Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 32

'Some things never change.'

This was what Qui-Gon thought darkly as he and Shinji fought the battled with the dreaded Sith. To his credit, Shinji was faring quite well, both against Maul's attacks and in fighting in union with him, connecting with the living Force as they moved in tandem with each other. But despite this, Maul's display of aerobatics and attacks were keeping them at bay. The battle moved through the corridor and wound up on a platform overlooking the Eva cages. The Sith cartwheeled backward and held his stance, waiting for the Jedi to move in.

'He's leading us.' Qui-Gon noted. But unlike before, they would have the terrain advantage since Maul has never been inside the Geofront before. At least as far as he knew. If he was indeed leading them, then it was safe to assume that he knew the terrain just as well. Only Shinji knew it better. He just had to hope that his Padawan would realize this.

Shinji whirled his lightsaber as Maul backed away. It had taken a lot of his concentration and training just to keep up and even more to battle the Sith. The dark side of the Force had been clouding his connection, making it harder to react and giving the Sith a deadly edge. But even so, he continued on. Along with his master, they had been able to push Maul back in retreat. But that was what worried Shinji the most. Given the skills of the dark warrior, it shouldn't have been as simple as this, even with his master fighting alongside him. 'Is he leading us?' That would indicate that that Maul knew something about the structure of the Geofront. He would have to be really cautious now. He had to trust the Force, no matter how far off it seemed now.

Maul eyed both Jedi carefully. So far, they were moving just as he wanted them. Just like before …in a distant past. The only real difference was the apprentice that fought him. He was younger than the last one, but the Force was strong within him. But that didn't matter. Soon both master and apprentice would taste oblivion. But he couldn't afford to be overconfident this time. That's why he trailed the battle toward the Eva cages. Due to the battle erupting around them, he knew that Nerv would take to only action it could and that would be to start up the Evangelions. 02 was already in battle and that meant that soon, his masters would send in their secret weapon; the MP Evas. 02 will not last long in the fight and it will be enough to distract the apprentice for him to be slain. As for Qui-Gon, he may have been slightly younger than before, but Maul was confident that he would be able to kill him.

'For good this time, Jedi.'

Maul whirled the dual-saber above his head and clashed with the advancing Qui-Gon, parrying aside the Jedi's blow. But that wasn't enough as Qui-Gon spun around with the parry and slashed again, forcing Maul to duck down and block with the other end. But while he dived, he saw the approach of Shinji as he came in with a low slash, striking the lowered energy saber and pushing Maul off his feet. But the Sith rolled back and up to his feet, catching the next strike that Shinji let out. Growling, Maul whirled back, causing his opposite blade to backlash against Shinji's and knock it aside. Not giving him a chance to retaliate, Maul kicked the Padawan square on the jaw and flooring him. But he made no move to attack because Qui-Gon was there to cover Shinji. The emerald lightsaber whirled through the air, amazingly keeping in pace with the two ruby swords. Shinji roused to his feet and dashed back into the battle, his violet lightsaber locking into pace with Qui-Gon's and Maul backed away again, much faster this time. But the Sith broke away from the assaults momentarily, leapt downward off the rafter and onto one of the railings that were scattered around Eva 01. Without hesitation, Qui-Gon and Shinji dove down after him and landed on opposite ends where the battle continued.

Some things…

Meanwhile, not too far away, Asuka had just reached the entry plug of her Eva and was now entering in. Checking the systems, she saw that everything was already prep and ready for her. Looking out for a moment, she saw the lightsaber battle above. But within, she could practically feel the fighting. The surges of the Force were erupting from out of the three warriors as they fought. Asuka was now thoroughly amazed by Shinji. Months ago, he was nothing more than a depressed wimpy little boy. Now, he was something else. A quiet, but fiercely determined warrior. It was as if his persona in the Evangelion had come to form on the outside. She smiled within. It was something she had also wanted to see. But enough of Shinji. She had a fight of her own.

Asuka re-entered the entry plug and closed it. Accessing the control, she set up the auto-startup system. The plug hissed and screwed into the back of the Eva. LCL poured in and soon, the eyes of the fiery mecha shimmered to life. As she settled in, Asuka felt a presence. And it wasn't Shinji. But it was…familiar…

"Asuka, do you read me?" Maya called over the comm.

Asuka blinked in surprise, "Where's Misato?"

"She hasn't gotten here yet. Enemy forces are everywhere."

'Misato…' she thought worriedly. Shaking it off, she grasped the butterfly controls. The familiar grin of the Second Child crossed her face.

"Then we'll just have to teach them some manners, won't we?"

The Eva growled as it was shot up into battle…

'Damn. Hell of a time to get lost.'

Though that wasn't really the case, she was a bit misplaced in the Geofront. See, she was on her way back to the command room, but was blocked off by enemy forces. She tried to get through another way, but would up being sidetracked and losing her way. And she wasn't exactly in the best shape either. A few shots had hit her and though the wounds weren't serious, she was a mess.

'I can just imagine the look on Ritsuko's face.'

That thought made her worry about her estranged friend as well as the Children. Rei was gone and Shinji was fighting some unknown assailant. She almost didn't leave Asuka even after she got to the Eva, but she knew in order to help Asuka, she had to be at the command room. Moving though the divide in the hall, she finally found a familiar passage. Even better, she remembered that there was a route within that would go straight up to the command room.

'Oh finally. A break.'

Misato moved to the hall cautiously and checked behind. The hall was completely empty and the path clear. This alone sent a warning signal in Misato's head. It was difficult to believe that the enemy hadn't reached this part of the complex yet. A glint of light caught her eye and she jumped back just as a round of bullets shot out. She dashed back into one of the side rooms and fired back, but stopped abruptly when another round of fire came at her from the opposite end of the hall. She was now cornered in a room with the enemy moving in on both sides. Even worse, one of the bullets had hit the gun, jamming it. Now her only weapon was gone and she was in the middle of a trap.

One that was about to close on her…

It may have seemed a little much that an army of tanks would come in to assault a single place. But compared to their crimson opponent, they were outclassed.

Seriously outclassed…

"Yaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!"

Asuka, using her Eva 02, was practically stampeding over the assault tanks. The weaponry was no match for the Eva's AT field, which deflected every single one of their shot, no matter what it was. Although Asuka was armed with a rifle, she mainly stamped them down and crushed them beneath the Evangelion's monstrous feet.

"Not so fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?"

As the 02 continued it counterattack, a group of tanks had moved in from behind. But unlike the others, they had a different target in mind. And the worse part was that the first group was keeping the Eva still long enough for them to make it.

"Fire!"

Asuka quickly whirled around as the explosion hit. But it was her that was the target, but the umbilical cord that was attached. And since it wasn't protected by the AT field, it was easily destroyed. Asuka whirled the Eva and fired at the tanks, annihilating them instantly. A timer flashed on Asuka's console, showing the remaining power now left inside. 'Well, at least I got rid of them all.' She thought, even though she still had a bad feeling about this. It was far too easy.

And she was right…

"Asuka. To your left, over the waterfornt."

Asuka turned to the designated area and saw several objects coming at her over the water, all in the shape of…

"Those are Evas!"

Indeed that's what they were. Nine pale-white versions of Evangelion. All of them set to attack her. And with less than five minutes of power left in her machine, she wasn't sure she would be able to battle them, much less defeat them or even survive.

"Asuka…"

The German girl gasped shortly at the sound of the voice. 'No. It couldn't be… I-I must have imagined it.' She returned her attention to the oncoming horde. If they were truly Evas, then her rifle wouldn't work on them. She would just have to get in close. 02 tossed the rifle aside and a hatch opened up on the back, revealing her prog knife. Holding it in stance, Asuka made ready to fight, despite the odds.

"Alright. Who's first?"

The battle raged on as the Jedi managed cornered in the Sith, hampering him in one area and leaving him unable to escape. Maul growled in anger. He didn't expect to be caught in like this. Both Jedi were blocking his escapes on each end and whenever he tried to flip away, either Shinji or Qui-Gon would cut him off and bring him down abruptly. This caused him to become frustrated. Frustration turned to anger, which fueled the Dark Side within him. Growling again, Maul whirled with an overhead strike at Shinji. Shinji lifted his lightsaber and deflected the strike, but it was just what Maul wanted. Using the deflection, Maul whirled the same blade at Qui-Gon while the second shot at Shinji to keep him occupied. Qui-Gon was already swinging in with a high blade, but the momentum pushed Qui-Gon's saber back hard enough to cause Qui-Gon to lose balance for moment. Seeing the opening, Maul swiftly twirled around and hit the elder Jedi with a sharp roundhouse kick.

"Uhh!"

Qui-Gon slipped back and fell off the railing, loosing his grip on his lightsaber as well. Reaching out, Qui-Gon grabbed hold of the railing and dangled just over the 01. Meanwhile, his weapon clattered down and settled in between the joints of the purple Eva. As the Jedi master struggled to pull himself up, Shinji was left alone to fend against the Sith lord, who unleashed a whole new assault on the Padawan. Shinji was beginning to falter back and maul pressed on even more, feeling the weakness of the Jedi student.

'That's it, boy. Know that death is coming.'

Maul shot his blade up in an arc toward Shinji's head. Shinji blocked it, but that didn't matter as the Sith kicked forward and hit Shinji's face. Shinji fell back on the floor, but managed to roll backward and rise to his feet. Maul pressed again, moving forward in a twirl and clashing with Shinji with another overhead attack, one that Shinji barely managed to block. Maul then whipped sideways twice, but both swipes were blocked and deflected and Maul rolled back to see Shinji.

'Something…different.'

That was when it happened. Shinji went on the offensive, moving at a pace that Maul never expected. The Force seemed to grow in him like a balloon. A brief glimpse in the boy's eyes showed something. Something that he couldn't explain. Maul didn't know this, but this was the same Shinji Ikari that battled with the angels. Shinji slashed and struck repeatedly at the Sith, actually causing him to back away for a minute. Maul became incensed at his apparent weakness against a boy. And an apprentice no less. 'Just like him!' The dark side was fueled once against and Maul battled back, assaulting the young Padawan with his double lightsaber. Maul went into a series of rapid spins and twirls, utilizing his deadly weapon to the full and putting Shinji in a cramped defense.

But Shinji, being trained to be defensive, managed to deflect one of the blows and flipped right over Maul. Maul turned around and Shinji did the same. An explosion rocked the docking area and Shinji suddenly felt Asuka's distress. He had to help her. But how? The Sith wasn't exactly just going to let him go. Judging by his way of attacks and his previous attack on Shinji, he was the main target. Proving this to be true, Maul came at Shinji again with another series of deadly attacks. Shinji blocked most of them, but was forced back further.

"Go Shinji!"

Qui-Gon suddenly rushed out from behind, lightsaber in hand. Maul quickly turned around to confront him and wound up locking blades with the Jedi master.

"Help her."

Shinji froze. He didn't want to leave his master behind with this deadly adversary. But he couldn't just ignore Asuka. She needed his help now. Maul realized this as well and tried to break away from Qui-Gon, but Qui-Gon attacked savagely, keeping the Sith occupied. By the time Maul managed to break away fully, Shinji was gone. Rage filled his every being and he glared at the source of his anger. Qui-Gon had slowed him down and for that he will pay with his life.

Just like before…