So here I am coming to you with chapt three. I know there have been quite a few questions regarding some plot wholes, but I hope to answer many of them in this chapt. Sorry again for the lengthy delay, but I've been working hard on this chapter. It's actually almost twice as long as the others...

And remember, please take some time and review. Every little bit helps.

KAOS LEGION: Angel's Thesis

Chapter 3:

The cries of the wounded were faint. The blood surrounding him seemed pale. The cold and lifeless lands that were once full of life now were shrouded with death and charred remains. But to him, none of that mattered. To him, his entire universe was now revolving around one, single individual.

"Raid... I love you"

Her flight suit was tarnished and ripped, taking away from her angelic complexion. That's all he saw. Around him, the pained cries of thousands rang out, as the war was being lost. But here, lying on the battle field, a different kind of war was being fought.

"CRYSTAL! You cant leave me Crystal...!"

The mist in his eyes no longer suppressed, a single tear fell to mix it's salty contents with the blood on her waist. The Kaos had tarnished Earth's way of life. And along with everyone else, his beloved would be added to the deceased list of those he cared about.

"Raid... I... I want you to escape... Leave... me... h-"

she coughed blood over her already crimson red flight suit. Her light orange hair was lightly cascaded on the blood-soaked ground around her. He could feel the hard breaths against his back. Her Once white flight suit was now almost completely crimson. The skin-tight clothes seemed to strangle her pure figure.

"Crystal! You can't... leave me. I don't know what I'll do without you..."

Tears from both now mixed with the body fluids around them and they united. She reached out with a weak and tender hand to stroke the hair out of Raid's eyes. Before the life was completely drained, she uttered the words,

"Su Ki Daioh, Shinji-kun..."

And all at once her spirit vanished. What remained was an empty frame. A material possession, of a corrupted life. Raid never did find out what her last words meant, that is, until NERV...

"WHAT?"

That shriek was the voice of Asuka Langley, pilot of Unit 02. Katsuragi had just informed her of the Intel that was received from the boy with the Eva-Like vessel. Asuka stomped out of her chambers and hastily made her way to the Hanger. She leaned over the Rail to see A black haired boy checking over the status of his Unit. That's him, she thought angrily as she marched down the steel stairs to the launch deck.

The boy was into his work, and as she approached, Raid did what Raid did best, he ignored her.

"You listen to me!" she said sharply to the back of the boy's head. "Is that any way to give someone news? You just destroyed the lives of six-hundred people by telling them what is- I SAID LISTEN!"

She grabbed his arm and tugged. They met face to face, eye to eye. Asuka had a look of anger, but the boy had that of total shock. He muttered the word, "Cr-C-C-Crystal?" He dropped his onboard computer and stared with amazement. His Eyes were now those of a young child, loving and hopeful. But there was another side. A side of fear. A side of disbelief. She was entranced.

I know these eyes... were have I seen them before...? This fantasy like state lasted only a second, followed by Asuka's cold hand across Raid's unsuspecting face. The stinging blow was swift and hard. "How dare you?" She said crossly. "I'll have you know that I am Asuka Langley Shoryuu, Pilot of Unit 02. To not know me is redicul-"

"Crystal? I-It's me Raid! Remember? I thought you were dead!" Raid threw his arms around her.

The last thing the poor boy saw was the bottom of Asuka's Crimson red shoe...

He slowly opened his eyes as a splitting headache shot through his skull. Misato, Shinji and others stood bent over looking at him. "Are you OK?" asked Katsuragi.

"Cr-Crystal..." He moaned.

"Yeah," said Misato, glancing over at an upset Asuka, a good ways away. "We know. Who is Crystal?"

Raid slowly sat up as the purple haze that was reality slowly made it's way into focus. He looked at Misato, then his eyes darted to Shinji.

Shinji.

Where had he heard that name before.

Shinji...

It resonated in his mind repetitively. Like a broken record, the name played and played over and over in his subconscious.

Shinji... Shinji... Shinji... "Su ki daioh, Shinji-kun."

His eyes widened. "Where is that girl?" he asked abruptly. Before he could completely stand he heard a loud huff, followed by, "That Girl? Why you..."

"Asuka..." Misato said, putting her hand up to block her. "This girl, Raid?" She asked. "You called her Crystal earlier. Does she look like someone you used to know?

Raid shook his head. "Not like. Identical."

Asuka stopped all at once and just stared.

"She looks almost as if she is Crystal..."

Katsuragi stood there, looking surprised. Shinji was quiet. This boy's problems were none of his concern.

"Im sure you're... exaggerating a bit..." she said.

Raid pulled a photo of Crystal out of his pocket and showed it to them. There, in a T-shirt and Jeans stood Asuka Langley. It was an impossible duplicate of their 02 Pilot.

"That's Crystal...?" asked Misato. "That's unbelievable." she took the picture and examined it closely. "It truly is your Doppleganger Asuka..."

Asuka took the picture and took a good look at it. "This is her?"

Shinji, who up until now was quiet, spoke. "What happened to her?"

Raid balled his fists and glared at him. "That's none of your concern."

Shinji turned to make his leave.

Over the next week rigorous tests were preformed on the photograph as well as a lock of crystal's hair found inside Unit 0436's cockpit. The tests were conducted and documented with extreme scrutiny. Finally all of the results had been tallied. Misato made her way into Raid's temporary quarters were he and Asuka curiously awaited the final verdict.

"Well, we conducted a total of 17 DNA and facial Mapping tests. And we have confirmed that, as strange as it sounds... Asuka Langley is Crystal Tanazaki."

Asuka stood in shock. "What? But, I'm much prettier than that!"

"Well," she began, "Everything was a match. It's impossible to even tell that the two samples even came from different people."

Raid listened quietly to the news. "Unbelievable..." he said.

"I'll say," Said Misato. And with that she left them.

The next few days of Raid's stay were the analysis portion. A series of tests were conducted on the Kaos Unit, to see what made it function. It did not have a mind of it's own. Receptors in the back of it's throat received signals sent from the leader. The creature was then operated by telepathy to attack the opponent in massive numbers. Because it was already controlled by a greater power, it was incredibly easy to commandeer the throat receptors and manipulate the wavelengths. Basically they needed a quick tune up, a program initiated, and they were ready to be piloted. The angels had apparently sided with quantity over quality when creating it.

For a while, an eerie still fell over the battlefield, as day after sightless day dragged on. The base returned to the norm.

"So," asked Asuka, as she leaned against a wall. "When are you going home?"

Raid lifted his head, he was sitting with his back against the wall. "I can't go home..." He finally said.

"What? Of course you can!"

"The Gate back home is controlled by the Kaos. I barely managed to sneak through it with my Unit to come here."

"Well that's stupid!" she spat, crossing her arms. "Why would you do a crazy thing like that?"

He looked down. There was a voice resonating in the back of his mind. A voice that was resonating the truth he was hiding inside of him.

I know why...

No, it was simple. A mission was recommended to warn the next target and put a stop to the chain of attack.

But that's not why you left.

It was! I had a mission. I proudly accepted the fate bound to me.

Your lying... Lying lying Lying...

No! You're the one whose lying! You don't know the truth. I left to follow my duty.

Say it. It's OK to admit it.

Im not admitting anything. Nothing you say is true!

You left because you had nothing else. You left because of your fear.

"No!" he now verbally shouted. He took a quick look around. The hallway that was once dense with people was now empty. He got up, brushed himself off, and began making his way to the hanger.

"I'm leaving," he said flatly, going about packing his small amount of things. "My mission was to deliver intelligence. But now I have no reason to stay. The rest is your problem"

This time Shinji spoke. "Where will you go."

Raid slung a bag over his back and turned, looking into Shinji's eyes. "What do you care..."

Shinji opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by a sharp sound. The earsplitting high frequency noise was the NERV Red Alert alarm. He looked at this boy. Did he even care about stopping these creatures? Shinji had a strong feeling that the answer was a no. He became rather angry.

"We don't need you..." he said quietly. He looked up and continued. "So, this was your mission? To deliver the message and then let another world go to hell? Your worse of a pilot than I a-"

He was cut off. Before he was finished he was pressed against the wall, with a knife at his neck. "What did you say?" said the boy with a look of hate in his eyes. The fierce, cold emotions swirled in his hazel Irises.

Shinji looked surprised for a moment, but returned his face to an angry smirk. "Why is it that you hate me? Is it because I have morals? Because I put others' lives before my own? Because I know what it truly means to pilot Eva?"

Raid's eyes grew more fierce. "SHUT UP!" he yelled.

"A pilot's duty is to defend. Their destiny is to protect those in need. If you forget that, then your Kaos Unit is nothing but a worthless waist of space."

"SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Cried Raid as the knife drew closer, now being lightly pressed against Shinji's Jugular. It's tip indented the skin on his neck, begging for the taste of blood

This was very unlike Shinji. He would normally keep to himself and curl up in the corner. But this time it was different. He felt like he knew this person. He felt somehow linked to him. It made him feel sick and disgusted, but linked nonetheless. He didn't know where that outburst came from, but he enjoyed the rush. He felt exhilarated.

"That's enough!" said Misato as she came in between the two. "Break it up!" She parted them with her arms. "Raid, Unless you are here to aid NERV, then I want you gone by 1600 hours. Shinji, come with me." she violently tugged on his arm as they left for the briefing room.

On the other side of the hanger she stopped and released him. "What has gotten into you?" she scolded to him angrily.

"I... I don't know..." he replied. "I-I was angry. Im s-sorry."

She sighed. "Alright. Come on! We need you on pilot duty. Two Kaos have appeared 20 kilometers south by southeast from NERV HQ. We need you suited up and on deck in five minutes. Let's move!"

They hurried up to the Plug Deck, were Asuka eagerly awaited, already in her red flight-suit. She appeared to be just a tad bit jumpy. This being her first time on an Eva mission in almost three years, she had a right to be.

Shinji gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. You've done lots of hard sync training, I'm sure you'll be fine."

She whipped around shaking off Shinji's hand. "I don't want or need your comfort Third Child! I am the better piolet. Don't forget that out there." She rudely turned and wisped her hair as she parted. Shinji shrugged.

Wow... three years since the destruction of mankind, and she hasn't changed a bit.

He used to feel angry and frustrated at her, but he had learned that given the circumstances, there were things more constructive to be angry at.

They got situated and the hatches closed. After that the plugs were sucked into tubes were they would travel to the designated launch points. Once there, they were systematically injected into the Evangelions. Although Shinji had done this countless times, he never could get used to it. The plug was injected and he felt a queasy twinge as he synched with the Eva. His mind felt like it was being pelted with radio waves. And as soon as it started, it was over. The sensation however, lasted for several minutes after.

After the Sync process was complete, Various people gave the call to launch. This feeling was another that Shinji could never adjust to.

The Eva Units shot out of the hanger, electrostatic discharge emanating from the platforms. Shinji felt a lurch under his stomach, followed by a dizzy feeling due to the change in altitude. And all at once the units erupted side by side, and the walls of the building concealing the launch point gave way.

The plug around Shinji dissolved, and was replaced with a 360 degree view of his surroundings. He still never understood how this worked.

The two set off, carefully glancing around. Their guns were at the ready. The air was thick and heated, and the Purple-Red sky made lighting limited. Yes, the sun had all but vanished from their view, leaving a cruel sky always between day and night.

They started running now, and had just reached the designated location.

"Were are you..." said Asuka wearily. She wanted a chance to prove herself. To show that the courage she showed during the battle with the other units wasn't just a one time thing.

"There!" Said Asuka, sensing movement behind a nearby building. "Stay here and get the other third child... that is... if you can handle it."

"I really think we should stay together!" Shinji protested, but before he knew it he was alone. He waited, second after second of ear-splitting silence passed. All of his senses were on full alert.

Then it happened.

It jumped from a nearby burnt building. Shinji was ready. His Eva diligently rolled out of the way and fired three rounds. The familiar pentagonal AT-Field resonated from the creature. Shinji dove forward in an attempt to pry it open, but was violently knocked back by a kicked to the chest. Shinji grabbed at his heart in pain. He rolled over and jumped back onto his feet.

I won't let you win. I wont let you destroy us!

He unsheathed his progressive knife, and stabbed forward. After the AT-field dissolved, he immediately side kicked the creature onto the ground. The gun had been dropped after the first attack, and now lie to the side of the battle scene. The Eva shot up, narrowly avoiding a slash from the Kaos' wrist blade. Before Shinji had time to think, the Kaos was back on it's feet. It slashed and Shinji used his progressive knife to deflect it. The blades grinded, sending sparks everywhere. This stand off lasted only seconds, followed by the Eva pushing the blade out of the way.

It immediately gripped the Kaos' head and slammed it into a nearby wall. Purple blood spewed from it, as it gave a low rumbling moan of pain. It's arms went limp, and it fell. Shaking the earth with it's carcase. The sound of applause was audible through the radio speaker as Misato spoke to him.

"Well done Shinji! Mission accomplished."

Mission Accomplished.

Shinji looked down. Something didn't feel right.

"Asuka, have you silenced your target?" he asked, followed by a garbled voice. "Come again?" he said.

This time the answer was clearer, and her image appeared on his consol. "Of course I did you idiot! Why would you think other wise?"

He smiled. "I never did..." he said.

Then why do I still feel this way?

All at once he understood. The radios went dead. Then he felt a shard pain from the sensors in his back. He whipped around to see Two addition Kaos, their clawed hands driven into his shoulder blades. They threw him onto the ground.

Impossible...

They then pinned him to the road and began clawing at the Eva's armor.

But... I won...

Then the third got up, it's mangled body still functioning. All three were now scraping away at the Eva's plating. The armor on the stomach tore open, and one of the creatures began sinking there teeth into the flesh like substance beneath.

Help me... Asuka...

The pain was brutal and unbearable. He was going to die in here. In the horrible cockpit that stank of blood. He would die in a massacre. With every second the pain grew twice as horrible.

The two other beasts grabbed it's arms, and in one, hard earsplitting crack, both arms came free. The Eva lie in a pity, now mangled beyond recognition. The creatures weren't just tearing the Eva apart... they were eating it alive. They were Feeding off of it. The blood of the fallen Unit now spilled freely, as Shinji began to let go of life.

No...

He opened his eyes. He looked helplessly up at the creatures before him.

No. I will not die. I cannot die. I WON'T LOSE!

Something inside of him snapped. All at once he allowed the Eva's consciousness to flow freely.

In one fierce blow that Eva shot the three enemies forward. They fell and hit the ground hard. Before they could even get up, the Eva, it's eyes now blazing red, charged forward with inhuman speed. It bit down and tore off the enemy's arm with it's bare teeth. Suddenly wires and pieces of flesh from it's arm socket shot out to catch it. They connected with the limb and it retracted back to the Eva. Without even flexing it's new arm, the Unit Ripped off the other arm and did the same. Now it stood with two new arms. Two more deadly arms than it had before. It let out a deep throated Rumbling moan, and sliced the creature in half with one blade. Without hesitation, it flung itself towards the second creature and shoved it's clawed hand through it's chest. The hand ruptured the spine as it emerged out of the back, and the target fell limp. The third charged forward, and in a blind haze of fury, the Eva ripped off it's head and began gnawing at it's cranial tissue. The creature fell to 01's feet as it continued to feed.

Asuka was also having her own prblems. Right after the radio cut out, she too was attacked by two additional creatures, but when one severed her right leg, she was regretfully forced to crawl away, but not before throwing her progressive knife through one of their skulls. The pain in her leg was fierce, but she had still managed to escape.

Every ounce of her energy was going into crawling.

Shinji... I have to find Shinji

Although she hated the idea, she knew it was true. It was then that she approached the mangled body of a Kaos.

Shinji...

She looked over and saw another limp body. but above that, her eyes met a creature feeding off of the Kaos's innards. It was Unit 01, or it appeared to be. It's arms resembled that of a monster, and its head had sprung six spines, Identical to the those on the Kaos. She called through the radio, her voice weak.

"S-Shinji-kun..." she said slowly, both shocked at the Eva's appearance, but also relieved to see it intact. She weakly rested against a building and stood upright. The majority of 01's face armor had been sheered off, as it carelessly scraped it against the corrosive acid metals inside the Kaos. It's eyes were now fully visible, it's pupils bone white. The look was that of insanity.

"Shinji?" she asked in a worried tone. The Eva looked up at 02, and stood on it's slightly clawed feet. The body had also been changed to a look that was more sinister and menacing than ever.

Before Asuka could catch her breath, 01's new hand darted and gripped around 02's skull. The look of insanity now turned to hate. It's power was unbelievable, as it began compressing the head armor. It was slowly crushing the skull.

Asuka grabbed at her temples and let out a blood curdling scream.

In the post apocalyptic waist land around them, her cries were nothing but a pined silence, that echoed across a broken world...

TO BE CONTINUED...

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I know various people had asked about Asuka. I didn't want to give anything away. So I hope you enjoyed Chapter three. Chapter four will be up... whenever I can get around to writing it.