(A/N Hey all (to those that actually read this story) I'm back with another adition to EtLomS. It took a while to pump this one out from lack of inspiration and than school. I wish I could say that this is a good story, but I just don't know anymore. I want to be in this for the long run and many general ideas keep flowing. I just hope this update can show people what I mean. This story is going to have some surprises and I'm going to pull away from the many pitfalls that authors fall into. (Just wait until the chapter 'First Night Out' [Working title) Anyway, enough with my rants and on with the next installment)

Disclaimor: I don't own NGE, Ace Combat, or Halo. I own them as in I have them on DVD/Game form, but I'm not Bungie,ADV films, or Namco.

(A/A/N 2000 hits baby!)

Chapter 10

Promises

(POV -Unknown- 'Blaze' -Unknown-)

The alarms blaze in my ears as I step onto the bridge, the very sounds it creates fills the air with deep vibrations, only giving it more tension. Taking in the large, vast, and open room, I look off towards the control panel for who I'm looking for. Standing there overlooking the work of the two techs pouring over the computers is Dr. Ibuki.

"Doctor, status report," I order solidly as I come out of the door stepping into the center of screens and keyboards.

"An unknown object of great mass has just fallen out of orbit," She answers adding, "The Magi predict that the object will fall just west of construction operations."

"So we have an object falling right at us. Is there any way to track where it was launched from," I ask for the hope of finding our enemy's source.

"Negative, Magi does not have sufficient data to calculate out an origin," states the tech that goes by the name of 'Makoto Hyuga.'

"Estimated time till impact is 15 minutes," States the tech 'Shigeru Aoba.'

"Commander on the bridge," yells an unseen voice.

Everyone looks back in time to see Commanders Fuyutsuki and Akagi step off the elevator onto their platform, the highest one in the entire command center. Commander Fuyutsuki steps up and looks me straight in the eyes.

"Captain, what is the status of your pilots?" he asks blatantly.

"Sir, Captains Nagase and Grimm are currently getting prepared. I saw them both as I was coming up," I answer, also adding, "And you and I both know where Captain Snow is, sir."

"Ah yes. What's his status than?" Asks the Commander.

"S-Unit 3 is undergoing the final preliminary launch stages. It can launch in 30 minutes," states Dr. Ibuki.

'Why today? Of all the off chances of encountering the enemy, it had to be today. Do they know about the launch…no, otherwise they would have just stayed in orbit. It's what I would have done,' I think out to myself.

Amidst the yelling and general panic, the door behind me opens up and out steps the two people we've been waiting for.

"Sorry were late, sir," apologizes Nagase as she and Grimm step in dressed in full armor.

"Save your apologies until after the matter," I return before turning to Ibuki and asking, "What are the chances of this object being a hostile?"

Ibuki turns back and answers, "The Magi say 50-50."

We all turn to the back, looking up and the commanders, waiting for an order that might clear up some of the confusion on the levels below. Through what seems like much deliberation, the Commander stands up and steps to the ledge of his command post. Silence ensues as everyone takes notice of the old man's sudden disposition and posture, beaming down on us from high above.

"Kouzou?" asks Sub-Commander Akagi, her voice soft.

Finally, with all his might, he yells, "All personnel assume battle stations! Level 1!"

A great sigh fills the room as people who had been holding their breaths finally permit to release them. With a soft cheer and smiles on many faces, everyone returns to their posts, issuing orders to wherever they were needed.

"All right, we're back in business," says Hyuga, a smile slapped on the front of his face.

With the tension mostly released from the room, I return my attention to the two pilots in the room. They both stare back at me, waiting for some sign of what to do next. Confident in their ability to do their job, I race my hand into a 'Thumbs up' and smile at them.

"Thank you, Captain," They both say at the same time before nodding and departing out the door from whence they came.

'They're my pilots, and whatever anybody throws at them, God knows they'll take it and throw it right back,' I think, now smiling somewhere on the inside.

"Why aren't you going with them?" asks Dr. Ibuki from behind.

I turn to face her and release my smile before saying, "As much as I would love to join them, my unit still hasn't returned from Berlin. The fleet that's carrying it got caught in a storm and fell behind by a day."

Without saying another word, Dr. Ibuki looks at me for a second before turning back to her duty. Looking away from them, I watch as the holographic timer continues ticking downward, mounting us ever so closer to the impending battle.

"Ten minutes until estimated time of impact," announces a voice over the intercom.

(POV Shinji Ikari)

It has been 3 days since we retrieved Asuka from the hospital and since then, she has been acting strange. She will giggle or talk to herself, but whenever Misato asks her about it, she says that she can't tell us about it yet. She seemed excited those first couple of days, but now she seems more relaxed today. Maybe it's because Misato's gone, off for some interview with the UN. I don't know exactly what it's about, but it seemed to be nothing for my concern, or so Misato had put it as she left. So, for the past few hours, I had been left with Asuka, alone in the house, as she flips through TV channels finding something to watch.

I just leave her alone as I prepare dinner for tonight, a simple egg dish with some soup and a little seasoning on top. It was simple enough for me anyway, but I'm just trying to mind my own business. I don't want another 'Asuka fiasco,' that much I know for certain, so it's probably best that I keep to myself for now.

"Hey Shinji, I want to ask you something," says Asuka, which is so sudden that I almost drop the pan I'm holding just from plain shock.

"Y-yes, what is it Asuka?" I ask, trying to regain some composure.

She pauses for a moment, her gaze still on the TV, before asking, "If you could pilot Eva again, would you?"

"Uh…uh," I stutter, unable to find an immediate answer to the question. For all its worth, I had thought it was over when I woke up on that beach some odd weeks ago. But with the appearance of some odd Eva's, I knew there might be some small possibility that I would return to piloting. But the final choice of piloting still teetered on the words of my mother from before. 'What is it that you want?' That thought came deep into mind.

'Is Eva what I want, or is there something else,' I think to myself.

Something else…something more in life. What is there in life that can give me what Eva did, without all of the pain? What is there in life that can give me pleasure without so much pain? What is there to life?

'WON'T SOMEBODY JUST GIVE ME THE ANSWER?'

"Shinji?"

This time the voice, being about 10 times closer, does startle me and the pan makes its long journey to the floor. Making a loud pang as it hits, I scream out in pain as the searing heat from it makes contact with my bare skin. I drop to the floor and try to use my hands to soothe the burnt skin, but hardly succeeding.

"Shinji! Are you all right?" asks a seemingly concerned Asuka.

"Agh…I'm ok…don't worry about it," I grunt out, clearly lying through the teeth. With that statement, I leave the kitchen and head to the bathroom to put some water over the burn. If I can keep it cool, than at least it won't blister later on.

I succeed in limping over to the tub and start up the cold water. Through the sound of the running tap, I hear footsteps stop just outside the doorway. I stick my leg into the flowing water and look to the door to find Asuka standing there. She just stands there, not saying anything before leaving the archway to some unseen place.

'Heh, I should have known. She'd never stick around to help me. But I shouldn't expect her to since…'

And before I can even finish the thought, she returns to the doorway, this time with a bag of ice in hand. She slowly walks over before applying the bag to the, now obviously, burnt section of my leg. I stare, absolutely dumbfounded at this display of kindness. This is not like her at all!

"You should be more careful. I mean, honestly, where would you be without me, huh?" She states in an all too familiar tone.

The blood rushes to my face, though I don't want it and try to hide it. I think to myself, 'Just one step at a time now. Don't get ahead of yourself Shinji.'

And than it hits me and I ask, "Asuka?"

"Hm?" she grunts, now looking up from my leg into my face.

"Why did you ask me if I would pilot Eva again?" I ask, hoping I could turn the questioning around before I had to answer.

She pauses before returning to my burnt leg and answering, "I'm not supposed to tell you, but I guess I should…"

The moments continue to pass as the pain in my leg finally starts to recede. Asuka continues to look blankly at me, maybe trying to come to a decision on telling me her 'secret.'

"I guess I'll confess since your going to be asked again anyway," she states, continuing before I can respond with, "The truth is that…"

And not a moment too soon, a slam is heard from the front door. Both of us pause, tensing up before hearing an "I'm home" float from the living room. It doesn't take long to realize which person just barged in on the situation

Misato's footsteps are heard even from the bathroom as she yells out, "Where are you two? You better not be sleeping together, you hear?"

The footsteps grow louder as she comes into view in the doorway. She stops abruptly, staring at the two of us, a dumbfounded look planted on her face.

"Eh?" She grunts.

Before the two of us could say anything, laughter fills the halls of the small house.

(POV Kei 'Edge' Nagase)

"Commence A-10 nerve connection!"

The LCL within the plug charges in an omni-colored spectacle for the eye only to vanish unseen within the surrounding space. Displayed in front of me, from what was once an iron colored coating is a screen visually showing me the outside world…or at least the cage S-Unit 2 was being held within. At last, with the 'brilliant' light show finally over, a screen pops up, showing the face of my CO; Blaze.

"How're you feeling Kei?" He asks with concern.

"A little nauseous, but it'll pass," I answer.

"Good…good. I'll be back with you, they're plugging in Archer now," he states, clearing his throat as his screen vanishes into nothing.

'He never changes, always coming to check on me only to whisk to the next problem afterwards,' I think to myself with a smile.

"Moving S-Unit 2 to the 27th gate," states an unseen bridge voice.

The Eva begins to vibrate as restraints are removed from it. A feeling of physical relief comes as I actually feel the locks being removed from my arms and legs. With the locks gone, the Eva moves slowly backwards into a different area.

Suddenly, the Eva jolts to a stop and a voice announces, "S-Unit 2, launching from the 27th gate in 5 seconds."

I look upward to find door after door opening up directly above me, clearing the path from here to the surface. The clearance light shifts from red to green and gravity momentarily shifts. A blur of gray shoots by the screen in front as I'm transported to the surface. Without warning, the gray changes into a scene of blue and brown.

Blaze's screen pops back up, saying, "Alright Edge, glad to see you made it to the surface."

"And you didn't expect me to?" I ask sarcastically in his sudden change of tone.

"Enough with the sarcasm! I've been asked to issue you guys field orders and I expect them to be followed," he says in his 'serious' voice.

The final locks release from my arms, legs, and shoulders, allowing me full control over the Eva's movements. Taking a few steps forward, an alarm goes off behind me as the catapult slips back into the hole I just came out of.

"Archer will be up to the surface in just a few moments. In the mean time, we're going to send you a close range weapon. You will be taking the point for this operation Edge," states Blaze's image before disappearing.

A few seconds pass before the door to the launch chute opens up again and a small box rises from it. The box opens to reveal a spear, which than protrudes out to me. I reach for it with an available hand and maneuver it into position.

Several more minutes of silence pass before the chute opens up yet again, revealing a fast moving S-Unit 4. The new locks for it release and it takes its first steps forward. The restraints for it once again fall back down the launch chute.

"Alright you two, I'm going to be talking with you both simultaneously from now on, so get used to it now," says Blaze's image, before listing off with, "Okay, we have just 3 minutes until the target hits the surface, so I will announce your orders."

A pause follows as another box flies up out of the launch chute, this one opening to reveal a rifle. Grimm reaches for it and takes it into his arms.

"Archer, you will be on guard. Cover Nagase and make sure the target doesn't get too close to the construction sites on the other side of the lake," orders Blaze.

Suddenly, Grimm's com window opens up saying, "Yes, sir."

"Edge, you will take the point position. Attempt to disable the target with the least amount of force possible. We want to take whoever we can alive," orders Blaze again.

"Roger," comes my automatic answer.

"Wait here for now guys, when we give the order to attack, make your run at it. I'll be back once the Magi confirm what the hell is going on," states Blaze, only to pop out once more.

And so the wait for the enemy begins…if this really was an enemy per say. For all we know, this has been just a series of odd coincidences and what is actually falling from the sky is merely just a large chunk of rock. We don't really know what it is until it hits Earth and yet it has already caused this much panic. It could have to do with the recovery mission planned today, but that may just be more coincidence.

On screen, I can see it now, the brilliant flash of red fire falling from the sky. It makes incredible speed, flying right over Grimm and myself only to impact the dirt with full force. Shifting into an offensive position, I take up the spear, ready to attack at once. A cloud of dust settles over the crash site, concealing the fallen object from view.

Blaze's image reappears, saying, "Steady guys, we're still confirming the target. Just hold there until we know for certain what it is."

Without either of us replying back, Grimm and I ease up, lowering our guard just enough so that we won't be caught too far off guard. The dust still climbs, the object still concealed, the tension in my seat still mounting, a new feeling of uneasiness waves through me.

Suddenly, from amidst the dust cloud, come three flashes.

"Edge, get out of there!" Suddenly yells Blaze's reformed image.

Too late! The flashes puncture into my Eva's armor, pain flows from my left arm and right leg. I collapse onto my right leg, trying to ease the pain, the world around me no longer of concern. Grasping my left arm with my right, I find it to be of little help.

From the dust itself, the figure shoots out, barreling with quick speed towards me. Trying to get up, I look to the front just in time to get nailed in the face with a yellow fist. The ground disappears from beneath my feet and I find myself staring at the sky. My back impacts the dirt and arches as it fills with pain.

"Nagase!" A yell is issued over the radio, but from who I can't figure out. I brace for the next attack but instead find Grimm standing over me, firing his rifle at the enemy target. The spray of bullets seems to keep the Eva at bay, but little more than that. Also, at this rate, it would only be a matter of time before Grimm's rifle runs empty.

My mind finally reconnects with my body and I manage to get up on both legs, but I still have to grip my throbbing left arm. My gaze returns to the enemy, finally getting a good view at it. The Eva is yellow, with a secondary white paint job. Nothing seems out of the ordinary except for the two blades on both of its arms. But I can't find whatever it had used to shoot me.

Grimm continues to fire as I search for my spear on the ground, having lost it in the process of being bashed. Finding it sticking up in the dirt, I make my way to it, grabbing it and re-acquiring my stance. Just as I turn to face the enemy, Grimm's rain of bullets stops.

"Ah, God dammit!!! The rifle's empty!" he yells as he tosses the rifle.

Before the enemy can regain its composure, I break for it as fast as I can. I raise my good arm into striking pose, readying the spear in hand. With one swift motion, I swing the spear with a powerful downward swoop.

The spear impacts the dirt and I curse, "Dammit you basterd!"

Before I can pull the spear back out, the Eva lurches its arm blade into my gut and lodges it in there. The pain in my gut intensifies as the Eva pushes the blade further in, before the arm recoils back out. That's when I find out where the point of its gun had been…

…Hidden in the blade itself!

The strength in my legs disappears, and I return to looking into the sky, my back to the dirt. I feel tired, short of breath, and the pain in my gut continues to spread to my chest. I cough a few times, releasing a thick, iron tasting fluid into the LCL. I breathe hard, desperate to get air into my lungs.

I hear yelling, but I feel too tired to care what the person is saying. Many different voices keep yelling different things and yet I can't make out what is said. It all sounds like one dull roar in my ears. The figure above me, the one who had stabbed and shot me, was now firing shots over my head. Shooting at some unseen figure, which, whether it was really there or not, I failed to see or care.

I roll my head around on the hinge of my neck, looking between all the pictures of people screaming and yelling to one another. I couldn't care less what they were saying; all I wanted was for the pain to subside. I close my eyes and try to slip away, giving up on the now futile effort of breathing. It was just too heavy now; it was time to let it all end.

"Have you forgotten your promise already?"

The voice, one not from the outside, but rather, the inside. It was one that I could not see, and yet I could hear, a voice I can pick out when all others were drowned out and lost.

"Here, let me remind you."

'…And nobody will take my place as Blaze's wingman…'

My voice…it was my voice and yet…I wasn't thinking these things. But I remember and I know what it is talking about. Those were my words…but they were from years before. But I do remember them…and I will keep to them just as I had done before!

Finally, the flow returns to my lungs, I can feel the fluid moving in and out as my chest heaves up and down. I can hardly think, yet my body moves. With the last ounce of control I have, I move my left arm and grasp the arm of the Eva standing over me. It doesn't react as I pull it into the dirt, and using my right arm, I push the spear I hold straight into its armor.

I continue to pull on its arm and push on my spear, forcing it deeper into the armor. Driving all of my force into my two working limbs, the spear and Eva continue to move in opposing directions.

Deeper and deeper it goes, and out of shear frustration with the enemy's struggle to live, I form the words, "DIE YOU BASTERD!!!"

With one final tug, the spear comes through the other end, its blood covered point now sticking out in plain sight. The weight of the enemy collapses on top of me, forcing my lungs to return to their labored effort. With the enemy gone, I finally allow sleep to consume me.

(A/N Damn me for these cliff anger endings. I really hate myself for these...jk. Just stick around, because you will not want to miss the next part of the story. Coming next is Chapter 11: Reinstatement! Oh, and please review, I haven't had one in a while so...please?)