Chapter 1 - The Beast (Part 1 - Decisions)

"Dead I am the one, exterminating son. Slipping through the trees, strangling the breeze

Dead I am the sky, watching angels cry. As they slowly burn conquering the worm."

-Rob Zombie 'Dragula'

Asuka grinned as she pressed the small button on her wrist that tightened her plug suit. A level one alert had just been sounded and that could mean only one thing. An Angel was attacking.

No one knew where the Angels had come from, or why they were attacking. Well, almost no one. Those that did know weren't talking. To combat the threat, the UN had created a secret organization called NERV. NERV created and commandeered the Evangelions; massive biomechanical humanoid weapons piloted by a chosen few. They were the only things that were equal to the Angels and thus the only things that had any chance of taking them down. Conventional weapons were useless, the Angel's AT fields made sure of that.

Thus far, eleven 'Angels' had fallen to the Evangelions, several to Asuka herself. She made a brief count of the number of angels they had faced. This one would be the 14th. Asuka ran towards the EVA cages, where destiny and her Unit-02 waited. She took a moment to pause when she got there to take in the magnificent sight. No matter how many times she saw it, the large red humanoid was an awe-inspiring sight. And it was hers.

Within seconds she was in the entry plug, waiting to be inserted into her EVA. As the plug was moved, it was filled with LCL, an orange liquid that helped the pilot synch with the EVA, and oxygenated the bloodstream directly once one's lungs were filled with it. It was also a very unpleasant experience, seeing as Asuka still had a very strong urge not to drown and that it smelt a lot like blood. A split-second later her lungs were filled, the plug was inserted, and the EVA started up.

Asuka waited as the nerve connections were made. Aside from the nasty business of the LCL, there was only one other thing about piloting EVA that she didn't enjoy. Once you were synched with the EVA, you felt whatever it felt. Asuka tended not to worry about it too much; her EVA had never gotten damaged when engaging an Angel before, so why should she worry?

Asuka grinned again as her EVA was finally moved to the launch pad. Shinji, the coward that he was, had run away from his problems yet again, resigning his commission as an EVA pilot. "Pathetic weakling" Asuka scoffed in disgust as she thought of him.

She had heard what Shinji had done when he had found out who had been the pilot of EVA-03. The one that had been infected by an Angel and brought to bear against them. The one that Shinji's EVA, which had been operating via autopilot (Shinji had refused to fight, not wanting to injure the teenage pilot trapped inside the tainted EVA), had ripped to pieces. The pilot, Touji Suzahara, had barely survived. Even now he lay in the hospital, fighting to hold on to life.

Touji had been Shinji's best friend. Shinji had been angry. He had even threatened to destroy Headquarters. Asuka had been impressed when she heard that. Her respect was replaced with disgust when he had resigned. "Oh, well, looks like it's up to Asuka to save the day now!" Asuka laughed.

Now that the 'Invincible Shinji' was gone, no one would be there to show her up. She and Rei Ayanami, or 'wonder-girl', (as Asuka called her), were the only two pilots left. Rei was a quiet blue-haired girl. Her skin was pale and her eyes red. She never seemed to show any emotions, and she radiated an aura of coldness. Asuka hated her with a passion because of it. Asuka knew that she was a better pilot than Rei.

There was a slight pause as the EVA reached its lift. Suddenly the large humanoid shot upwards and out of sight into the Geo front. The Geo front was a gigantic rounded cavern located right underneath Tokyo-03. In it was a large pyramid structure, NERV HQ, humanity's last hope. Asuka took up her defensive position as she waited for the Angel to break through the roof of the front. Asuka looked at the roof. Hundreds of meters above her a large number of skyscrapers seemingly hung from it, the central block of Tokyo-03. During an Angel attack the buildings in Tokyo-03 would descend into the Geo front for protection. Like EVA it was always an impressive sight.

Asuka quickly took a look around her EVA. Surrounding it were several different weapons made especially for the EVAs: giant assault rifles, missile launchers, progressive spears, etc. EVA-02 picked up a rifle and waited. Then it happened, a large explosion ripped through the roof, taking several buildings with it. A large, strange shape, the Angel, moved down through the hole. It was large and bulky, the same size as EVA. It didn't seem to have any arms and its small gray skull-like head was located high up on its chest. Right in the middle was a bright red orb, the only thing that all the Angels had in common.

"Here it comes, even without Shinji, I can beat it easily" Asuka spoke smugly as she opened fire on the descending Angel. The EVA's assault rifle spat its ammunition at the still-descending creature, to (what seemed like) no effect. The grass and trees at the Geo front swayed violently as the one- sided exchange went on

"Damn you!" Asuka screamed at the thing as it touched down. The rifle clicked a few times as EVA pulled the trigger. "Next!" Asuka yelled as EVA threw away the rifle and picked up two fresh ones. Asuka opened fire with both of them. Again, it didn't seem to be doing anything. "I'm neutralizing its AT field aren't I?" she muttered, anxiety creeping into her voice.

The Angel touched down, bullets flying past it and off of it. EVA-02 was still firing at it with the two rifles. "Damn you!" Asuka screamed inside the cockpit as the Angel just stood there, not even flinching. "Why won't it collapse?" Asuka panicked as the two rifles clicked. The Angel simply stood there defiantly, not making a move.

Asuka threw away the two rifles and picked up a pair of Missile Launchers. "I can't lose! Not again!" she screamed as she pumped cruise missile after cruise missile at the beast. Hundreds of tiny explosions covered the Angel, blocking it from view. The force of them flattened a small nearby forest. The explosions subsided quickly. Asuka blinked, the Angel was still standing. "No way..." she gasped. Out of the upper regions of Angels, two thin paper-like arms unfolded. Asuka blinked again as the two arms shot towards her EVA faster than what should have been possible.

A split second later, Asuka felt a sharp, blinding pain in both of her shoulders as she felt the Angel's arms cut straight through the EVA's. She grit her teeth as she felt the sheets punch straight through the EVA's shoulders. A moment later the EVA's arms flew away in different directions, one of them landing in the small lake in front of NERV H.Q. Part of the Angels arms was stained purple. They swayed slightly in the wind before shooting back to its body. Dark purple ichors shot out of where EVA-02's arms were supposed to connect to its body. Asuka grabbed her shoulders as her body was racked with pain. Her body spasmed for a moment before she regained control of it, she took the controls and charged towards the Angel. "You damn son of a bitch!" She screamed furiously at it. She was not going to lose again! She heard Misato (her commanding officer and current Guardian) Katsuragi's voice over the comm.

A split second later several things happened. First, one of the Angel's arms shot out again, effectively severing EVA-02's head from its neck. It also happened to send it flying into the roof of the Geofront, where it crashed into the side of one of the numerous skyscrapers located there. The consequences of that particular action will become known a bit later. The second thing that happened was an incredible sense of numbness as the third thing happened. Misato had ordered the nerve connections to be cut, the very second that Asuka had begun her (rather) stupid headlong charge. The connections had been cut just as EVA-02 lost its head, saving Asuka's life. The cockpit turned a dark red as EVA-02 de-activated, blanketing Asuka in darkness. The Angel, no longer sensing an active AT field, simply walked past the inert EVA towards NERV HQ.

"Damn it." Asuka swore as she sat in the still-dark cockpit. She had lost. again. The only pilot left was Rei; Asuka loathed the idea of Rei saving her. Even as those thoughts floated through her mind, Asuka thought of Shinji. "Idiot", she whispered to herself as she cursed Shinji for running away.

Presently Shinji was doing something of the sort. A few minutes ago he had been in a shelter in one of the skyscrapers, cursing himself, cursing his father, and cursing the Angel for not allowing him to leave. Mostly he cursed his father, the commander of NERV. "That bastard. That f**king bastard! He tried to kill Touji using my hands!" Shinji thought to himself as he sat, slumped against the wall. A second later there was a bright flash of light, a deafening crash, and smoke filled the room. He looked up and saw a rather horrifying sight. EVA-02's head was imbedded in the side of the building with blood still pouring out of it. Shinji suddenly felt sick to his stomach. If Asuka had been synched when EVA-02 had gotten decapitated. Shinji pushed that thought out of his head as he ran out of the shelter, ignoring the instructions coming from the P.A system. A minute later he was on the ground at Geofront, trying to catch his breath. Looming in the distance, beyond the forest was the still and silent form of EVA-02. Purple and red liquids dripped down its sides and a small jet of blood was still emitting from the neck. Shinji stared at it, not even noticing the numerous projectiles flying past it at the Angel. "Asuka" he sighed.

"Is that you Shinji?" a familiar voice called from behind him. Shinji turned to face the speaker. "Kaji?" he exclaimed as he saw him. Kaji Ryouji was a tall, unshaven man in his thirties. His long brown hair was tied back in a ponytail as usual and his brown eyes sparkled with life. Shinji had met Kaji a few months ago on the "Over The Rainbow" when he had first met Asuka. Since then he had gotten to know Kaji a bit better, and saw that he was a good man. He respected him.

Currently Kaji was standing around in his normal dress (black slacks, a blue oxford shirt and red tie) sprinkling something with a watering can.

"What are you doing here?" Shinji asked, Kaji worked for NERV; therefore Shinji was surprised to see him outside of HQ at a time like this. Kaji simply chuckled as he continued sprinkling.

"That's my line", he replied good-naturedly. "What are you doing here, Shinji?" he asked the boy calmly, as the barrage continued.

"I. I decided that I'll never pilot an EVA again", Shinji told him hesitantly. "And since I decided that." Shinji began, but Kaji cut him off.

"Is that so?" Kaji asked rhetorically. "Well since my other job became public knowledge, I'm off the combat roster" Kaji spoke again as the two watched the light show increase in its intensity. "So here I am sprinkling," Kaji continued, motioning to the small patch of watermelons that he was watering.

"What? At a time like this?" Shinji exclaimed, surprised at this.

"What better time?" Kaji asked Shinji, confusing him greatly. "Although I'd rather be between Misato's melons," he continued, smiling slightly, "I wouldn't mind being here when I die". This shocked Shinji a great deal. Why was Kaji talking about death? And so casually?

"Die?" he asked. A blinding light washed over the two as the Angel blasted away at the pyramid-like NERV HQ nearby. The barrage had stopped a few seconds ago. The light died away as the explosion did.

"That's right", Kaji told him. "It's said that if an Angel comes into contact with Adam, who lies sleeping beneath this very ground, humanity will be eradicated", Kaji explained to the Shinji. Shinji's eyed widened considerably, Kaji laughed for a moment as he saw his reaction before continuing.

"Third Impact", Shinji said breathlessly. Kaji smiled. "That's right, and the only thing that can stop it is the one thing that has power equal to an Angel's, the Evangelion", said Kaji.

Shinji contemplated this for a moment. A second later a loud whirring was heard. Shinji turned towards the direction of the noise. The rather bright blue EVA-00 rose into view above the tree line. "Ayanami?" Shinji said out loud. He would have expected Rei to be using Unit 01 now that he was gone. He gasped as he noticed something else. "With no rifle?!" he shouted in disbelief. EVA-00 was missing an arm, in it's other arm it cradled a large cylindrical object. Shinji had no idea as to what it was. A split-second later, the EVA sprinted towards the Angel. The Angel turned around to face the EVA a moment before it made contact. The two AT fields clashed. The familiar orange ripple effect spread from the point of contact, washing the entire area with a bright light. A split second later the bright orange light disappeared as EVA-00 broke through the Angel's AT field, it proceeded to thrust the cylinder into the Angel's core.

Shinji was thrown back a meter by the resulting explosion. A million thoughts ran through his head. Here are a few examples. "Why the hell did Ayanami just blow herself up?" "Was that an N2 mine?" "How is it that Kaji is still standing?" "Is Ayanami okay?" and most importantly, "What happens now?" Even as the explosion subsided, the area was still bathed in an eerie orange light. Through the haze Shinji could still make out two giant shapes still standing.

One of the dark shape's arms thrust at the other one. The ground shook as EVA-00 fell to the ground. Shinji blinked, mouth wide as he watched this in horror.

"Shinji, the only thing I can do is stand here and water." Kaji spoke after a moment. "But you have something you can do, that only you can do", he continued calmly, still watering his watermelons (presumably for emphasis). Shinji stared at EVA-00 and EVA-02, trying to make his decision. Kaji seemed to sense this. "Nobody is forcing you, think for yourself and make the decision by yourself... Think about what you have to do now", Kaji told him sagely. The look on Shinji's face was now one of grim determination. "Think about no longer having any regrets", Kaji added. The orange light faded, Shinji closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Thank you Kaji" Shinji told the older man before running towards HQ, leaving Kaji, the watermelons and his old self far behind.

The Angel's eyes flared again and bright explosions impacted on HQ. Shinji ignored them as he continued running, running for his life, running for everyone's lives. Another explosion flared up, ripping a large hole into HQ.

Asuka sat in the entry plug listening to the comm. She was on the edge of her seat so to speak. She was ready to rip her hair out; she was so nervous. She hated being unable to fight or do anything. From what she heard on the comm., things were not going well. Wonder-girl had gone Kamikaze trying to take the Angel out with an N2 mine. That had failed horribly. Even as the Angel descended down the main shaft, they were still trying to activate EVA-01 via dummy-plug (the auto-pilot system). Needless to say, it wasn't working. Asuka at this point, tried to accept her fate; that wasn't working either. Suddenly a voice issued over the comm. that startled her.

"LET ME PILOT IT!" Shinji yelled as he finally came to a stop onto the umbilical bridge in front of Unit-01. "Me.Me." He panted as he caught his breath. He looked up to where his Father, the Commander stood. "Let me pilot Unit-01!" He yelled at him. "Father", he spoke softly. As he spoke that last word his hand clenched into a fist and unclenched. "Why are you here?" the Commander's calm and cold voice sounded. Shinji clenched his fists; he didn't have time for this.

"You need a pilot and we don't have time for this, so let me pilot it, damn you!" he shouted at his father, surprised by his own boldness. The commander was also surprised; the only indication of this was his one raised eyebrow. A split second later a smirk appeared on his face. "Very well then, pilot if you wish," he said casually. A few moments later Shinji was in the entry plug swearing at the thing to hurry up and activate.

Asuka blinked as she sat in her plug. Had that really been Shinji just then? "When the hell did he grow a pair?" she thought to herself as she sat back into her seat. As much as she hated to admit it, she felt better now that Shinji was in his EVA. At least now she'd live to fight another day.

Part 2 - A Man's Fight/No More Running

"Blood is rushing through my veins, I got the power Channel the energy and with my strength I will devour, Sickening thoughts are running through my head, That's when I realize I'm glad I'm not dead!"

- Papa Roach (Blood Brothers)

Everything went silent and dark for a moment in the main control room. Suddenly a massive shape burst through one of the walls with a deafening crash. The Angel of Might had come. It moved forwards until its face was only a few meters away from the bridge. Standing in front of it was a small group of humans.

Misato Katsuragi stared at the massive creature, her heart filled with hate and fear. As far as she knew, everyone was going to die. The bridge crew would be the first, and then the rest of humanity would follow once Third Impact occurred. As she stared down the Angel, she was filled with newfound hate.

The Angel's eyes lit up, ready to deliver death.

Shinji felt an indescribable feeling of joy wash over him as he and EVA-01 literally crashed through the wall of the main control room, blind- siding the angel.

Only now did he truly understand Kaji's words. As he saved Misato and the rest of the bridge crew's life, he realized how privileged he was. He was in a position to save the people he cared about. This spurred him on.

Misato blinked as the giant form of the purple EVA-01 rushed past her. "Unit-01?" she shouted in disbelief before realizing who was piloting. "SHINJI!" Over the comm. she could hear his scream of rage.

Shinji grabbed the Angel and forced it through another wall into the EVA cages. Pinning it to the ground with one leg the EVA raised a fist to beat the Angel. Shinji wanted it to suffer, like its kind had made him suffer. The Angel had other ideas and raised its head. A bright light issued from its eyes, a brilliant white beam followed suit, separating Eva's left forearm from the rest of its body sending it crashing into one of the walls. A large arc of blood hit the wall, only a moment before the giant forearm slid down it. Standing near the guardrails only a few meters away was Gendo Ikari, half coated in blood. He simply stood there, staring at Unit-01.

Shinji screamed in rage, as he grabbed his arm where the Angel had separated Eva's forearm. After a split second he let go and grabbed the controls. "Want to play rough do you?!" He screamed at the thing as he charged it. Shinji dodged as the Angel shot one of its arms at him. He quickly round housed the Angel, leaving a considerable dent in the creature's side. Shinji half-screamed, half-laughed as he did so, "So this is why Asuka loves it so much!" he said out-loud as he charged into the Angel sending it and the Eva into one of the lifts. Suddenly Shinji had an idea.

"MISATO!" he yelled at the comm. Thankfully for him Misato knew what he was thinking and ordered the catapult on which the Angel and EVA were located to be launched. A split second later it did so. Shinji forced the Angel's face against the side of the shaft as they both shot up towards the surface at supersonic speeds. Shinji could hear a loud screeching noise as he did so, whether it was the sound of the Angel's face scraping against the shaft or the Angel screaming, Shinji didn't know. Personally he was hoping for the latter. Normally he would be disgusted with himself for taking pleasure in someone or something's pain. He could forgive himself though, seeing as he wasn't really in a normal state of mind.

Finally the shaft ended and the two combatants soared into the night air. Shinji dug both of his knees into the Angel and spun EVA's body so that when they hit the ground, it would be the Angel who touched down first. And so it did. The weight of the Evangelion combined with the force of gravity, forced the Eva's knee armor deep into the Angel. Blood issued forth like a geyser from the two puncture marks. Shinji's smile took on a feral appearance as he proceeded to beat the Angel brutally in a manner that was eerily similar to the way that EVA-01 had dispatched the 13th angel (EVA- 03) when it had been controlled by the dummy plug system.

After bloodying it up a bit, Shinji decided that would he deface the thing, literally. He palmed the Angel's face and began pulling. Shinji was a bit disappointed when he realized that the Angel's face was still attached by some sort of muscles.

And then it happened. Everything went silent. The Eva had lost power. Shinji blinked as the cockpit turned dark. The only light and sound was the small timer portraying several digits -00:00:00, the internal batteries remaining time. Shinji cursed inwardly. When the hell had the umbilical cable snapped?

The Angel's face, which had been stretched a considerable amount, snapped back to its proper place. Now that its attacker was disabled the Angel decided that a little payback was in order. It wrapped one of its paper- like arms around EVA-01's head, lifted the purple humanoid off of itself and tossed it. EVA-01 landed shortly after with a loud thud as it hit a small mountain. The Angel got up on its stubby legs and moved closer. Almost leisurely it plunged one of its arms deep into the left side of EVA- 01's chest. Blood sprayed out of the laceration. The Angel's eyes flashed again and an explosion issued from the wound blowing away the chest plate.

The sight that greeted the bridge crew as they ran out of the emergency exit was not a good one. Eva's bright red core, not entirely unlike the Angel's, had been exposed by the Angel's particle beam. The Angel in question was currently pounding on it with its arms. The EVA shuddered under the force of the impact.

Inside the cockpit Shinji was pulling on the controls frantically. He barely noticed that cracks were appearing in the roof of the entry-plug. If he had been synched with the EVA at this moment, he would probably be screaming in pain. Not to say that he wasn't doing any screaming. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" he shouted frantically at his Eva, trying his best to ignore the fact that the Angel was currently pounding him. As the cockpit shook, he kept screaming those words like a mantra, as if their repetition would make it a reality. He knew his death was near, and once he was gone, the human race would follow suit. "MOVE! MOVE! IF YOU DON'T MOVE NOW, THEN THERE'S NO POINT TO THIS! IF YOU DON'T MOVE, EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE, I CAN'T LET THEM DOWN AGAIN AND I'M SICK OF THIS ALREADY, SO JUST MOVE DAMN IT!" he shouted. The orange glow of the LCL in the plug disappeared as everything went dark. Shinji could feel a familiar presence, and heard what sounded like a heart beating. "Mother?" he whispered. Then all went dark.

Asuka's mind was racing, EVA-01 had just re-activated, without any power! She watched, wondering how the hell Shinji had done it, still wondering when he had found time to become so bold. Where was the spineless wimp she had enjoyed teasing, Where was the Shinji Ikari she had met when she first arrived in Japan? A moment later she had an epiphany. Somewhere along the line he had grown, she had been too busy complaining about this and that to notice or care. She tried not to contemplate this and instead watched as Unit-01 fought.

The Angel had pulled back its ribbon-like arm for the final blow. If it had more of a face, it would be smiling. Suddenly EVA-01's eyes lit up and it thrust its hand forth just as the Angel struck. The hand cut through the ribbon-like arms and closed halfway through. The Eva wrapped the arm around its hand quickly and pulled with all its might. The Angel crashed into Unit-01 at full force, face to face with the awakened Eva. The Eva growled as it opened its mouth, before kicking the Angel off, ripping the arm that it was holding off, and sending the Angel flying a few hundred meters into the forest. It plowed through the forest, sending birds flying everywhere.

Unit-01 stood up and held the remains of one of the Angel's arms to where it's forearm should have been connected. The armor plating where Unit- 01's mouth was, morphed, revealing a full set of sharp white teeth. The Angel's arm connected itself to EVA and began to bubble and morph. After about a second, Eva's arm had been regenerated except for the armor plating and paint job. The regenerated arm had a skin-like tone. It raised its head and let out a howl that pierced the night.

The Angel however was not quite done yet. Its other arm shot out of the forest towards Unit-01. The Eva simply raised its hand, and deployed its AT field. The Angel's arm shattered under the force of the impact, and the Angel fell backwards in a shower of blood as Unit-01 used its AT field to penetrate the Angels. The bright orange hexagonal field disappeared. EVA-01 dropped into a crouch, looking rather savage and primitive. A moment later it began moving towards the Angel on all fours like some sort of beast. It reached the Angel a few seconds later. The angel's eyes lit up, ready to issue another particle beam, but with a quick motion of its hand, Unit-01 silenced it. What it proceeded to do shocked both Asuka and the bridge crew. It stooped over the Angel and began to devour it, bite by bloody bite. Blood dripped from its mouth as it tore another section out of the Angel. Blood poured like a river from the Angel's body as it collapsed in defeat, but the EVA continued eating. A moment later it stood up. A creaking noise was heard as its body bulged. The armor plating on Unit-01 burst off as it let out an unearthly howl. The only armor remaining was on the head, covering EVA's true face with an iron mask.

"The bindings!" cried Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's head scientist. Around her bleach blonde head she had a bandage. She had been at the EVA activation facility in Matsushiro, when the 13th Angel had taken over EVA-03. "Bindings?" lt. Makoto, a young man, a little over twenty, with glasses who worked closely with her, asked in disbelief. "That's right, it's not really armor plating, those are restraints that allow us to control Eva's power", Ritsuko explained. Misato looked at her, a slight expression of shock on her face. Ritsuko then continued, "But now the Eva is breaking the chains that bind it to our will. We can no longer control the Eva."

Asuka still sat in her plug, watching in horror. "Do I. Do I pilot a beast like that?" she whispered breathlessly. Unit-01 was still howling, it was a terrifying sound. She ignored the fact that the recovery team hadn't arrived to extract her yet, but she didn't care. Even missing arms and a head, EVA-02 was a safer place to be then anywhere else. It seemed that Shinji had finally snapped, lost control. God knew what he or the Eva would do in their current state of mind. A few minutes later everything went silent. Asuka couldn't tell which was more frightening, Unit-01's previous howl or the eerie silence now that it had stopped. She listened intently, expecting to hear something large approaching at any moment. Nothing came.