Only Human.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving isn't for you.
~

At the Cage Six bridge, I stood in front of Evangelion Unit 09, and pondered the feasibility of flying it to Berlin.

Power supply would not be a problem: the S2 engine would provide as needed (SEELE had had no qualms with the blasphemy of approaching infinity – becoming godlike – when it suited their own agenda). Navigation I felt I could manage – geographic coordinate display was a standard of the entry plug interface, and I was familiar with the local area (though admittedly from a lower altitude). Environmental factors were of no issue, since the Evangelion's armour and AT field would protect it, and me, from whatever extremities of weather we might encounter. Even physically liberating Unit 09 for my own use would be easy enough, as its current cold storage did not involve external restraints.

No, it was time that was my enemy. Winged flight was slow; it would take hours longer to cross the continent (currently Earth's largest, though not a patch on Pangea or its precursors) than even a public passenger plane. Not to mention that the hours airborne, with no possibility of autopilot to rest my concentration, would result in overwhelming fatigue. The return from Matsushiro had been possible due to both proximity, and the shared cognitive burden amongst three pilots. Flying an Evangelion solo across the world was, I was forced to admit, not remotely practical.

My fists clenched of their own accord. "Asuka…"

-"Please, you have to believe me!" Kaji's hands gripped the edge of the table. "It doesn't look like much, but I know how Moscow NERV operates. They're planning an attack!"

"I believe you," Misato said, though her face was twisted with frustration. "But how can I present this to the commanders? Your last tip only needed us to be on alert, this is a whole different scale! They'll demand my source, and I'm not blowing your cover."

"Forget that! I don't care—"

"Well I do! I already thought I'd lost you once— and would they even act on your intel? You betrayed them before."

"Commander Fuyutsuki owes me—"

"You think he gives a damn about that?"

"We have to try!"

"I know that! Just – just let me think…"-

Unit 09 stared down at me, its blank face offering neither ideas nor counsel. No longer did I register fear for this thing – only dissatisfaction. Here we were, the power of four Evangelions at our command, and I had never felt more ineffectual.

The blare of an alarm broke into my contemplation.

# Attention. A second-level alert is in place. Pilot Nagisa, report to the command tower. Pilot Nagisa, to the command tower. #

My automatic inference was attack by another Evangelion – but then why only me? Why not Shinji and Rei?

The answer to Shinji's absence was provided when I arrived at my destination, and met Commanders Fuyutsuki and Akagi.

"Major Katsuragi has hijacked a NERV plane, and taken the Third Child as hostage," said Fuyutsuki, and my jaw dropped. "They appear to be en route to Berlin."

I had to harshly suppress the urge to laugh or cheer, or both. That's one way to get around a credibility problem…

"All external overrides to the plane's autopilot have been rejected, and they're maintaining radio silence, but we believe Major Katsuragi intends to recover the Second Child." Dr Akagi's professionalism slipped for a moment, and she muttered aside to herself, "What on Earth she thinks she can accomplish by herself, even in a bombardier…"

Commander Fuyutsuki spoke over her. "Nagisa, you will pursue them in Evangelion Unit 09, under remote command from Tokyo-3. A heavy-carrier will transport you to a suitable intercept point, after which you will take Major Katsuragi into custody with the support of a division from NERV's special security forces. Recovery of the Third Child is an additional priority."

"Unit 09 is being prepped for immediate liftoff," said Dr Akagi. "Head straight to the airstrip and coordinate with Lieutenant Hyuga – he'll be your offsite contact."

"Understood," I said, but my head was whirling.

Things seemed to happen very quickly after the brief concluded – the largest aeroplane I had ever seen was scrambled, and Unit 09 loaded onto it; meanwhile a dozen smaller aircraft and their crews were readied in support.

"They're not going to engage, just escort," said Lt Hyuga, as we took off and they assumed positions around our own plane. "Couldn't risk Shinji over someone else's insubordination, of course."

"I hope you're correct," I said. "Shinji has mentioned that he never feels quite at ease in the presence of Section Two, and they don't have jet engines at their disposal."

"They can be pretty intimidating," he agreed with a chuckle, but his expression was strained.

"This must be difficult for you, yes?" I said, and he looked at me, startled. "Misato is your commanding officer, someone you have depended on, and now you are expected to confront and oppose her."

Hyuga hesitated, and cast a glance around us – we were in a forward bulkhead of the plane, behind the pilots but separated from the rest of the crew. He took his headset down and indicated for me to do the same. When he leaned in, his voice was just audible over the drone of the engines.

"You can't tell anyone this," he began, and I nodded earnestly, "but I could've stopped her. She'd ordered the field monitors away from the hanger, but I was debugging a new program in the control station and saw her and Shinji heading out together. We made eye contact – I could tell she was up to something – but I just … pretended I didn't see them."

My jaw had dropped again, but I gathered myself enough to say, "Thank you for sharing that with me – I promise it will go no further."

"Thanks, Kaworu." He gave a crooked grin. "I just really trust Major Katsuragi – she cares about you pilots a whole lot, you know." He paused again, then confided, "She probably would have taken Unit 01 for Shinji if she could, but the security was just too strong around it. I think she must have been baiting Commander Fuyutsuki to authorise sending an Eva after her, so that if we get to Berlin and something's going down, we've got some firepower on our side."

I nodded slowly – that made sense. "In which case I just hope we are not too late."

"Same." He frowned out the window. "Asuka's a good kid, and she fought to save us from the Angels all those times. I don't agree with the Commander on this one – I think it is our responsibility to look out for her, even at the other base. She's one of ours, y'know?"

"Yes," I agreed. I dropped my voice to confide in him in turn. "To be honest, I had been considering the logistics of taking Unit 09 myself, but this is more efficient."

His face lit up with a laugh. "Hah! Nice one." He clapped me on the shoulder. "You're good people, Kaworu."

"And the same to you," I replied, pushing away the thought that he wouldn't say that if he knew I were an Angel, like those Asuka had saved him from. We replaced our headsets and resumed waiting, as the world rushed away beneath us into night.

Berlin NERV had been advised of our approach, along with the information we held on Misato's unsanctioned actions, and they reluctantly arranged clearance for us to enter the country. I got the impression they felt threatened by our presence, despite Asuka's history with Tokyo-3 – as a corps, they had been so drained by Third Impact that only by combining with Hamburg (leaving just a skeleton crew at the north-eastern site, to maintain their MAGI computers) were they able to continue reduced operations, and that made them feel acutely vulnerable.

(Misato had also attempted to pass on Kaji's warning to them, anonymously – then overtly – contacting those of her former colleagues remaining, but as she had suspected, the intelligence was too nebulous and interpretive to be convincing. Hence the dramatic independent move.)

So we were in contact with Berlin as we crossed into German airspace, and were therefore aware of the exact moment their communications went silent.

# Roger Berlin ground control, please confirm descent to hold-delta and speed to ten-twenty, do you copy? … Ground, do you copy? … Ground, confirm. … Noting no response from Berlin ground. # The pilot opened a channel to the whole Tokyo-3 team. # All control, advise no response from Berlin ground. Contact lost, repeat, contact lost with Berlin ground control. #

Linked in from Japan, Commander Fuyutsuki spoke up. # All personnel, move to first-stage alert. Prepare to activate Evangelion Unit 09 and onboard the pilot. #

"Here goes," said Hyuga, and passed me my plugsuit. "Break a leg."

"That would be a terrible landing," I protested, and he laughed. –So, not a literal directive, then.

As Unit 09 was initialised for deployment, several of the accompanying fighter planes scouted ahead to Berlin NERV, and soon reported back that the surface structures were all but ruined. External buildings, as well as road and rail transports, had evidently taken heavy damage.

Hearing this, my heart sank. "Where is Asuka?" I demanded on the general comms, without much hope that anyone would be able to answer.

# No signs of activity at the base, # came Hyuga's apologetic reply. # No location available for Second Child or Eva Unit 06. #

Lt Aoba, back in Tokyo-3, added, # No response from Berlin personnel secured lines – unable to access nearby satellites, either. #

# Local military and emergency services are mobilising, # reported Lt Ibuki. # First responders expected onsite in five minutes. Requesting they hold back for our signal. #

I gripped the manual controls so tightly my hands ached.

At that moment, one of the scouts reported Misato's hijacked plane on radar, and began hailing it as she and they entered low holding circles above the base.

But I was the first to hear from our rogue Major.

# Guten tag, Unit 09! # she called over a private frequency. # Glad you could join us. Who am I talking to – Kaworu or Rei? #

"Halo, Misato," I said, smiling in spite of the situation. "Just me here today."

Shinji broke in. # Hi Kaworu! #

"Shinji, I'm happy to hear from you. Are you both well? Were you caught up in – whatever has happened?"

# No, we got here just before you guys did, # said Misato, and even over the radio connection, regret wrung her voice. # I'd say Moscow already made their move. #

# We're too late – after all that! I hate this… #

# But we haven't seen anything – no ground troops, no Russian aircraft… #

"If they sent Evangelion Unit 10, anything else would be extraneous," I observed. "Either it would be a match for Unit 06, or nothing would."

Shinji burst out, # As if one of those things could beat Asuka! #

# If it caught them off guard, or before she could start up… # Misato said, and he made an inarticulate noise of frustrated grief.

# Please, Kaworu, # he said. # Find her. #

"I'll do everything I can," I promised, and unlocked my flight systems. "Evangelion Unit 09, launch!"

A confused burst of chatter on the Tokyo-3 channels reminded me that none of them had heard my conversation with Misato and Shinji, but I let that slip into the background as Unit 09 dropped free of the transport plane and spread its wings.

The German landscape spread out below me – constellation lights of the metropolis settling into suburbs, then the sleep-dark distant countryside – and in the midst of all concerns, I thrilled to the freedom of flight. Weightless exhilaration breathed through my limbs, and I pushed my synchronisation ratio deliberately higher, just to capture more of Unit 09's physical experience as we swooped and glided through the welcoming night air.

# How does he move like that? # someone muttered over the comms, and I dragged my attention back to the task at hand.

Misato and Shinji's plane had alighted at a secondary airstrip, and as I flew past at low altitude its lights showed them standing on the runway – they waved vigorously, and I smiled as I made Unit 09 return the gesture, then continued towards the base entrance.

# Unit 09! # snapped Commander Fuyutsuki. # Return to Major Katsuragi's transport, at once. #

"I need to find out what's going on," I replied. "Until we have an assessment of the situation, it could be dangerous to land." (Also I don't care about your protocols and commands, while my friend could be hurt – or worse.)

# Your mission is to apprehend the rogue officer. All other considerations are secondary. #

"I need to see if I can find out what has happened to Asuka," I insisted.

# That is not your concern. #

"She's my friend!"

# Insubordination while operating an Evangelion is a criminal offense! #

Lt Aoba broke in, # Advance teams report no signs of activity detectable from the surface. #

Ibuki added, # Preliminary seismography is returning only scrambled signals – there could be something interfering with transmissions. #

A horrible hunch occurred to me – a sufficiently powerful AT field could disrupt a broad band of wavelengths (I knew my own, when I had access to it, to be capable of complete blackouts). I angled Unit 09's flight towards the surface exit of a linear rail, and as I approached my fears were confirmed.

Illuminated by fires burning in ruined buildings, Evangelion Unit 10 appeared at the gate, dragging behind it the severed arm of Unit 06.

"No," I whispered. "Asuka!"

The assailant grinned as I came into its view, and dropped its grisly trophy.

"You may not have sentience or will," I snarled, "but you will learn regret."

I drew my pistol, steadied aim mid-flight, and fired – Unit 10's knee buckled in a red burst and it half-collapsed. But in its other hand it swung up a double-ended sword like those wielded by the other mass-production Evangelions – but a deeper, sinister red – and even as its ruined limb gave out from underneath, it turned the motion of its fall into a swinging throw, and hurled the sword directly at me.

"Child's play," I huffed, and extended Unit 09's AT field to block it, without changing my trajectory.

But as I watched, the sword bulged, distorted, changed shape – revealing in an instant—

"The Lance of Longinus?"

Immediately the Lance plunged straight through Unit 09's AT field, and I had no time to evade – it pierced my Evangelion's neck and the world emptied of everything but pain.

We fell to earth – I couldn't hear my own screams, had no breath for them – pinned to the ground by the point of the Lance and its spinal cord severed, Unit 09 couldn't even writhe in agony; desperately I dragged at the manual controls – move, move, move! – sobbing, pleading–

"Can that thing really kill an Angel?" Oh if only – I would have welcomed death as a release from the pain, the terrifying helplessness…

Deep in my soul, Adam howled, - not again, not again…! - but the Lance's soul-strike of despair froze them as it had paralysed Unit 09 physically.

- come here. come to hell. -

A shadow fell across me; Unit 10 leering down at my Evangelion's corpse. I reached out to it, whether in violence or self-defence or supplication for a merciful end I did not know; Unit 09's arm barely twitched.

- you are me. you are mine. -

With one hand Unit 10 grabbed my Evangelion's jaw, gripping with hideous strength until it was forced open; it leaned down and opened its own mouth in mirror, teeth bared. With the other it took hold of the Lance and drove it deeper into the earth; the widening tines ripped the wound in Unit 09's neck open further and a red-black mist descended before my eyes.

- now i have you. now i take you … end you. -

But even as the world broke, behind Unit 10's shoulder there was a flicker of movement, impossibly far away among the stars.

I felt the force of a blow transmitted through its hold on me, then it crumpled and collapsed atop Unit 09. Blood burst from its back, drenching us both.

All I could register was that my assailant was no more, before Unit 09 at last shut down, and my mind with it.

I did not know how much time I lost. Long before I had rested enough, light burst over me, and there was a large voice. But though both light and noise seared my nerves, I couldn't summon the strength to flinch away.

The loud voice blasted again, then paused. There was an interval of stillness.

Then a human was beside me, grabbing and hauling me upright. My arm was guided around their shoulders and I was gathered tightly against their side; a whole-body lurch, and we were ascending.

Gradually, as shock faded and my abused nervous system reconnected, I became aware that I was being wrangled to sit in the entry plug of another Evangelion, and the person wrangling me—

Asuka! My heart called her, but no sound emerged.

She noticed my attention though, and looked sharply into my face. "/Oh, you're awake, are you? 'Bout time./"

Words failed me, and I could only grip her forearm and rest our foreheads together in mute relief.

"/Ugh, enough with the mushiness,/" she complained, but did not actually pull away.

A klaxon interrupted us, and an error message on the internal display – Fehler – fehler. I cast Asuka an inquiring look, and she rolled her eyes.

"/It's thought noise – you're thinking in the wrong language. If you must think, or what passes for it with you, do it in German./"

I nodded, and though my mind was still foggy from the ordeal of battle and torture, managed to compose myself to follow her instruction, and the klaxon subsided.

"/Better./"

A video link opened before us, and Shinji's face filled the screen. # Asuka? Kaworu? Are you all right? #

"Stupid Shinji? What're you doing here?" Asuka showed no difficulty in speaking one language while thinking in another.

# Um … we came to … rescue you? #

She snorted. "Great job, Third Child."

# Sorry … um, are you sitting on Kaworu's lap? # His voice squeaked on the last word.

"Oh for crying out—To pilot more effectively, duh! Don't get jealous, it's not even comfy. …Hah, your face is bright red!"

Misato broke in. # Asuka, what's your status? I see that Unit 06 is damaged, are you hurt? #

"I'm fine. The bastard jumped me as we were launching the new high-altitude transport, and I burned its wings with the lift-off fuel. But it took me a while to recover trajectory to pay it back for the sneak attack."

# We saw you take it down, # blurted Shinji. # You sniped it right in the dummy plug from orbit! With one arm! #

Asuka preened; when she caught the glowing look I was giving her, she bumped my shoulder. "Well, it did make a pretty irresistible target, going after Wonderboy here. –Who's being uncharacteristically quiet. Also … bleeding from the ears?" She touched my jaw carefully; her fingertips came away slick with red.

# Are you okay, Kaworu? # Shinji asked, and the concern and affection in his face was as soothing as an analgesic.

Again I could not seem to bring forth the words I sought, and had to settle for nodding and smiling, though both sharpened the ache in my head.

# We'll get you help and bring you home as soon as we can, Kaworu, # said Misato. # Asuka, what's happening with Berlin NERV? We can't hail them on any frequencies. #

"Oh, they've battened down the hatches," said Asuka, with a dismissive wave. "While Unit 10 was trying to chase me they evacuated down to the bunkers, so later when it went after the rest of the base it couldn't reach them. I'll let them know the cavalry's here."

A flurry of conversation followed between the various groups present, but Asuka and I focused on recovering the facsimile Lance of Longinus from its place embedded in Unit 09's neck. Seeing the damage done to my Evangelion from an external view, I felt nauseous, and had to chase away phantom pain in my own throat.

We were obliged to brace our Evangelion's foot on Unit 09's clavicle to lever the spear free, and came close to decapitating it completely – I had to look away to keep myself from throwing up. "Don't you dare puke in here, I have to breathe this!" scolded Asuka, but she had twisted in our seat and was rubbing gentle circles on my back at the same time.

"How did they get this thing back, anyway?" Asuka muttered as we hoisted it. "I thought it was orbiting the moon or something."

I shook my head as I regathered myself, and Asuka turned to face forward in the plug seat again.

"No they didn't? You're saying this is a fake? Oh – maybe they sent Unit 11 from the Arctic base! But if there are fake Lances, to defeat the Angels, why wouldn't they have given them to us before?"

Why indeed. The true power of the Lance of Longinus was to immobilise a Seed of Life – first Adam, then Lilith – and therefore to overcome a Seed's children (Arael; an Evangelion) was no challenge. But more than that, the ability to penetrate an AT field – to compromise the barrier enclosing the heart and mind of a living being – could have been weaponised to invoke the dissolution of Instrumentality, given a suitable conduit; though for a facsimile, with only a fraction the potency of the original, it would have taken an armory of the entire Evangelion series, bearing S2 engines with AT fields in resonance, to accomplish the same end.

So much for the Committee's grand plans, then. A path of despair could only, ultimately, lead to defeat.

The dawning sun cast crisp golden light across Berlin NERV's airstrip. A greeting chorus of birds had been swiftly drowned out by the activity of heavy machinery, as road crews and emergency logistics teams got to work clearing access to the base so repairs could commence. Evangelion Unit 10 had already been partially disassembled prior to being taken to the base cryo-storage, and Unit 09 was loaded back into the Tokyo-3 air carrier (in two pieces – the remains of its neck had finally given away, and I was promptly sick onto the tarmac).

And in what must have been the friendliest arrest in history, Misato swung her legs from the rear ramp of the plane she had hijacked, and sipped a mug of coffee.

"I regret nothing," she was heard to declare to multiple people. Lt Hyuga, having set her handcuffs so loosely they barely contacted her wrists, had had to hide a grin as he left to coordinate recovery.

Asuka was less impressed. "Totally unnecessary, completely reckless, absolutely irresponsible – a terrible example for the child in your custody, not to mention endangerment!"

It seemed to have more of an impact than Commander Fuyutsuki's long-distance reproof, but that was not saying much. "I know all that. But I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't done everything I could to be there for you."

"Ugh!" Asuka threw up her hands. "Somehow you got even more ridiculous while I was away." She whirled on Shinji. "And you! I know she didn't actually kidnap you, so what were you thinking, going along with this insanity?"

"Pretty much the same," he said cheerily. He had draped his hooded jacket over my shoulders (on top of the blanket already administered by the first-aid officer), and now sat close by my side, as though determined to keep both Asuka and myself in maximum proximity. "We really wanted to be there for you, Asuka – what if things had gone badly?"

Her hand flashed out again, to grab me by the hair (though gently). "And what do you call your darling boyfriend getting on the wrong end of a Lance of Gotverdamnt Longinus?"

At that, both Shinji and Misato visibly wilted, and guilt overcast their faces. I wanted to protest – I chose the risks too! I wanted the opportunity to support my friend, and Misato had given me that! – but couldn't seem to summon my voice.

Instead I ducked out from Asuka's hold, and stepped over to Misato and hugged her.

"Kaworu?" She started in surprise. I was almost the same height as she, and could rest my chin on her shoulder comfortably. After a moment she did the same, and her cuffed hands curled underneath and around my arm. "Thanks, kiddo. I'm still so sorry that you were hurt, though."

"Me too," said Shinji softly, and though I knew he hadn't been actually requesting a hug I still embraced him after releasing Misato.

"Ew, knock it off with the PDAs," groused Asuka. Shinji made a sound like "nyeh" and I inferred that he had stuck his tongue out at her.

I cast Misato a confused look; inferring my incomprehension of the acronym, she snickered as she set her empty mug on the ramp, then said helpfully, "PDA is like this!" and looped her bound wrists over Asuka's head and grabbed her in a hug.

"Ach! Lemme go, you weirdo! /Help, assault! I'm being attacked by a degenerate!/" But she could not struggle free, and eventually, begrudgingly, submitted to her guardian's affection.

"Aw, that's really sweet," said Shinji.

Misato is embarrassing someone, Asuka is grumbling, and Shinji is at my side, I thought; all is, perhaps, right with the world.