Azrael, tossed Eva-00' into Eva-02, knocking both to the ground.

"Damn it! What's up with this thing?!" Asuka asked.

"It appears that this Angel has somehow obtained the abilities of all the other Angels previously fought," Rei answered.

Azrael's head suddenly morphed in that of Sandelphon and it closed its jaws over Unit-02. Asuka tried to endure the pain, but it was incredible. Not wanting to give her a chance, Azrael morphed its left hand into that of Israfel and severed Eva-02's umbilical cord.

* * *

"This is it! We've reached the Geo-Front!" said Shinji. Rokusho and Meta Knight exited the shaft just after Shinji and looked around.

"It looks like we're still outside!" said the white Medabot.

"But we are underground, are we not?" asked Meta Knight.

"It's kinda hard to explain," said Shinji. A loud crash suddenly knocked everyone off their feet and debris began to fall from above.

"Watch out!" warned Rokusho.

"Leviathan, defend us!" shouted Meta Knight. The Aqua Stone shone brightly and the watery serpentine spirit emerged and flew over the heads of the stone holders, protecting them from harm.

"Hey, we're okay," said Shinji.

"Let's go, now!" said Meta Knight, "Shinji, please lead the way."

"Uh, right. Follow me," said the Third Child. He, Meta Knight, and Rokusho ran across the field towards the pyramidal structure while Leviathan flew overhead, blocking any falling debris, which was undoubtedly being caused by the battle on the surface. A large piece of metal broke off and started to fall at an alarming rate towards the stone holders.

"That piece is too big for the water spirit to protect us from!" exclaimed Rokusho.

"Leviathan, attack!" ordered Meta Knight.

Leviathan roared and a diamond-shaped shape seemingly made of energy appeared around its head. The spirit of the Aqua Stone reared back its head before firing a beam at the massive piece of debris, destroying it upon impact.

"Nicely done!" said Rokusho.

"Things are not over, yet," said Meta Knight, "Look!" Up ahead, several Blackhearted minions suddenly appeared. Most of them were Shadows and Soldiers, but some appeared to be floating one-foot-tall lanterns of different colored – red, yellow, and blue.

"What are those things?" asked Shinji.

Meta Knight took out something that Otaku had given him and opened it.

"ADI Headquarters. Richie Williams here."

"Richie, we need information on some new Blackhearted," said Meta Knight.

"I'm on it!" said the young Pokémon trainer. He began to type furiously and in about a minute, he reported the results of his search.

"Okay, the red ones are called Red Spells. The blue ones are Blue Enchantments. The yellow ones are Yellow Curses. They fire, ice, and thunder attacks respectively," said Richie.

"Shinji, go on! We'll take care of these Blackhearted!" said Rokusho.

"Alright," said Shinji before running off.

"Let's go, Meta Knight," said Rokusho.

"Right," said the spherical swordsman as he drew his weapon.

"CHANBARA SWORD!" Rokusho blazed through the ranks of the Blackhearted and swung his sword as he passed.

"Sword Beam!" Meta Knight swung his blade and a single energy beam flew out and struck down several Blackhearted.

* * *

Shinji made it inside NERV headquarters and began running through the corridors. The place was crawling with Blackhearted and various NERV personnel were shooting the deadly creatures with whatever available weapons were at hand.

"Over here! More are coming!" shouted one guard.

"Backup! I need backup!" another shouted into his radio.

Shinji ran past all the action trying to get down to the cage as quickly as possible. He knew that his skills, no matter how much he or anyone else looked down upon them, were needed on the surface. By coincidence, he ran into a man with long dark haired tied back behind his head in the process.

"Kaji!" he said.

"Shinji! Where have you been? We need you!" said Kaji. Quickly, he grabbed Shinji by the arm and dragged him down to the cage. Upon arrival, he was greeted by Ritsuko.

"Shinji, get into your plug suit and prepare for launch," said the blonde scientist.

"Yes, ma'am!" said Shinji. He quickly ran down to the dressing room and changed into his blue and white plug suit. As soon as he was finished, he ran back and entered his Entry Plug.

"Unit-01's entry plug is ready," said Ritsuko, "Inserting now."

Shinji held on as his Entry Plug was slowly inserted into the back of his Evangelion. LCL soon began to fill the plug and completely submerged him. A few moments later, he could clearly see everything outside his Entry Plug.

"Eva-01 is now ready for launch," said Ritsuko.

"Commence launch!" ordered Gendo through the com.

Alarms blared as the umbilical bridge slowly moved away from Eva-01, which was followed by both the primary and secondary restraints. Shinji sat patiently in his seat as his Eva was moved towards the launch pad. The Destiny Stone, which he felt he would somehow need, hung around his neck. The pad locked into place and the shaft opened.

"The launch shaft is all clear," said Maya.

"Eva launch!" shouted Misato.

Shinji held on for dear life as his Eva shot up the shaft at blazing speed. Up on the surface, warning lights flashed and alarms sounded as a section of the street opened up, allowing Eva-01 to emerge.

"Final safety locks disengaged!" ordered Misato.

The remaining restraints were removed and Eva-01 lurched forward. Before him, Shinji could see Eva-00' and Eva-02 being severely beaten by Azrael.

"It's Shinji!" exclaimed Asuka, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!!"

"Well, I uh…" Shinji stammered.

Azrael turned its attention away from the two beaten Evas and focused on Unit-01. Everything following happened in a flash. Before he knew it, Shinji found himself and his Eva smashed into the side of a building.

"Shinji, get up!" Misato shouted.

Slowly but surely, the giant purple-armored life form rose to its feet. The wall of a nearby skyscraper slide open, revealing a Pallet Gun. Eva-01 quickly grabbed the weapon and opened fire on the Blackhearted Angel. Azrael, however, seemed unaffected by the assault and stood in place until the gun's ammo had all been used up.

Tossing the used weapon aside, Eva-01 reached into its left shoulder blade and took out its Progressive Knife. Raising its glowing blade over its head, it charged forward and brought it down on the Angel only to run right into an AT Field. Shinji prepared to activate his Eva's own AT Field when Azrael suddenly grabbed both of its arms with those of Sachiel and pulled. Pain shot through Shinji's arms as the tension intensified. Azrael finally let go of Eva-01 only to hit it in the face with an energy spear.

"Just hold on, Shinji!" said Misato, trying to keep the boy's spirits up.

Eva-01 stood up once again only to be met by a piece of Azrael's body which exploded upon contact. The Angel suddenly extended its arms to three times their length and grabbed the Eva by the throat, apparently using one of Bardiel's techniques. Even its arms had changed to look like those of Eva-03.

* * *

"This is bad," said Misato.

"Shinji will make it," came a mechanical voice. The NERV staff turned and saw Rokusho and Meta Knight standing at the entrance.

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" demanded Fuyutsuki.

"We're acquaintances of Shinji," said Rokusho.

"Someone get them out of here!" ordered Misato.

Just then, a Shadow appeared on the console in front of Gendo. Rokusho quickly went and slashed the dark minion with his Chanbara Sword, destroying it.

"We'll take care of the Blackhearted!" said Meta Knight as more Blackhearted minions appeared.

* * *

Shinji strained as Azrael's grip tightened around his Eva's neck, strangling him in the process. As if it wasn't bad enough, the Blackhearted Angel suddenly sprouted Arael's wings from its back and Matariel's eye formed over where its core was and began secreting acid. (A/N: Azrael's kinda leaning over Eva-01, hence why it's able use the acid.) The corrosive liquid slowly dripped poured down and began to eat away at the Eva's purple armor.

"I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away," Shinji muttered to himself as he struggled to resist the Angel's onslaught. As the pain intensified and his breath shortened, the Destiny Stone slowly began to radiate with a bright light. Shinji opened his eyes for a moment and looked down at the glowing crystal. The symbol of Fate suddenly appeared within the stone.

"I…can…do it," said Shinji.

Outside of his Entry Plug, Azrael had just begun to morph its head into Sachiel's in hopes that it could blast Eva-01 at point blank when a bright light suddenly shone out from the armored life form. A pair of wings seemingly made of light (A/N: like in End of Eva) emerged from its back and Azrael was blasted away. Eva-01 slowly rose to its feet and a giant angel wielding a sword floated out and appeared before the Blackhearted Angel.

* * *

"What is that?" Misato asked as she and the rest of the NERV staff watched the screens.

"The spirit of the Destiny Stone has awakened!" exclaimed Meta Knight, which undoubtedly caused everyone but Rokusho to turn to him in confusion.

* * *

Shinji, now free from Azrael's hold, looked up to see the spirit of his Stone floating just over him.

"Seraphim," he whispered.

Azrael quickly jumped back onto its feet and made some sort of odd motion with its arms as if it was roaring or something related to such an action. The Seraphim spirit raised its sword and flew towards the creature of darkness at full speed. A second flashed as the holy blade cleaved through Azrael's body, spilling blue blood everywhere.

The second the sacred spirit withdrew and returned to the Destiny Stone, Eva-01 rose up and stood on its two feet. The sound of a beating heart echoed through the thickened air as Shinji gripped the controls at his sides. Just as it had done many times in the past, the mouth of Eva-01 burst open, revealing it bloodstained teeth, and the massive behemoth let out an ear-splitting roar.

* * *

"What happened?" asked Rokusho.

"Shinji's just lost control," said Maya.

"Berserker," Ritsuko whispered.

* * *

Eva-01 crouched down on the ground and leapt high up into the air. It landed feet first on Azrael and immediately grabbed onto it. The Blackhearted Angel reached up and tried to pull the synthetic life form off, but without any luck. Eva-01 growled menacingly before rearing back is head and smashing it into Azrael's face before jumping off and landing behind it. The berserk NERV creation quickly turned around and ran straight towards its opponent, tackling it in the back and sending the dark Angel into a large building before going in for another charge.

Azrael quickly brought its hands on the building's roof and backflipped over it just as Eva-01 smashed into the spot it had occupied seconds ago. The Angel landed on the ground behind the structure and quickly morphed its arms into those of Zeruel. Now armed with a pair of incredibly long flexible blades, it lashed out at its opponent. Eva-01 quickly leapt out of the way as the blades cleaved through everything between them and their target. Undaunted, Azrael continued its assault, the Blackhearted insignia surrounding its core beginning to emit a dull purple aura.

Not far away from where the battle was taking place, Eva-00' and Eva-02 slowly got up off the ground and turned to look at the fight between the two opposing forces.

"I have never seen Unit-01 fight so ferociously before," Rei commented.

"Maybe Shinji's finally gotten a spine," Asuka said smugly.

Azrael lashed out again, but this time Eva-01 was prepared. It held out its and the blade hit it with full force only to be split into several thin strips by five purple fingers. Unit-01 immediately grabbed the blade and yanked, reeling the Angel in. a short struggle ensued followed by a kick to the stomach, which tore the blade and sent Azrael back. Eva-01 tossed the useless blade strips aside and pounced on its enemy only to hit its incredibly powerful AT Field which was, in fact, just as strong as the one used by Tabris, if not stronger.

* * *

"They seem to be evenly matched," said Meta Knight.

"If this keeps up, the whole city will end up in ruins," said Rokusho.

They continued to watch as Eva-01 and Azrael fought viciously, neither force seeming to show any signs of wear. Unit-01 was practically invincible whenever it went berserk and Azrael had the abilities of all the Angels that NERV had encountered in the past. It was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.

"Commander Ikari, we've found an unidentified being within the area of the battlefield!" said Makoto.

"What?! Is it an Angel?" asked Misato.

"Negative, its blood is red," said Shigeru as he looked at the analysis on his screen.

"Let's see it," said Gendo.

The three NERV lieutenants worked on their consoles until they finally brought up an image on the screen. It showed a lone man with long dark brown hair dressed in dark clothing. He wore something across his face that seemed to cover his left eye while surrounding his right one like an eyeglass frame.

"Who is that?" asked Fuyutsuki.

* * *

The lone man stood on a building watching the fight. He had no idea how it happened, but somehow he had been transported to this world.

Why did I follow that boy? he thought to himself. (A/N: Remember what Riku said in the last chapter about someone following him and having to dump him off in a random world?) Somehow, he could sense a difference between the two battling behemoths. One, although as wild as a rabid beast, seemed to emit some sort of innocence from within. The other seemed to radiate with pure evil. Kaze knew immediately what he had to do. The wind blew his cloak aside, revealing a large golden cylinder covering his right arm from the elbow down. He raised his arm and held the cylinder across his chest.

"Soil, my strength!" he cried. Immediately, the green circle lit up and retracted into the cylinder only to be replaced by a spinning propeller. The cylinder broke off Kaze's arm and reformed into some sort of golden three-barrel gun clasped onto his forearm. Within a transparent glass chamber clearly visible on the weapon was a beating black heart covered with red veins. A small drill-like projection spun rapidly on the side as Kaze held up the strange device.

"Demon Gun, dissolve!" The wind finally died down and Kaze stood on the building pointing his weapon at Azrael.

* * *

"What is he doing?" asked Gendo.

"We're about to find out," said Rokusho.

* * *

"Who is that?" Shinji wondered out loud as he looked down from his Entry Plug while his Eva continued to fight.

"I've chosen the Soil for you!" said Kaze, pointing to Azrael. Reaching for his belt, he pulled out a bullet-shaped canister with a golden head and end. In between was a glass tube containing some sort of black soil.

"Origin of all, Mother Black!" Kaze flipped the canister into the air with his thumb as though he were flipping a coin. Three ports opened up in the back of his Demon Gun and the canister slid into one, which closed as soon as the projectile was fully inserted. Kaze then reached for his belt again and pulled out another canister, this time containing a sample of bright red soil.

"One that burns everything, Fire Red!" Just as he had done with the Mother Black soil, the canister containing the red soil slid into the second port and was sealed off. Kaze then smacked the side of his belt with his left hand and a canister containing golden soil popped out from its case.

"The critical point of it all, Burning Gold!" The soil flashed in the light of the sun for a second before it was inserted into the last port. As soon as all three were sealed, the Demon Gun's heart sped up, as did the drill-like projection.

"What is he doing?" asked Asuka as she and Rei continued to watch on the side after managing to climb out of their Entry Plugs and now sat on their Evas.

"Burn!" said Kaze as he brought the Demon Gun forward and took aim, "Summon Creature…PHOENIX!" He pulled the trigger and an explosion erupted from the weapon's three barrels, creating a large cloud of smoke. Three beams – one black, one red, and one gold – emerged and spiraled towards Azrael.

Sensing that something was coming, Azrael raised its AT Field. However, it was unable to block the three beams that spiraled towards it. They broke through the protective energy shield and hit Azrael with full force. Everyone who saw the whole thing blinked in confusion, wondering what just happened when Azrael's body slowly began to bloat up as a fiery red glow began to radiate from deep beneath the dark flesh. Eva-01 took that moment to grab its Progressive Knife from where it lay on the ground and jammed it deep into the Angel's core. Sparks flew as the glowing blade dug deeper and deeper into the red crystalline sphere. At the same time, Azrael's body continued to expand. Finally, the core cracked and a burst of fire erupted from the Angel, shattering the blood-red orb and spilling blue blood and black flesh everywhere. The flames rose high into the air and took on the form of a massive bird; a phoenix. The phoenix's cry echoed through Tokyo-3 as it flew up into the sky and disappeared.

* * *

"So, how did you get here?" Shinji asked Kaze.

"The outer world was attacked. I tried to follow one of the attackers, but he dropped me here as soon as he discovered me," answered the holder of the Demon Gun.

"Well, why don't you come with us?" asked Rokusho, "We could always use more help."

Kaze hesitated for a moment before he finally nodded in agreement.

"Shinji." The Third Child turned and saw Misato standing there.

"Yes, Misato?" Shinji asked as he walked up to her.

"You did a good job fighting that Angel," said the NERV captain, "And your two friends explained everything to me. I managed to get permission from commander Ikari. Shinji, take Unit-01."

"Huh?" asked the fourteen-year-old boy. This caught him off guard. The Evas were strict property of NERV. Removal of them was considered a high breach in security.

"Take it," said Misato.

"Well, okay," said Shinji.

"Let us be off," said Meta Knight.

A portal leading back to ADI headquarters opened up and the three stone holders, along with Kaze and Eva-01, stepped through.

"There they go," said Misato, "Hopefully, things will calm down soon."

No sooner as those words left her mouth, a dark portal appeared in the sky and a massive red and black two-headed bird with a long tail burst through. As it descended, it seemed to transform. Its heads turned into feet and its tail appeared on the left arm of a massive red and black winged robot.

"This is Zechs Merquise," a voice came from the robot, "Surrender to the Blackhearted now." Several Shadows and Soldiers appeared near the robot's feet and surrounded the NERV personnel.

"We will never surrender," said Gendo, firmly.

"Then feel the power of the Gundam Epyon!" said Zechs. Epyon pulled out its beam sword and the blade activated automatically. As Zechs prepared to eliminate his opponents, the Terra Stone began to glow and a giant mass of brown energy appeared behind his Gundam and took on the form of a giant with a bull's head and a large axe in its hands.

"Feel the power of the Minotaur!" said Zechs as his stone's spirit and Epyon brought down their weapons.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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NEXT TIME:

We turn to Link, Ashitaka, and Kaiba are in Hyrule on a mission to save it and defeat the King of Evil. But what of Princess Zelda? Could she be one of the seven maidens Yami Malik spoke about? Read and find out.

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